State’s leading passer, Sabby Measick, says he’s a heavy lean toward Wake Forest

Tohopakeliga quarterback Sabby Meassick may only be a sophomore, but the state’s leading passer already knows which college has all of his attention.

“Wake Forest for sure,” Meassick said. “Just the culture, the school is nice, the coaches really like me and the atmosphere is great. I love it.”

Meassick is yet to receive a scholarship offer from Wake Forest, but he said he is leaning toward the Demon Deacons, nonetheless. If they were to offer today, Meassick said he would commit on the spot.

“Yeah, Wake hasn’t offered me yet but they have shown a lot of interest in me,” Meassick said. “It’s the most interest I have ever gotten from a school.”

The sophomore currently leads all classes in the state of Florida with 3,843 yards passing through 11 weeks of the football season. That will likely change. Meassick’s season is over, while the three players behind him — Luke Knight of Wiregrass Ranch (3,602), Noah Grubbs of Lake Mary (3,515) and Haden Klees (3,331) — are on teams set to play Friday, Nov. 17, state playoff games.

“It does kinda suck, but at the end of the day, I was leading the state at the end of the season,” Meassick said. “But I wish we had made it to the postseason so I had more of a chance to add to it.”

Meassick currently has three Football Bowl Subdivision offers from Florida, Ohio and Marshall, and one Football Championship Subdivision offer from Richmond according to 247Sports. For a guy who’s leading the state in passing, it seems he should have a few more offers, but Meassick shrugs it off.

“It kind of does frustrate me sometimes because it’s difficult to understand. There’s more to it with the whole business side to it. …. more than just the actual game,” Meassick said. “So that makes it a lot more difficult to choose your school.”

The Name, Image and Likeness part is a big deal in the recruiting process, as well, and Meassick said that throws even more into the learning process.

“The NIL is very important, so that’s a whole other thing you have to worry about and deal with,” Meassick said.

A drawback for some college coaches is Meassick’s size. Recruiters tend to skip past quarterbacks who are 6-foot and under, and with Meassick standing in at 6-foot and weighing 165 pounds, some have held off with scholarship offers.

“I think it’s because of my height. That’s the No. 1 thing. I can maybe get a little bit bigger,” Meassick said, “but the height, I’ll just have to wait and see. If there was something I could do about it, I would do it.”

Florida Gators offer 8th-grade quarterback Sabby Meassick of Foundation Academy

His offer from Florida came from former Gators coach Dan Mullin, when Meassick was an 8th-grader at Foundation Academy, but the prolific passer said he has been in contact with current coach Billy Napier and his staff and the offer still stands.

“[Coach Napier] has [reached out] a little bit and I’ve been talking to the offensive coordinator [Rob Sale] too,” Meassick said. “It’s been going good. I’m still learning my way through and I’m going to find out more information going forward.”

Meassick, who lives in Osceola County, decided to transfer from Foundation Academy to Toho when Anthony Paradiso was hired as the Tigers new head coach in 2022, after resigning from Lake Nona in December of 2021. Paradiso’s quarterbacks are annually at or near the top of the state’s passing statistics.

Paradiso’s last standout passer was Michael Kern at Lake Nona. Kern is now at Wake Forest and was named the Demon Deacons starting quarterback on Tuesday. Wake travels to Notre Dame on Saturday and the 4-6 Deacons need victories in the final two games to assure bowl eligibility.

The state’s all-time leading passer, Tucker Israel, also came through the Air Diso program, before signing with Clemson in 2015. Israel ended his Lake Nona career with 14,082 passing yards and 162 touchdowns, both state records.

Meassick and Paradiso have guided the Tigers to a six-win season in each of their first two years at Toho.

Paradiso said Meassick is further along in his progress at this stage of his career than Israel was when he was a sophomore.

“Sabby is the most gifted quarterback I’ve ever had at this stage,” Paradiso said. “He is physically ahead [of Israel]. He has a stronger arm, and then the mental piece of it, his football IQ [is advanced]. “Everything we’re putting on him is as much as I would have put on Tucker his senior year.”

Meassick and Israel are the only freshmen to have worn the No. 8 jersey, which every starting quarterback wears under Paradiso.

“I talk to both Tucker and Michael Kern,” Meassick said. “Just the connection between me and Michael Kern and the coaches at Wake Forest is unbelievable.”

Paradiso said height should not hold Meassick back. He said Israel was also 6-foot when he signed with Clemson, as was Kern, who has grown to 6-foot-2 at Wake Forest.

“Height won’t matter. It’s gonna be the progression,” Paradiso said. “When these guys look at the film they want to see. … Can he make every throw, mentally is he capable of dealing with the game and, then the other piece, is he continuing to progress each season.

“If you go back and look at his freshman film, he’s leaps and bounds better in his sophomore season. The cerebral piece, just what he’s able to hold, is very high level.”

Meassick has been quarterbacking since he was 6-years-old, and he won the Coaches Award at the Collin Drafts Orlando QB Shootout in 2015 as a 7-year-old.

He also currently works with quarterback coach Chris Leach, who was a QB on the Florida Gators 2006 national championship team.

“Yeah Sabby’s been zoned in and what’s cool is that he’s been training with Chris Leak, and I’ve know Chris Leak for years,” Paradiso said. “So Chris Leak and I, we talk, and he’s not just a quarterback coach, he says, ‘Coach, how can I make him better for you?’ So there’s a connection between myself, Chris Leak and Sabby, so it’s good.

“So it’s not where you’re at, it’s about where you are going to end up. If he just continues to keep going and worry about the things he can control, which isn’t his height, but how he plays and how he develops then the skies going to be the limit. It only takes one school to like him to get that opportunity.”

Paradiso also tries to make sure Meassick does not let the recruiting process define him and that he has to also grow as a person.

“It can’t be all about ball,” Paradiso said. “He’s a kid who is working so hard to reach his goals that he also has to find time to breathe and enjoy relationships and enjoy moments. That’s the other piece I’m trying to teach him. It’s OK to have fun.”

Chris Hays covers high school and college football and college football recruiting. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) @OS_ChrisHays or on Instagram @OS_ChrisHays. Email him at chays@orlandosentinel.com.