
Several Orange County high school football teams will have new quarterbacks next season following the graduation of standout players. Coaches are focused on helping these new players develop their own styles and leadership qualities.
(Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel/TNS)
When standout quarterbacks like Dereon Coleman and Carter Emanuel and Sam Johnson graduate, coaches face a difficult challenge in finding and molding the right person to step into the role the next season.
Six Orange County teams that made the playoffs last season will be tasked with moving forward with new quarterbacks.
The most difficult part is getting the new players to understand they are not there to replace the departed seniors. They must step into the roles and fill them in their own ways, allowing the process of transition along with their own styles, personalities and leadership traits.
“Nobody is going to step in here and fill Dereon Coleman’s shoes. You don’t replace a Dereon Coleman or a Vernell Brown,” Jones High offensive coordinator Dale Williams said of Coleman, who is now a quarterback at the University of Miami, and Brown, who was a standout freshman receiver at Florida last season.
Perhaps the most important part, however, is allowing oneself to fail.
These new quarterbacks will fail, at times. It’s just part of being human. The difficulty is moving past and learning from the mistakes.
Stepping into the role as starting quarterback at Jones, the Class 4A state runner-up, will be Peyton Carroll (6-foot-2, 185 pounds), a sophomore who saw limited time a year ago, but a player with whom Jones coaches have entrusted the role of QB1.
“No one is going to be perfect. You can’t go home and beat yourself up every night. You can’t get down on yourself,” Williams said. “We have spoken to (Carroll) and assured him that he’s our guy. Good or bad, he’s still our guy.
“You are going to have bad days. We know that. We plan for that.”
It won’t be easy. A coach may not be able to replace the talent that is departed, but the role still has to be filled.
“Oh it’s huge. Some kids are irreplaceable,” Williams said. “But we don’t want him to be Dereon Coleman. We want him to be Peyton Carroll and thrive on his strengths. He has tools that can be his strengths and we are going to stay in his comfort zone to help make him successful.”
Carroll is not the only one. Newcomer Lucas Minenok, a senior, will be the new guy at Boone, after the departure of Sam Johnson, who is now at Bemidji State University in Minnesota.
Minenok (6-0, 192) is a move-in from Youngstown, Ohio, where he played at Ursuline High.
New Boone coach Charles Sprenkle said he has been pleased with the progress of Minenok, who can throw the football, but he loves to tuck the ball and run.
Six Orange County high school teams that made the playoffs last season will be introducing new quarterbacks.
The standout quarterbacks who graduated include Dereon Coleman, Carter Emanuel, and Sam Johnson.
Coaches face the challenge of helping new quarterbacks understand they need to fill the roles in their own ways rather than trying to replace the graduated seniors.
New quarterbacks can succeed by developing their own styles, personalities, and leadership traits as they transition into their roles.

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“He’s doing pretty well and he’s definitely got a lot football in his history. His older brothers played,” Sprenkle said. “He’s gotten with the other kids and has been building that chemistry, and he’s part of the Boone community now.”
Sprenkle said he is fortunate to have a guy such as Minenok transfer in with Johnson graduating; perfect timing.
“Sam’s a tough guy to replace. He’s one hell of a ball player,” Sprenkle said. “So him moving in was a blessing.”
It’s Minenok’s first opportunity as the starting QB, and he said he’s ready.
“It’s been fun and I’m a big fan of the heat. I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but I love the sun and I love the heat,” Minenok said. “It’s been really smooth. I’ve been getting with the guys, watching film and going over things. The coaches have helped me out a lot.
“There’s a little bit of pressure, filling (Johnson’s) shoes, but I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time and I’m ready to go. It’s amazing.”
He’s not shy about running the football and said what can be expected of him.
“A lot of toughness. A lot of running the ball. A lot of good throws. I’m ready to go,” Minenok said.
Edgewater faces a similar dilemma in replacing two-year starter Carter Emanuel, who is now at Colorado State. Coach Patrick Browning said he has a healthy competition going between juniors Joe Aicher, a transfer from Port Orange Spruce Creek, and Cruz James Bajek, a transfer from Neptune Beach Fletcher, where he was a two-year starter.
“It’s always hard to replace a good quarterback, especially when you are accustomed to seeing him out there. It’s never easy,” Browning said. “But it just means it’s an opportunity for someone else to step up and be the next guy.”
Browning welcomes the competition.
“We got two quarterbacks battling it out. They both bring different traits to the table that are unique and it’s really neck and neck right now. I can’t say one way or the other who’s in front,” Browning said. “I love competition. If it was up to me, I’d have competition at every position. … Competition makes you better in all phases of life.”
Evans is excited about its new quarterback Will Jackson (6-4, 211), who is back in Orlando after a year at Kingsland (Ga.) Camden County, where he threw for nearly 2,000 yards and 24 touchdowns a year ago.
“He’s doing great. I don’t have any veins in my forehead when I go home at night from the stress,” Evans coach Karlos Odum said. “I can go home and go to sleep at peace because I have my trigger man.”
A person who has moved around like Jackson, who has been at Lake Minneola, The First Academy and Winter Park in previous seasons, may provide concern for a coach, but Odum says that is not the case with Jackson. Also coming along with Jackson from Camden County is offensive coordinator Grant Alford in his first year at Evans.
“I have known Will since he was a freshman, and I know his family and the background he comes from and I understand it,” Odum said. “And with Alford being the offensive coordinator, I see those two guys and how they work together and how they understand each other. That kid is OK, and it’s not a big issue with him.
“In my opinion, Will should be the top QB in Orange County.”
At Dr. Phillips, Tien Williams (6-0, 170) isn’t exactly new to the quarterback role, having split time with departed senior Camren West last season, but it will be his team this year.
“It feels good just knowing I have coaches who really support me and the team in general,” Williams said. “The expectations are always state championship and win district.
With Coach (Rodney) Wells leaving and having a new head coach, everybody thinks this is the year to beat DP.”
New Dr. Phillips coach Caleb Wells has full confidence in his junior QB.
“This is the Tien Williams show. He’s got the keys to the ship and we’re all supporting him and we trust him,” Walls said. “He’s just a playmaker. He knows the game, knows the playbook, and his decision-making is probably the best part about him.”
Ocoee is the other Orange County playoff team with a new quarterback, and coach Buck Gurley is excited about the transfer of former East Ridge player sophomore Nathaniel Watkins (6-4, 195).
“He’s doing good for us and actually, he’s got three offers already, which is good,” Gurley said. “He’s a good kid with tremendous size and a great arm. He has the ability to throw the deep ball for us.
“He fits in well. There are a couple of kinks he still has to learn, but he’s young. … We got him for the next two years.”
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays.