–Pigskin Report - Week 3 - Overholt is not overdone
12 September 2007by Michael Hughes
In trying to pick out the best of the best during the preseason, there appeared to be an overload of good quarterbacks throughout the region. Joe Hoilman at Mitchell, Rahkeem Morgan with Asheville High, North Buncombe’s Randy Pressley, Chris Vanlandingham of North Henderson, Owen’s Aaron Reese, Cory Hipp at Swain County, Hayesville dead-eye Jonathan Shively, Murphy junior Luke Charles, Tyler Edwards at Andrews, and Christ School junior Hough Price were all proven performers heading into the 2007 season. West Henderson, Franklin, Avery County and Brevard also had experienced returnees under and behind center, while Erwin, Reynolds, Pisgah, Tuscola and Robbinsville had top prospects looking to make a splash.
Polk County, on the other hand, moved its best wideout to quarterback to replace last season’s Western Highlands Conference Offensive Player of the Year. The results speak for themselves. The Wolverines have the best QB in the mountains so far, one of the top signal callers in the state and a legitimate Shrine Bowl candidate at three positions.
Derrick Overholt (6-3, 180), the state’s preseason 1-A player-of-the-year by one news service for last season’s play at free safety and wide receiver, has thrown for nearly 900 yards in three games, with 12 touchdown passes and no interceptions in three decisive victories through August. The team captain has not been sacked on a straight, drop-back pass over the last two games.
Head coach Bruce Ollis receives much of the credit for his play-calling from the sidelines, but he gives complete credit to the players under him. “It’s easy to make great calls when you have great players that execute,” he says.
Overholt was largely an unknown commodity at QB heading into the season. Everyone knew of his skills at defensive back and his pass catching ability, but he was untested at the varsity level under center and in the shotgun formation.
With his established play at wideout and two other good candidates at quarterback, Overholt was still the frontrunner heading into summer, and maintained that status throughout the preseason. It helped that Polk had two other 6’-3” receivers in the fold, senior Josh Twitty and versatile junior Kamron Kerr, along with tight end Ryan Owens (6-2, 195).
Overholt’s past and present play means that college recruiters—ACC, SEC, and SoCon among them—are evaluating two, sometimes three different athletes in one when they attend Polk County practices and games.
“We haven’t used him at receiver this year,” Coach Ollis said. “We haven’t had a need to. I promise you, if I put him out wide he’d probably catch the first ball we threw.”
No college offers are on the table yet, but “I think that will come,” Ollis adds. “I think he’s proven he can be a college quarterback.”
The Wolverines are on the road tonight for an annual border battle with Landrum (SC) High—a huge rivalry game for both schools. Coaching the Cardinals is John Cann, a close friend and old teammate of Ollis’s at Presbyterian College. Landrum will host the Wolverines in a brand new facility and is led by lefty quarterback Mark Cann (6-4, 215), a four-year starter who has committed to Marshall University at the next level.
“We’re going to make them defend the thrown ball,” Ollis says of a game that could last into the wee hours with its emphasis on the forward pass. “We’ve started rushing the ball a little bit better too,” he adds.
Ollis is a veteran offensive line coach who actually prefers the line-’em-up, off-tackle running offenses that rely on quick-hitting and pulling linemen, with a dose of veer option thrown in for good measure.
When the Wolverines were primarily a running team that averaged close to 300 rushing yards per game, Ollis was often asked why Polk County didn’t throw the ball more. Now that his team passes for around 300 yards per game, the question is reversed.
“Sometimes from the standpoint of a football enthusiast,” he says, “throwing it a lot is not pure football. But it’s certainly getting the job done for us.
“We do think that, down the road, we’re going to need to be a better rushing football team. Right now we haven’t had to be.”
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