Pickles in El Paso: NFC star quarterback officially signs to UTEP football

Tallahassee sits just under 1,500 miles away from El Paso, Texas, and JP Pickles is ready to embrace his new home.

"It's definitely far, but it's beautiful over there," Pickles said. "I've never been that far west, but I really love it."

The now North Florida Christian graduate, Pickles is set to enroll early at the University of Texas El Paso, heading west on Friday as he is officially signed to play football for the Miners.

"It's definitely a blessing to be able to leave early," Pickles said "It's going to help me a lot in the long run."

Pickles was a star quarterback for NFC and is one of the Big Bend's elite football players, racking up All-Big Bend selections, the 2023 Florida Dairy Farmers Class 2S Player of the Year and recording over a century's worth of touchdowns.

Helping lead NFC to the FHSAA 2S State semifinals in his senior season, Pickles threw for 2,891 yards and 23 touchdowns and added 1,249 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground, proving to be one of the area's top dual-threat quarterbacks.

Committed first to Austin Peay, Pickles made the flip to UTEP late as former Governors coach Scotty Walden took the leading role in El Paso. Walden was key in Pickles recruitment, saying he followed the coach because of the relationship the two developed.

On signing day, Pickles gained national attention after UTEP tweeted out his signing was official, prompting the Portland Pickles, a minor league baseball team in Oregon, to reach out to the NFC star.

"They reached out to me after the tweet, and they are going to send me some merchandise or something," Pickles said.

Pickles won't be going to El Paso, as friend and teammate Josh Schuchts is joining his high school quarterback at UTEP.

"It's super cool knowing that somebody I went to high school with, I get to go to the next phase of my life with," Pickles said about going to UTEP with Schuchts.

"The best quarterback I've ever coached"

Heading into uncharted territory, NFC head football coach Brent Hill thinks Pickles will thrive in El Paso.

A quiet but strong leader, Hill feels the Miners got someone special in Pickles, and he won't be shocked to see him on the field at the Sun Bowl sooner rather than later.

"He leads by actions and he doesn't speak a lot, but when he does people listen," Hill said. "I threw a lot at him when I first got here and he handled it really well, each year he got better and he's a high-character kid."

Playing in an era of high school sports that involves constant roster turnover, Pickles stuck with NFC for his entire preps career and Hill thinks his loyalty is a testament to his work ethic. One of the top players in Eagles history, Pickles earned a reputation as one of the team's top competitors according to Hill.

"I don't think you're gonna find somebody that's more competitive," Hill said. "At the quarterback position, you got to be smart, which he is, and the thing that you're not going to do is outwork him. That's why it won't shock me if he plays he's just too competitive and he wants to please. He's been special."

Pickles and Hill shared a strong player and coach relationship, and the star quarterback summed up his time with NFC and Hill with just a few words.

"Thank you coach Hill," Pickles said.

For Hill, the respect is mutual as he feels he's never coached a quarterback like Pickles during his decades of experience.

"He's very smart and I will go down saying this, you won't out-compete him," Hill said. "I've been coaching since 1998 and he's the best quarterback I've ever coached."

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: JP Pickles signs to UTEP football, will early enroll with the Miners