Texas Longhorns QB commit Jerrod Heard leads Denton Guyer to another 4A state title

I first raved about Jerrod Heard as a high school sophomore and I've been following his career with interest ever since.

Texas is getting a special QB - the most exciting prospect in the Longhorn 2014 class and the sort of dual threat QB we should be scouring the state (or country) for every year.

Facing a San Antonio Brennan team with the best defense in 4A Football (they allowed 51 points in 14 games - their first team defense had allowed only two touchdowns all year), Heard led Guyer to a convincing 34-14 win on the strength of 23 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns along with a hyper-efficient 9 of 9 for 97 yards with 1 touchdown passing day.  He accounted for 243 of Guyer's 314 yards.

It's worth mentioning that Guyer scored more points on Brennan in one game than they'd surrendered in the entire regular season.

On the season, the dual threat, two-time champion finished with over 2,000 yards rushing and passing.  He finishes his Guyer career with 11, 461 total yards and 131 TDs.

Heard has a natural feel for the zone read, makes quick, decisive cuts, and can jump laterally, stick his foot in the ground, and go.  He's fairly fast, but not a burner - his real strength is his quickness, body control, surprising strength and balance, and his understanding of how to cut against flow, see the field develop, and maximize.  He's an instinctive runner and uses his feet to erase bad plays, but won't flush from the pocket until appropriate.  He looked like a legit 6-2, 195 or so to me.  I'm not worried about his passing ability - he's perfectly competent for the college game, throws a catchable ball, and should improve with coaching.

San Antonio Brennan featured the Longhorn's best regarded defensive recruit, DE Derick Roberson (who had 20 sacks in 15 games and 100+ tackles).  Roberson has a long, lean frame that needs a college weight room and Guyer seemed to frustrate him with chip blocks, double teams, and Heard's wizardry as a ball handler.  His upside was pretty apparent, but he's not an instant impact man-child.

I have to mention Roberson's teammate, MLB Grant Watanabe.  Polynesian monster.  Fantastic instincts, hit like a mule, and was all over the field for four quarters.  He was the game Defensive MVP.  Dialed in and an absolute pleasure to watch.  He's 5-10, 225 and headed to Colorado.  I have no idea what his 40 time is, but he's fast in pads. He's the kind of three star that's tough to let get away.  I saw a lot of Dat Nguyen in him.  He showed more feel for the position in four quarters than some of our linebackers have shown in four years.