CRESTVIEW — Rising junior Rusty Moorer enters the 2015 football season firmly entrenched as Crestview High School's quarterback.
Bulldog Coach Tim Hatten pulls no punches when expressing Moorer's importance to the team.
“We will be as he will be,” Hatten said. “There’s no doubt about it. If he’s average, we will be average. If he’s poor, we are going to be poor. If he’s great, we are going to be great. That’s just the nature of the beast in this business.”
Although Moorer will be a junior, Hatten said he has to act like a senior, but that shouldn’t be a problem.
“He’s got a lot of confidence,” Hatten said. “The biggest thing that is holding him back is he thinks too much. He probably thinks he’s progressed a little further than he has.
“He still has to learn some things. He’s progressed in the position well, but he has to continue to do that.”
Moorer said Hatten continually picks his brain, asking him questions about the fine points of the Bulldog offense.
“He (Hatten) makes sure I understand everything,” Moorer said.
Moorer — who took over as the starting quarterback about midway through last season — said his first year on the varsity was a real eye opener.
“You have to get used to the speed of the game and all the reads on offense,” he said. “You have to know what every man is doing. You have to trust your receivers and have the patterns and timing down pat.”
Moorer, the Crestview basketball team's starting point guard, embraces the similarities of his two roles. He said quarterback and point guard are leadership positions that require a complete understanding of the offense.
Hatten believes playing basketball will only make Moorer a better football player.
“I think the more times you get shot at with live bullets the more you get used to it,” he said. “It doesn’t matter whether you are playing football, basketball or baseball — you can only be put in game pressure in a game.
“During the offseason in football, we can’t do one thing that prepares us for pressure. The best thing is to play basketball like Rusty did. Standing on the free throw line trying to tie a ball game up with about three ticks left — that’s pressure.”
Moorer said one of his strengths is his ability to get out of the pocket and deliver a pass. That said, he knows there’s still work to do in his game.
“I have to get my arm stronger and improve my footwork,” he said.
Hatten will continue to coach Moorer up this spring, but he’s not too concerned about the results in May.
“It’s not going to be do or die,” he said. “We are going to get him 17 days of football practice, and that’s all it is, practice. If he makes a mistake and throws a pick and learns from it, that’s just as valuable as if he throws a touchdown.
“I think he’s going to be OK. I feel pretty good about him.”
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Bulldog football coach: team rises & falls with this quarterback