By Justin Felder - bio | email
SOCASTEE, SC (WMBF) - In football, quarterbacks are increasingly being asked to "manage" games: go in, do your job, don't take risks and don't make big mistakes. Socastee High School asks a lot more of their quarterback; luckily they have a dynamic play-maker who's up to the task.
"It's tough to defend, we usually give defensive coordinators fits," said WMBF News Athlete of the Week Zack Elliman.
In Socastee's tricky triple option offense, the Braves have a full complement of talented athletes, led by senior QB Elliman.
"We read the handoff key, the pitch key, it's a lot of pressure on the fullback, which Brendan Hyde's done a real good job of this year," Elliman explained. "P.J. [Brave] and Quanzie [Michquan Brown] at the tailbacks have done real well. We've been pretty successful with it so far."
Socastee Head Coach Tim Renfrow agrees.
"You've got to have a lot of trust," he sad. "A lot of people think we run one or two plays, but every time we run the option it's three plays - he can hand it off, keep it or pitch it. It's a lot of trust we put in our quarterbacks."
Elliman is getting looks from several Football Championship Subdivision schools, including the Citadel, Wofford and Liberty. He's also active around school and in his church.
While Elliman's athletic talents are clear, he says it's an intangible quality that sets him apart.
"I think it's my work ethic," he said. "I'm not 6' 5", I don't run a 4.4 forty [yard dash], but I think I can outwork anyone that challenges me."
Copyright 2009 WMBF News. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and WMBF, a Raycom Media Station.
