From Elite 11 to Super 11, Trinity Christian QB Colin Hurley keeps focus on championship
Elite 11. Super 11. Future SEC quarterback.
The labels are everywhere. But as he takes the field for his final high school season, Colin Hurley is trying to keep the external noise to a minimum.
"It feels great to be named as a top quarterback in the country, to have that type of name and image," he said. "But it would be impossible without all of the guys on my team and my coaches."
The Trinity Christian quarterback adds to the Conquerors' long, long list of selections to the Times-Union's Super 11, recognizing Northeast Florida's top-rated high school football prospects entering their senior years.
Not so long ago, Hurley looked on course for the 2024 Super 11, not this year's edition. But he reclassified to the 2024 class last November, planning to complete high school in three years and then enroll at 2019 national champion LSU.
He said he's not focusing on the national buzz. Nor is he dwelling on last year's regional playoff loss to University Christian, which denied Trinity's quest for a third consecutive title.
"We're not really worried about anybody else," he said. "We're just worried about making each other better in practice and just holding each other to the highest standard."
CLIMBING THE NATIONAL LADDER
In June, Hurley became only the fifth quarterback in area history chosen at the national Elite 11 showcase for high school quarterbacks nationwide. The others are Jacksonville-area quarterback giants: Nease's Tim Tebow in 2005, Bartram Trail's Kyle Parker in 2007, Mandarin's Carson Beck in 2019 and Sandalwood's Jeff Sims in 2019.
A pocket-first passer with a potent right arm, Hurley stacks up as a four-star prospect for the national recruiting services, among the nation's top 20 at the position. In Baton Rouge, if all goes well, he could become the next starting quarterback to lead the Tigers amid the SEC's superpowers.
But the national evaluators aren't the only ones singing Hurley's praises. Just ask 33rd-year Conquerors coach and nine-time FHSAA champion Verlon Dorminey.
"He's special," Dorminey said. "To have him, it makes it easier in the passing game because the kid can make every throw, and he's a smart, tough, physical kid."
Dorminey gave Hurley his varsity debut as an eighth-grader on the Conquerors' 2020 state championship team, although he spent most of that season backing up Ja'Cory Jordan.
Hurley threw for 2,146 yards and 24 touchdowns in a freshman year capped with the FHSAA Class 2A title against Hialeah Champagnat.
His completion percentage dipped slightly (56.0 to 53.1) during a 2022 season hampered by a late-season wrist injury, but he significantly reduced his interceptions.
Where are they now? Look back at the Times-Union's Super 11 football selections from 2022
TARGET: THIRD TITLE
Reclassifying to the 2024 class means Hurley has only one more chance to win a third championship.
He enters his final year at Trinity needing 1,327 yards to join the 5,000-yard club. Trinity returns a pack of receivers, led by Charlotte-committed Miles Burris, with the skills to help make that happen. With 27 seniors on board, the Conquerors in theory occupy prime position for a championship. But there's no guarantee: University Christian proved that last year, toppling Trinity for the first time in 30 years.
The quest is on.
"That's what we're all working on doing, pushing each other, keeping each other accountable to make sure that we're at that level of play," he said.
The goal: championship No. 10 for Dorminey, who would tie former Bolles coach Corky Rogers for most state championships ever for a coach, and for the Conquerors, who would join Bolles and St. Thomas Aquinas as Florida's only teams to hit double figures.
One more season in Conquerors blue and black. One more chance to go out on top alongside his Trinity teammates.
"We've known each other since we were little kids," Hurley said. "That relationship's really strong with all of us. We're all brothers and we're all going to see each other go far in life."
QB Colin Hurley
School: Trinity Christian
Height/weight: 6-2, 215.
Recruiting status: Committed to LSU.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Colin Hurley, Trinity Christian: Northeast Florida Super 11 football
