WPa QB Recruit

[Captain Kangaroo]

Huether hopes to continue junior success

By Paul Schofield

TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Tuesday, August 9, 2005

No quarterback in the WPIAL Quad A classification had a better season than Penn-Trafford's Tyler Huether in 2004.

He completed 127 of 209 passes for 2,209 yards and 21 touchdowns and helped lead the Warriors to a 7-3 season.

So what can the senior do for an encore?

"It's going to be hard to duplicate what I did last year, but I'm looking forward to the challenge," said Huether, who threw for 991 yards while splitting time with Mike Rasky during his sophomore season.

Huether is considered one of the top quarterbacks in the WPIAL. The list of quarterbacks who are expected to receive Division I offers include Seneca Valley's Kevan Smith, South Park's Connor Dixon, Norwin's T.J. Salopek, Kiski Area's Mychal Skinner, Pine-Richland's Jake Long and South Fayette's Andrew DiDonato. Smith has given Pitt an oral commitment, and Dixon plans to attend Michigan State.

Huether has one solid offer, from Temple, and a bunch of schools which have contacted him. They are Akron, Louisville, Cincinnati, Toledo, North Carolina State and Pitt.

"I'd like to go to West Virginia, but it has seven quarterbacks on the roster," Huether said.

Penn-Trafford coach Art Tragesser said he and his coaches knew early on that Huether was going to be special.

"We watched him in junior high and saw he had a strong arm," Tragesser said. "Tyler did a nice job during his sophomore season. We didn't want to put him in right away, but we knew he could handle the job."

Tragesser trusts his talented quarterback so much, that he allows him to change the play at the line of scrimmage.

"That's one of my strengths," Huether said about changing the plays. "Coach Tragesser allows me to change to a better play."

But what separates Huether from a lot of other high school quarterbacks is his accuracy.

Wide receiver Tim Cortazzo said Huether makes it easy to make catches because he is so accurate.

"Tyler throws a great ball," said Cortazzo, who was Huether's favorite target last season. "He's underrated as a quarterback."

The junior caught 32 passes for 734 yards and nine touchdowns. Cortazzo said he and Huether have a great rapport.

"It's like we have ESP," Cortazzo said. "It's a trust we've developed. Tyler is great at throwing to the openings in the defense."

Huether said he likes being the leader of the team. But he knows we can't do it himself.

Huether will be working behind a new offensive line and throwing to a new group of receivers this year.

"We're not going to be the biggest team, but we'll be stronger and faster," Huether said. "I'm confident the new line will give me time to throw, and the new receivers will catch what I throw."

Huether doesn't pattern himself after any NFL quarterback, but his favorite quarterback his Brett Favre.

"I just like the way he plays the game," Huether said. "It's fun to watch him play and the way he rallies his team."

Huether said his first game as sophomore is one of his most memorable games. He threw a touchdown pass to Matt Bache, which helped Penn-Trafford defeat rival Norwin.

Last year, his special games were against Bethel Park and Woodland Hills. He had a Favre-like performance in rallying the Warriors to a victory against Bethel Park, and he led the Warriors to their first victory in school history against Woodland Hills.

The only team to give Huether some problems was North Hills. Huether said they constantly changed defenses to try to confuse him.

"They decided to drop eight players into coverage and blitz off the corner," Huether said. "They did a good job closing the windows in their defense. But I'm ready for that defense now since I've been through it."