Polk County's Top High School Football Quarterbacks for 2024

LAKELAND — Last year’s Big School and Small School High School Football Player of the Year honorees were awarded to Lakeland’s Zander Smith and Fort Meade’s Carson MontsDeOca.

Will quarterbacks win awards again in 2024?

Smith returns to Lakeland, having recovered from off-season shoulder surgery, and should be considered one of the favorites. MontsDeOca is now playing baseball in Florida, so the small-school award is definitely open.

With the exception of MontsDeOca, all of last season’s top quarterbacks were freshmen, though the number of returning veteran quarterbacks who will start isn’t as large as one might have thought it would be at the end of last season.

Joel Morris, now a junior, transferred from Lake Gibson to Sumner, and Chad Williams, also a junior, transferred from Auburndale to Lakeland and will back up Smith.

Further: Auburndale quarterback Amari Turner finds his way back home, ready to lead the Bloodhounds

These are the best quarterbacks for 2024:

No. 1 Zander Smith, Lakeland, senior

Smith said in late July that he was ready to play in the spring game after recovering from shoulder surgery, but sat out as a precaution. Smith was injured in the state championship game, but stayed in the game to lead the Dreadnaughts to victory. Last year, he threw for a Lakeland single-season record of 1,920 yards to break Shane Willis’ mark of 1,815 yards. He will have a new group of wide receivers to throw to this year.

No. 2 Brycen Levitiotis, Lake Wales, senior

Levitiotis was a prolific thrower in 2023, as he threw for 1,816 yards and 20 touchdowns with just eight interceptions for the defending state champion Highlanders. As a senior, he will look to improve his 52 percent completion percentage (111-of-214) to add consistency.

No. 3 John Kostuch, Winter Haven, senior year

Kostuch has been one of the county’s top throwers over the past two seasons. As a sophomore at Ridge Community, he completed 53 percent of his passes (120 of 225) and threw for 1,758 yards with 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Last year at Winter Haven, he threw for 1,197 yards and completed 59 percent (100 of 171) of his passes with 11 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

No. 4 Cam Turner, George Jenkins, senior year

Turner became a solid quarterback for the Eagles last year. He had one of the best completion percentages (70 percent) and threw for 1,369 yards and 12 touchdowns.

No. 5 Chad Williams, Lakeland, junior

The left-handed Williams emerged as one of the rising quarterbacks during his 10th-grade season at Auburndale. He threw for 1,322 yards and nine touchdowns and completed 53 percent of his passes. The 6-foot-2 Williams transferred to Lakeland and will be Smith’s backup, but remains a college prospect.

No. 6 Blake Johnson, Bartow, senior

Johnson started last season at Victory Christian before transferring to Bartow during the season. After throwing for 166 yards and five touchdowns in the spring game, Johnson takes over the Yellow Jackets’ offense, though with two talented backups, including a highly touted freshman, Johnson will be continually pushed.

No. 7 Amari Turner, Auburndale, senior

Turner returns to Auburndale after spending last year at Bartow, where he missed the season due to injury. Turner showed potential during his second season at Auburndale, throwing for 459 yards and six touchdowns in five games after taking over as starter when Levitiotis left the team.

No. 8 Brody Brenneman, Lakeland Christian, sophomore

Brenneman showed tremendous potential in his first two games of the season last year as a freshman, completing 20 of 29 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns. The Vikings decided to go all-in on the run as the season progressed and his playing time decreased as DJ Howard took over. This year, Brenneman will take over as the starter as LCS looks to add more passing to a strong running attack. Howard will be full-time at other positions.

No. 9 Preston Garcia, Victory Christian, Junior

Garcia was at Lakeland Christian last year and had a brief stint. He struggled against Brenneman in the spring but is now at Victory Christian. He is expected to take over at quarterback for the Storm, replacing Jackson Benton, who passed for more than 2,500 yards in his final two seasons.

No. 10 Deonte Fielder, Haines City, sophomore

Fielder had 781 yards of total offense as a freshman and led the Hornets to a winning season and a playoff appearance. The Hornets hope he’ll be even better as a sophomore.

Others to consider

Colin Hendersona 6-foot-3, 185-pound sophomore, replaces Morris at Lake Gibson.

Laquinton “JoJo” Chandler He had a strong summer for Mulberry and is expected to make an immediate impact.

Jaden McCutchen, who is the cousin of MLB outfielder Andrew McCutchen, has big shoes to fill in replacing MontsDeOca.

Kelin Hendrix Kathleen will implement a quick, no-huddle offensive.

Landon Fuller and Meji Guillaume are locked in a battle in Frostproof.

Emir’s Hall He didn’t play high school football as a freshman, but he did play youth football and will take over at Ridge Community. Tate said Hall has the potential to be special.