Here's how 2 freshman quarterbacks became starters for Livingston County football teams

HOWELL - Palmer VanDeven hoped to play quarterback well enough on Howell’s freshman football team this fall to make an impression on varsity coach Brian Lewis.

With a senior ahead of him, Jax Raymond figured this would be a season of honing his skills on the junior varsity before taking over as Pinckney’s starting quarterback the next three years.

But circumstances changed, so plans changed and career trajectories were accelerated.

Howell quarterback Justin Jones suffered an injury that prevented him from taking snaps. Pinckney’s offense managed only six points through three games.

Opportunity beckoned for two freshmen to become starting quarterbacks of their respective teams.

Freakish athletes like Jayru Campbell of Detroit Cass Tech (2011) and Bryce Underwood of Belleville (2021) have made playing quarterback as freshmen on the varsity look easy, leading their teams to state championships as ninth-graders.

But being a varsity quarterback as a freshman isn’t normal and definitely isn’t easy.

In fact, with VanDeven and Raymond starting for their teams, the number of freshmen starting varsity quarterbacks in Livingston County history has doubled.

According to Livingston Daily research, the only freshmen to start at quarterback in this county were Todd Cowan in 1980 and Zach Trainor in 2017, both at Hartland. Both also transferred to other schools by their sophomore years, Cowan to Detroit Catholic Central and Trainor to Walled Lake Western.

Howell coach Brian Lewis remembers how nerve-wracking it was to take the field for his first start at quarterback at Warren De La Salle — and he was a senior.

“Things were moving pretty fast out there,” said Lewis, who helped the Pilots reach the state Division 2 championship game in 2006. “There’s a lot of things happening that you’re not exactly sure what’s going on, but you kind of pull it together the more that you get.”

The learning curve is even steeper for 14-year-olds who were playing against middle schoolers last fall.

“Oh, it’s crazy,” said VanDeven, who had a 3-yard touchdown run in his debut Week 2 against Canton. “I was so anxious and nervous. Now the game has kind of slowed down for me. I know how to take my own tempo and calm myself down.”

Raymond dressed for Pinckney’s opener at Lake Fenton as a five-quarter player after playing in the J.V. game. He came off the sideline in the fourth quarter and threw a pick-six on his first high school pass.

Three weeks later, he was starting against Jackson, going 17-for-26 for 187 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

“Obviously, it’s nerve racking, but having a little bit of playing time in earlier games made it a little less nerve racking,” Raymond said. “The guys were really supportive.”

Against Jackson, 16 of Raymond’s 17 completions were to junior receiver Nolan Carruthers, who set a county record for most catches in a game. The last two weeks, Raymond has spread the ball around, connecting with five receivers against Tecumseh and four against Ypsilanti.

“I didn’t even realize I was throwing to him that much,” Raymond said. “He gets open, so … the Tecumseh game, we got the ball to all the receivers. We ran a lot of different pass plays, so it was easier to get the ball to everyone.”

Perhaps easing the transition for VanDeven is he plays in an offense that doesn’t require the quarterback to throw much. Although he’s been a passing quarterback throughout his youth career, he’s primarily tasked with handing the ball to Aiden Horvath, Justin Jones and Ethan Keider in Howell’s full-house offense.

VanDeven is 10-for-17 for 131 yards.

VanDeven had three starts to his credit when he took the field for his first rivalry game last Friday before a large homecoming crowd at Hartland. Although the Highlanders lost 35-22, it was an experience he savored.

“It was amazing,” he said. “It was their homecoming. Everybody came to watch. It’s just one of those games you’ve got to go out there and show your talent to everybody. It was a great day, even though we lost. It was eye-opening.”

Raymond is getting his first varsity experience under adverse conditions, playing for a Pinckney team that is 0-6. When Pirates coach Jason Carpenter decided to make the change at quarterback, he wasn’t concerned his freshman could have his confidence shattered being put in a situation where it’s tough to succeed.

“I don’t know if you can shake that kid’s confidence,” Carpenter said. “He’s just so calm, cool, collected, even-keeled. He’s going to make some mistakes, and he already knows that. But he’s made more plays than the mistakes he’s made, which has been nice to see. Being a Raymond, watching his two older brothers play before him, he has that pedigree. It’s been nice to see our offense get a little bit better with him back there.”

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Howell, Pinckney football teams starting freshman quarterbacks