By brent.maycock@cjonline.com
At 5-foot-10,
180 pounds, Rossville’s Tucker Horak doesn’t create even the slightest blip on
football recruiting websites, his dimensions far from ideal for those in the
market for a Division I quarterback.
So you won’t find his name listed among Kansas’ top prospects on
Rivals.com or any other service. Same goes for fellow quarterback Brady Rust of
Derby, who boasts the same exact measurements. Or Lawrence tailback JD Woods,
who checks in at 5-7, 175.
Even hulking linemen Kaelin Key (6-0, 265) of Miege and Noah
Johnson (6-2, 275) of Carroll don’t quite fit the specifications college
recruiters desire when scouring the nation for talent.
But what the yardstick doesn’t measure are the qualities that have
made all five standouts members of The Topeka Capital-Journal’s 2015 All-State
Top 11.
“It is what it is, but sometimes you need to look past the
yardstick, the scales and even the stopwatch,” said Lawrence coach Dirk Wedd,
who’s seen both sides of the recruiting focus with the Lions also boasting a
Top 11 pick in lineman Amani Bledsoe — the No. 1 prospect in Kansas.
“You just need to see who wins, who wills their team to win and
who’s a player. Sometimes on Saturday afternoon, that would win a game or two
for you.”
One only needs to look at the final Saturday afternoon of the
football season to find out just how true that statement can ring, at least in
the case of Horak and Rust.
In the Class 3A state title game, Rossville trailed Wichita
Collegiate 19-7 entering the fourth quarter — its bid for a second straight
state title in serious danger. But in the span of less than a minute, Horak ran
for a touchdown and then returned a fumble 65 yards for the game-winning score
as the Bulldawgs pulled out a 20-19 victory.
The herculean effort capped a season unlike any other in Kansas
history as Horak became the first player in state history to rush and throw for
more than 2,000 yards in the same season. His final numbers were simply
staggering: 2,859 yards and 47 touchdowns rushing and 2,070 yards and 30
touchdowns passing.
“It’s a cliche, but you can’t measure heart,” Rossville coach
Derick Hammes said. “In general, that’s a good description of this group and it’s
an excellent description of Tucker because he was just incredible for us. I’ve
never coached anybody that had the ability like he could to make a play for his
team. He was something special.”
If not for Horak’s monster season, Rust very well may have been
the buzz capturing an entire state. After Derby lost standout tailback Garrett
Xanders for the season, Rust put the Panther offense on his back and led them
to the 6A state title, rushing for 309 yards in the championship game on an
ice-covered field.
His season was no less spectacular with 2,118 yards and 24
touchdowns rushing and 1,728 yards and 33 touchdowns passing.
“When it comes to a great high school quarterback, I think his
stats just speak for themselves,” Derby coach Brandon Clark said. “To get
recruited these days, you need to be 6-3, 6-4. But he’ll be a great quarterback
for some system. Every once in awhile, some of those quarterbacks get a chance
and really show that size doesn’t matter, and hopefully these guys get a
chance.”
Huge senior seasons and careers haven’t led recruiters to beat
down the doors of fellow Top 11 picks Christian Jegen of Mill Valley, Dawson
Downing and Key of Miege, Woods or Jace McDown of Columbus, even though they
come closer to passing the “eye test” with their physiques.
Jegen (6-2, 200) accumulated more than 2,000 combined rushing and
receiving yards from his receiver position for the 5A state champions, while
Downing (6-0, 215) and Key led Miege to its second straight 4A title with
Downing rushing for 1,904 yards and 42 touchdowns and Key making 31 tackles for
loss.
McDown (6-0, 215) merely led Kansas in rushing until the final
week of the season, amassing 2,667 yards and 38 touchdowns while also racking
up 125 tackles. Woods (5-7, 175) merely broke Lawrence’s single-season and
career rushing records, finishing with 1,928 yards and 38 touchdowns as a
senior.
The Top 11 does have its share of Division I star power as well,
beginning with Bledsoe (6-5, 272) who ranks as the No. 6 defensive end prospect
in the nation and has more than 30 Division I offers.
Olathe North’s Isaiah Simmons (6-4, 210) is a three-star prospect
who stood out on both sides of the ball for the Eagles, making 92 tackles from
his free safety spot while also adding 994 yards and 16 touchdowns receiving.
Free State’s Bryce Torneden (5-10, 175) has committed to FCS multi-time
national champion North Dakota State and had 84 tackles and more than 2,450
yards of total offense.
The coach of the year is Mill Valley’s Joel Applebee, who led the
Jaguars to their first state title with a 35-14 win over Carroll in the 5A
championship game to cap a 12-1 season.
Capital Journal All State Team
Amani Bledsoe, Lawrence OT-DT 6-5 272 Sr.
Bryce Torneden, Free State QB-DB
5-10 175 Sr.
CHRIS NEAL/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL-The Topeka Capital-Journal's 2015 All-State Top 11, front row from left: Dawson Downing, Miege; J.D. Woods, Lawrence High; Tucker Horak, Rossville; Brady Rust, Derby; Jace McDown, Columbus; Bryce Torneden, Lawrence Free State. Back row from left: Noah Johnson, Carroll; Kaelin Key, Miege; Coach Joel Applebee, Mill Valley; Christian Jegen, Mill Valley; Isaiah Simmons, Olathe North; Amani Bledsoe, Lawrence High.
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