Here is the statistical breakdown of Saks’ recent dual-threat quarterbacks
T. SMITH
(2013)
HARRIS
(2014)
Passing Yds 1352 654
Rushing Yds 1127 1916
Passsing TDs 16
8
Rushing TDs 20
27
This whole run of dual-threat quarterbacks
at Saks started because the head coach
needed to find a way to get the ball the
hands of his best athlete more often. What
better way to do that than let him direct the
offense?
Smith The First responded with nearly
2,500 yards of total offense and 36 total
touchdowns -- evenly divided between the
run and the pass – in a year the Wildcats set
the school record for points. He passed for
1,352 yards and 16 touchdowns, rushed for
1,127 yards and 20 scores, and the Wildcats
scored a whopping 595 points while getting
all the way to the Class 3A semifinals.
“Trey could do it all, a special player, and
he also had good skill guys around him, so
we felt like that was our best fit to have the
most chance at success,” Miller said. “That
was probably our most prolific offense in
school history.”
The next year the job fell to Devin Harris,
sort of by emergency. Harris was a slot
receiver, but projected quarterback Quin
Smith wasn’t completely recovered from
an ACL tear, so, continuing with the idea
of getting the ball in the best athlete’s hand,
the job went to Harris. He was more of a
runner than his predecessor and rushed for
more than 2,000 yards while breaking the
school record for rushing touchdowns (27).
Smith The Second finally got his chance
behind center in 2015. He might have been
the smallest of the quarterbacks in size, but
he was quick on his feet, although he didn’t
have to run it as much with the other backs
behind him, and could throw it if you slept
on him. He ran for more than 500 yards,
threw for 1,161 yards and accounted for 19
total touchdowns.
68 | 2017 Pigskin Roundup the Magazine
“The thing that puts pressure on defense
more than anything is a quarterback who
is a dual threat, who can get back there and
you have to respect him throwing the ball
but they can also run it effectively,” Miller
said. “It’s definitely had a big impact on our
success and we’ve built the offense really
around our quarterback.”
And now it falls to Bell. The good thing
for the Wildcats is he’ll be the first one of
the lot they’ve had in the position for more
than one year. Each of the three preceding
quarterbacks played only as seniors. Bell
had the luxury of learning on the go as a
ju