Super 16: Farrior Runs Devils' Attack

Sun. August 19, 2012 at 2:08 a.m. | By Polk Preps Staff

Kathleen's A'treyu Farrior heads into his senior season with thoughts on earning respect from his teammates and college scouts. (Photo by MICHAEL WILSON | THE LEDGER )

By HASANI HARPER | LEDGER CORRESPONDENT

LAKELAND | A'Treyu Farrior always wanted to be the quarterback at Kathleen. But coach Irving Strickland wasn't ready to give him the job.

"He had big shoes to fill," Strickland said. 

Those shoes belonged to three-year starter Isaac O'Neal. 

"I told him to play at receiver his sophomore year on varsity to learn the routes we run and how we attacked certain coverages," Strickland said. "I felt the transition to quarterback would be easier then because he would have an understanding of what we wanted to accomplish with our offense."

There was evidence early in his junior season that the transition to quarterback wasn't as easy as Farrior thought it would be. 

"I wasn't very confident in the beginning and played nervous," Farrior said. "There were times when I had to calm myself down." 

Strickland felt Farrior might have been lacking confidence in his abilities.

"He knew the plays, but there would be times when he would end up calling the wrong plays, which led to a lot of delay of games," Strickland said. 

It was about the time of the Winter Haven game when Strickland decided to quicken the pace of the offense. 

"As a coach, you have to adjust your system to your kids," he said. "When it became evident that going to a no-huddle offense didn't give Trey time to think, but just play, I noticed him become more comfortable in the offense."

"I started to get a feel of what was asked of me in the offense," Farrior said. "And the week before we played Lake Gibson, I started to take watching film and studying the plays more serious." 

Farrior threw for 1,635 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. He is one of this year's PolkPreps.com Super 16 selections, a list of the top 16 rising seniors in Polk County. 

His strong arm and athletic ability helped him land a scholarship offer from Bethune-Cookman University. 

Now he is hoping to step up his play in his senior year to earn the respect of more colleges as well as his teammates.

"My coaches want to see more leadership from me on the field," Farrior said. "I need to be more calm and patient when I step on the field so my teammates will look at me for guidance."