LITTLE ROCK — Charleston Coach Doug Loughridge said fans of the football-crazed Franklin County school have been waiting a decade for Ty Storey to be the Tigers’ starting quarterback.
That time is now.
“People have heard about him since he was a little kid,” Loughridge said. “When he was a second-grader, he was starting with the fourth-grade team. People have heard about him for a long time.”
Storey headlines the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette preseason Super Sophomore team. The team includes several other players who already have had an impact in high school.
In limited action late last fall, Storey completed 7 of 12 passes for 63 yards and 1 touchdown.
Storey, 6-3, 217 pounds, was offered a scholarship this summer by Arkansas State.
He never lost a game as a starting quarterback in junior high, then started at linebacker for the varsity late last season..
Loughridge said he hasn’t been associated with a quarterback like Storey since he was an assistant at Russellville in 1999-2004, when the Cyclones had strong-armed Landon Leach and Nathan Brown.
“He’s up on that level,” said Loughridge, who led Charleston, his alma mater, to state championships in 2008 and 2011. “That’s a pretty good group to put him in with. The good thing is he’s a sophomore. He’s going to mature. Physically, he’s there, but he’s still a sophomore. He’s going to learn and mature from his mistakes.”
Loughridge said Charleston has adjusted its offensive scheme because of Storey and will throw more than in past years.
The coach also said Storey continues to develop touch, but the Tigers have gotten away from slant routes because his arm is so strong.
“He would drill it,” Loughridge said.
Storey has been around football his entire life.
His father, Shane, coached the Tigers to a 119-28-1 record in 1992-2003 before becoming the school’s principal.
Now it’s another Storey generating headlines for Charleston.
“He’s had to deal with a lot of hype, knowing what people are expecting out of him,” Loughridge said. “ He’s not letting any of that go to his head.”
Perhaps the most gifted player in the class is Bryant wide receiver K.J. Hill, 6-0, 175.
Hill helped Bryant’s junior high team finish 10-0 last fall - it outscored opponents 377-74 - and was a standout in recently completed summer 7-on-7 tournament play.
He caught 26 passes for 514 yards and 6 touchdowns, rushed 8 times for 127 yards and 3 touchdowns and returned a punt for a touchdown last fall.
Hill, who has a 35-inch vertical leap, also averaged more than 20 points per game in basketball as a ninth-grader.
“He’s definitely going to be a really good football player,” Bryant Coach Paul Calley said. “He’s got all the tools.”
Bryant also placed another wide receiver on the team, Brushawn Hunter, 5-8, 155.
Hunter rushed 34 times for 557 yards and 7 touchdowns, caught 19 passes for 469 yards and 9 touchdowns and returned a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns as a ninth-grader.
Calley said Hunter will “for sure” be an integral part of Bryant’s offense this fall.
Pine Bluff tight end Will Gragg, 6-4, 235, already has been offered a scholarship by Arkansas.
Gragg, the brother of Razorbacks standout senior tight end Chris Gragg, played fullback last fall at Monticello before returning to Pine Bluff, where he went to school in the sixth and seventh grades.
“The tools are all there -frame, all that stuff,” Zebras Coach Bobby Bolding said.
Bolding said Will Gragg “will play a bunch,” perhaps even splitting out later in the year, but added he’s having to adjust to a new position.
“He’s got learn how to block people, how to run routes,” Bolding said. “Everything’s there. He’s just got learn all of that.”
Sports, Pages 27 on 08/26/2012