There can be no doubt that Simms turned out to be the greatest QB in Kentucky history, thus far. Now Hornung was the best player, who played HS QB in KY, in the NFL. He just did not play QB very much if at all in the NFL.

 

Your list is pretty "on target", though. Can't make a compelling argument to counter.

Bill Ransdell from the E'town area (and UK) should be considered. I believe he played in the early to mid-80s.

Rick Norton from Flaget (and UK)....played in early to mid-60s.

Pat won 3 championships and had some great stats which is why I put him on there in place of Duggins as I don't know what his (Duggins) post HS resume looks like.

 

Plus he's a Highlands guy. I said it's my homer list.

 

I don't mind if you move Towles in ahead of Duggins.

 

But Jeff won three straight and never lost a game in the three years he was starter. (45-0) He played at Alfred State in New York.

Upon further review: Jeff Duggins threw for 112 TD passes in his three years at Boyle. He had a high of 40 in 2001.

I don't mind if you move Towles in ahead of Duggins.

 

But Jeff won three straight and never lost a game in the three years he was starter. (45-0) He played at Alfred State in New York.

 

The part I also give Duggins credence for is he started the Boyle run.

 

Towles three straight came on the back of decades of Highlands dominance.

 

Duggins went 45-0 at a Boyle County program who basically sprang from the depths under his guidance at QB.

How about Paul Hornung? He was a high school QB after all for arguably one of the top 5 teams in state history. The list should start with Hornung in my opinion. Same resume you listed for Mike Bush making the move from QB to RB in college or the pros. With a much bigger list of accomplishments compared to anyone on the list outside of Phil Sims Super Bowls. Couch is the only other name on the list in Heisman discussions...Hornung brought the trophy back home to the West End of Louisville. Doesn't get much better than that. Again, he was a high school QB in the state of KY.

Hornung with a Heisman Trophy and NFL Hall of Fame should be on the list somewhere. Nobody on the list comes close to the two accomplishments.

 

But I love everyone on the list. Awesome group of players.

Hornung with a Heisman Trophy and NFL Hall of Fame should be on the list somewhere. Nobody on the list comes close to the two accomplishments.

 

But I love everyone on the list. Awesome group of players.

 

No disagreement from me.

 

Truth be told I was not sure if he played QB in HS..knew he was a legendary RB at College and Pro.

I'd flip one and two but that is a solid list, another job well done!

It is a very solid list. One thing people might forget about Bush was that he was in the Heisman talks but of course was injured his first game of the season. Brian Brohm I had to come in late his freshman year at UofL to a game against The U and almost pulled off the upset at The U.

 

Redman's HS numbers some people had issues with. With his dad as the HC people felt there were some play calling choices and times when he was in the game he shouldn't of been. I think a few times his SR year he threw for 7 TDs or so in the first half. His SR year was almost a weekly competition with Couch to see who could put up the numbers. Redman finished his Sr year with most of KYs passing records with Couch breaking them the next year

 

The above isn't a knock on Redman at all. Just adding a little context. He is without question one of the best HS QBs. It would be interesting to see a list of the top seasons by a QB. Which reminds me of the Atwell kid that put up stupid offensive numbers his SR year.

Possibly mentions for:

Pookie Jones

Billy Jack Haskins

Here is the most remarkable thing I found in my research... by no means do I think he deserved to be on the list of best all-time..but this completely shocked me:

 

Zach Lewis

Clay County

2005-2008

 

All-Time Leader in Passing Yards: 13,642 Breaking Couch's and Bowling's Record

1st in Pass Attempts

2nd in Completions

13th in KY History with 105 TD Passes

6th in Yards Per Game for a Season

 

His team went 6-5, 7-4, 7-5, and 6-5.... imagine if he was reaching Regional Finals or Semi-Finals all those years and had an extra 6 or games where his numbers would have finished.

 

Color me shocked he is the State's Passing Yardage leader and had that kind of career..

 

Chris Todd

Etown

2001-2004

 

t-4th in KY History with 120 TD Passes

4th in Passing Yardage

4th in Completions

2nd Most Completions in a Single Season

8th with 25 straight games with a TD Pass

 

Unlike Lewis..Todd played for some good teams. Etown reached the 3A State Finals in 2003. In addition, Todd has a pretty solid career on the next level. He initially went to Texas Tech and actually saw time as a redshirt Freshman. Ended up going JUCO before settling at Auburn. Ended up being an All-SEC selection after setting an Auburn record at thew time with 22 passing TD's.

 

That's a pretty darn impressive resume!

On that Todd note..that 2003 Etown team may be the most under the radar team in Kentucky History for talent.

 

They had three players go on to start in the SEC and earn All-SEC honors in some compacity:

Zipp Duncan- Kentucky

Chris Todd- Auburn

Brandon Deaderick- Alabama

 

They also had a WR named French who was offered by Marshall but never qualified academically.

 

Brandon Deaderick went on to excel at Alabama and play considerably minutes and contribute in the NFL

 

When you include David Jones from Belfry, the 2003 2A State Championship may have been the largest collection of collegiate talent to play in a State Final game (outside of the highest classification) since Highlands beat Owensboro with Bo Smith and Justin Miller.

I've got to admit, I don't find good stats impressive unless I know the caliber of that team's opponents. One hundred yards per game against the best teams in the state is way more impressive than four hundred per game against the worst.

The part I also give Duggins credence for is he started the Boyle run.

 

Towles three straight came on the back of decades of Highlands dominance.

 

Duggins went 45-0 at a Boyle County program who basically sprang from the depths under his guidance at QB.

 

Actually Boyle had sprung on the scene in '96 when Brad Johnson at QB and Neal Brown led the Rebels to the AA semi finals n lost a heart breaker at Breathitt in the middle of their streak.