Cayde Elliott

The most important position on the football field is going to be occupied by some awfully fresh faces in Cullman County this season.

Of the nine teams in The Times’ coverage area, an astounding six will start sophomores at quarterback when the Friday night lights officially flicker back on Aug. 22 and 29.

With the help of an observation from Cold Springs coach Rod Elliott during fall camp, let’s put this into perspective. These six signal-callers will be relied upon, week after week, to spark drives and scoring plays for their squads’ respective offenses. The only catch is, these kids are just that — kids, who, in almost every case, aren’t even old enough to legally drive themselves to and from school, much less practice and other football-related activities.

Good news for the group of youngsters is that half of them do have valuable varsity experience that will hopefully help avoid a dreaded sophomore slump.

Holly Pond’s Michael Lambert has a full year of starting snaps under his belt, while Good Hope’s Riley Eisner and Vinemont’s Garrett Boland have a few starts to work with due to untimely injuries.

Lambert is one of those student-athletes area coaches love to laud as “athletic.” He comes equipped with a strong arm, confidence in his abilities and an air of leadership that extends on and off the field.

Though Lambert was winless in his first season behind center, the lefty was far from the Green and White’s — emphasis on green — only freshman thrust into a starting role in 2013. With Lambert leading a long list of sophomores that return with a better understanding of second-year coach Mike Bates’s system and program philosophies, there’s a good chance the Broncos’ current slide will come to a screeching halt sooner rather than later.

Good Hope will surely miss evasive playmaker Sebastion Fendley, but having a successor like Eisner, who brings an above-average arm and sharp field vision to the table, leaves the Raiders’ cupboard nowhere close to bare.

Fendley’s fractured forearm threw Eisner straight into the fire early last season — and the then-freshman didn’t even bat an eyelash. In his first start, Eisner finished 19 of 30 for 243 passing yards and three touchdowns to lead Good Hope to a 41-27 Week 3 triumph at Winston County.

The rest of Eisner’s 2013 playing time wasn’t always pretty, but things are different now. This fall, he’s practiced with the first team on a daily basis and has all-purpose superstar Jared McClure to help relieve some of the load.

Those factors, as well as myriad others, could spell success for the sophomore as he ushers the Raiders back into the Class 4A fold.

By the time Boland came on the scene as Vinemont’s quarterback late last year, the tyke was already accustomed to adversity.

Earlier in the season, he’d taken on the daunting task of stepping into a starting role at cornerback. Then, when Kurtis Brawner’s ailing ankle became too bothersome, Boland was suddenly the Eagles’ main man behind center.

Like Lambert, Boland has yet to notch a victory as signal-caller. He’s poised to do plenty of winning in 2014, though, with John Michael Dye headlining a horde of running backs, Blake Melton providing a big target at tight end and veteran Trey Guthery running the show on defense.

Plus, Garrett is a Boland after all — see older brother, Tyler, who’s settling in at UAH on a track scholarship — which means he’s a fierce competitor with high character who hates to lose.

Though Cullman’s Ross Crocker and Hanceville’s Branen Hurst don’t have the gameday experience of the three aforementioned county kids, it’s hard not to notice the pair does come from some pretty rich quarterbacking blood.

Crocker’s big brother, Zac, ran the show for the Bearcats from 2011-12, while Hurst’s older sibling, Caleb, was the Bulldogs’ go-to guy each of the last three seasons.

Both have received help from their kinfolk while waiting for the clock to strike zero on the start of the 2014 campaign.

The younger Crocker said he and Zac, Fox 6’s 2011 5A Offensive Player of the Year, watched film together and hit the field on late nights for throwing sessions over the summer. Meanwhile, the elder Hurst was a mainstay at Hanceville’s fall camp as he practiced punts in preparation of an upcoming bid to walk-on at Alabama.

Last, but certainly not least, is incoming Cold Springs signal-caller Cayde Elliott.

Yes, as his father/coach pointed out, Cayde can’t quite drive yet. But since outgoing quarterback Logan Campbell left town to walk-on at West Alabama, the lefty has bulked up in the weight room, worked tirelessly on his passing mechanics and already earned the respect of four-year varsity vets like Austin Moore.

Even still, there are likely to be struggles, not just for Elliott but the area’s entire sextet. Coach Elliott is responsible for the quote that follows, but the words could’ve just as easily been spoken by any of his five county counterparts also moving forward with sophomore quarterbacks.

“He’s a young kid, and he’s going to make mistakes young kids make,” the elder Elliott said. “We just hope that maybe his talent will overcome some of the inexperience. Sometimes you just don’t know until the kids get in a situation how they’re going to react.”

Check out The Times’ annual football preview, complete with team pics, rosters, schedules and stories for all nine local schools, in the Aug. 20 print edition.