By Kevin Thomas
SouthernPigskin.com

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SouthernPigskin.com Recruiting Columnist Chris Hughes takes a look at the signal callers in North Carolina including Georgia verbal commitment Christian LeMay.

So far this year it’s been an exciting and yet eventful season of football across North Carolina. The state has really produced some top talent and while some analysts said this was the year of the quarterback, the Class of 2011 has also produced some bona-fide BCS future stars on defense. But today we’re just going to talk quarterbacks.

Speaking of the quarterbacks, we can’t do a blog without mentioning Christian LeMay. Ranked by many as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, the senior from Butler High School in Matthews who committed to the University of Georgia on April 30th decided to forgo his senior season and concentrate on preparing himself for college “in a private setting”, according to his father.

LeMay who led Butler to the 4-AA state championship in 2009 was poised to have one of the best senior seasons in North Carolina history. He was already being spoken of in the same sentence with greats like Chris Leak and Joe Cox. Unfortunately after a 30-day suspension from school, we’ll always talk about what might have been when looking back at his high school career.

Now with LeMay out of the picture, several quarterbacks have really elevated themselves into the fold of being considered the best in 2010.

Marquise Williams from Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte has shown that he’s a man among boys’ on the field this year. He’s been impressive in just about every facet of the game and looks to have all the tools to be an impact player at the collegiate level.

Williams has led Mallard Creek to a 7-0 start this year and looks to be on a collision course with Butler at some point of during the 2010 playoffs. While it’s unfortunate that we’ll never see a Williams vs. LeMay battle in the playoffs, it’s possible that the two could one day cross paths in college. Williams verbally committed to the University of North Carolina back in July but it’s yet to be seen if he sticks with the Tar Heels after the on-going NCAA investigation.

Also making noise this year and having a very impressive senior season is Vad Lee from Hillside High School in Durham. Lee, a Georgia Tech commit has had a phenomenal season under center and has turned Hillside into a 4-A title contender. Lee is a dual threat quarterback with plenty of speed and a big arm and he’s been shredding defenses all year long and looks like a great fit in the Paul Johnson offense.

Brian Taylor from Harnett Central is another quarterback who is on the short list when talking about the best from the state. Taylor has already committed to N.C. State and has shown the ability to lead his team with both is cannon arm and his feet. Taylor led Harnett Central to the 4-A championship game last year and is working on a making a return trip in 2010.

While it seems I could write a book just on quarterbacks this year, there just isn’t enough space to list them all but I’ll do a “Best of the Rest” list right now.

Don’t forget about Garrett Leatham, the big armed quarterback with a BCS body at Apex Middle Creek, or B.J. Sherill, who could be the best quarterback that nobody has really talked about at West Rowan. Sherrill could be a real steal to a big program and his upside is looking really good.

Garrett Brown from Erwin High School in Asheville has also been turning heads this year. Statistically he’s the best passer in the state and should find himself playing on Saturday’s next year also.

Next week we’ll take a look at some of the defensive stars in North Carolina and get a peek at where some of them may land next year.

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