JOHN REYNOLDS PLAYER OF YEAR: Lee County quarterback Garet Morrell fills big shoes

LEESBURG —The shoes were big, way bigger than Garet Morrell imagined.

Former Lee County quarterback Stephen Collier had left a legacy on the Trojans’ football program that many wouldn’t easily forget. He led Lee County to the Region 1-AAAAA title in 2013, a second-round berth in the state playoffs, then bolted for Ohio State where he was redshirted this past fall.

Morrell quietly came in, filled the position and helped Lee County to a season many won’t be forgetting anytime soon. He helped guide the Trojans, competing in perhaps the toughest Class AAAAAA region in the state, into the playoffs. His efforts have landed him the John Reynolds Player of the Year award.

Not many people gave Lee County, the smallest Class AAAAAA school in the state, a chance to win a game in the brutal region. But with Morrell leading offense, the Trojans did just that and more. They earned the No. 3 seed and advanced to the second round where they lost to eventual state runner-up Archer.

Like any other successful athlete, Morrell’s journey to this point has not been without hard work.

“It was crazy … it started a long time ago mainly, and over due time, we all just came through together and worked as a unit,” Morrell said. “We spent a lot of hard days in the summer working in the weight room, going to 7 on 7’s, never took a play off. I got on the guys. They all just came in together. It’s just a great feeling whenever you can accomplish such a thing as a team.”

Lee County head coach Dean Fabrizio said the success of the Trojans offense is highly determined by the quarterback’s ability to make the right decisions.

“Our offense runs through the quarterback, so his decision-making is essential to our success,” Fabrizio said. “To have a player like Garet in that position has really been a luxury for us.”

Morrell’s early career didn’t come without having to persuade his mother.

“I started playing football when I was six years old,” Morrell said. “My mom wasn’t so sure of it. My dad was like ‘You’ve got get him out there. You’ve got to do it.’ I was mainly a baseball person.

“My dad told my mom, ‘Give him one shot, just one shot.’ I didn’t even start out playing quarterback. I was a wide receiver and a tight end. As time went along, in my sixth and seventh grade year, I started playing quarterback.”

The decision to try the quarterback position paid off for Morrell this year. Morrell had a 58 percent completion rating. He threw for more 2,600 yards and threw 26 touchdown passes. He ran for two touchdowns as well.

Morrell is also a strong pitcher on the baseball team. He’s done so well for that he has piqued the interest of professional baseball scouts.

While Morrell participated in Lee County’s baseball summer league program, he didn’t do any pitching because he wanted to concentrate on his football mechanics.

“I knew the goals that we had as a team and what we wanted to achieve,” Morrell said. “Once baseball was over with, I didn’t want to interfere with any of my mechanics for football, so I could be all prepared for the season.”

For Morrell and the Trojans, it will be a challenge next year to duplicate or surpass what they accomplished in 2014. Several key players will be graduating, but Morrell will not make excuses.

“We’re losing a bunch of people, but that doesn’t mean we can’t strive to be better,” he said. “You push your guys harder. That’s what we intend to do. We all just have to commit just like we did last summer. Not only that, but we have to go harder and come together as brothers. We did what people didn’t think we could do, but I think we could have gone farther.”

Morrell credits Fabrizio and the rest of the coaching staff for the success the Trojans had in 2014.

“They had everything prepared and planned out day by day,” Morrell said.

Center Proctor Johnston said Morrell’s work ethic is contagious.

“Garet is a great teammate,” Johnston said. “He is someone we can count on every day to give 100 percent. When you see the quarterback working like that, it motivates all of us.”

While many kids relaxed during the summer, Garet Morrell was preparing for the season.

“Garet put so much time in over the summer that it gives the wide receivers confidence to see him working so hard,” wide receiver Bernard McCray said. “We really had our timing down when the season started, and that is one reason we had such a great year.”

When Morrell replaced Collier, some were concerned the junior couldn’t live up to what Collier achieved, especially with Lee County moving up to Class AAAAAA. Many of his teammates knew they would not have to be worried because they knew the talent, character and work ethic Morrell possessed.

“I wasn’t worried,” running back Jamal Gardner said. “Neither were most of my teammates. We all knew what a talent Garet was and how hard he worked.”

Senior offensive lineman Austin Byrd said the team had confidence in Morrell.

“We knew coming into the season that he had the ability to take us to the playoffs,” Byrd said.

And Morrell did just that.