Gautier turning to ‘graceful’ athlete Trey Irving to lead Marc High’s air raid attack
Gautier High School didn’t have to leave the Irving bloodline to find its next quarterback.
There’s nothing familiar about junior Trey Irving’s appearance on the field. His wiry, 6-foot-nothing frame sets him apart from his 215-pound older cousin, and his quick feet add a new element to the Gators’ attack that leaves Kaden Irving — now an Ole Miss baseball player — shaking his head on the sideline.
“He’s better than me,” the elder Irving said matter-of-factly during Gautier’s jamboree game against Biloxi.
Trey Irving’s first extended action as a starting quarterback saw him unofficially complete 8 of 16 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns to one interception in a two-quarter, 20-17 preseason win over the Indians.
His play under center helped Gautier, from the 5A classification, overcome an early 14-0 deficit to the 7A Biloxi squad.
“Trey doesn’t get riled up a whole lot, he doesn’t get upset,” head coach Marc High said of his new quarterback. “He’s very even-keeled, he keeps going. You saw it here tonight, he’s got some athleticism and surprisingly a pretty good arm for his size.”
High needed to find an arm to replace the roughly 4,000 passing yards that left the right hand of Kaden Irving last year, and the 11,000-plus career yards that made him one of the three most prolific quarterbacks the Coast has seen.
In stepped Trey, who provides the elite arm strength, plus an athletic backfield presence and a propensity for leadership.
“Really just want to be a leader for my team, being the guy the team can look up to when they need it,” Trey said. “I’m dual threat, I can do anything, anything you need me to do.”
That ability to lead manifested itself immediately. Irving opened Friday’s action just 1-for-4 with an ugly interception thrown across the middle of the field in the end zone.
All he did after that was throw touchdowns of 34, 47 and 62 yards, the longest of which came on a go-route where his leg cramped up mid-throw.
“In the pocket, as a quarterback, he doesn’t get rattled whatsoever,” Kaden said. “You won’t find athleticism like his. Watching him play is kind of graceful and beautiful to watch. Not like me, where there was a lot of effort with some stuff. Trey is a different breed of kid. He’s going to have a special year.”
Translating skills and finding new targets
Trey Irving isn’t your typical passer.
He’s thrown 30 passes over two seasons as Kaden’s backup, but spent last year primarily working as a wide receiver. From the edge of the offense, he hauled in 23 passes and scored six times.
His experience on the other end of the ball has helped him develop his timing from the pocket.
“I learned a lot, like where the receiver needs to be, where the quarterback needs to pass the ball, where the receiver needs to break on their routes,” Irving said. “I learned a lot from playing receiver.”
His move to quarterback and the losses of receivers AJ Phillips and Dillon Alfred has created a 150-catch hole that needs to be filled.
The leading returning target, senior Kelvin Beavers, caused fits for the Indians’ secondary with his after-the-catch prowess, while junior Kainen Rush hauled in over 100 yards worth of touchdown receptions.
“I like my receiver corps this year,” Irving said. “We didn’t lose anybody, it’s next man up.”
High says he’s expecting “big things” from Rush along with Beavers as the Gators’ top two receivers.
With Irving at the helm, the Gators’ airboat-in-a-swamp offense still carries with it a real potential to finally nab the school’s first district title since 2008.
“He was born to lead and he was born to lead this team,” Kaden said through a smile.
