Armed and Dangerous

Briles and Hodges have emerged as two of state's best quarterbacks

Published: Friday, September 22, 2000

Bobby Davis didn't think long or hard before describing the ideal blueprint for a Frenship quarterback.

''I think you'd have to draw a picture of Kendal Briles if you wanted to come up with the perfect quarterback for what we want to do,'' said Davis, long recognized as an offensive trendsetter in West Texas high school football. ''We've had really good quarterbacks through the years who could do different things, but we've never had a kid who could do it all. Kendal can do it all.''

Craig Yenzer had an idea of what kind of quarterback he wanted when Hereford opted for a shotgun-based spread offense four years ago. After all, he'd seen a promising junior high kid who fit the bill exactly.

That kid Cody Hodges steered the Whitefaces to the Class 4A Division I state championship game last season.


Herford quarterback Cody Hodges throws the ball during a September 8th game against Tascosa in Amarillo.

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''We decided several years ago to open things up a little bit because we were getting frustrated with the way defenses were stacking up eight or nine guys at the line of scrimmage and daring you to throw the ball,'' Yenzer said. ''And then when we saw Cody and the things he was capable of, we tried to tailor it to him a little. Watching him and knowing what he could do gave us the confidence that we could open things up a little and be very successful.''

Whether it's been coincidence or by design, both Frenship and Hereford are reaping the rewards of having the perfect quarterback in the perfect system at the perfect time.

Briles and Hodges are not only two of the state's best prep quarterbacks this season, they also might be the prototype signal-callers of the near future at the high school level.

With high school defenses loading up with better athletes and more speed than in the past, offenses have found it necessary to spread the field more to open up running lanes. One of the biggest keys to having success with a wide-open offense is a multi-talented quarterback who is equally dangerous running the ball or throwing it.

''The way offenses have developed, coaches want to put the ball in the hands of their playmakers as much as possible,'' said Hodges, whose quarterback artistry last season produced more than 3,000 total yards and 35 touchdowns. ''If that means we need to throw it 40 times a game, then you have to have somebody who can do that. If it means running the ball 50 times a game, you need somebody who can make the right reads and decisions.''

In other words, you need someone like Briles or Hodges.

First of all, both players have good size for a high school quarterback. Briles is 6-foot and 180 pounds, while Hodges is 6-1, 190.

In addition to their size, Briles and Hodges are armed with the requisite tools to dominate: speed, quickness and an accurate arm.

''If you're a quarterback who can be a threat both passing and running, you make the offense that much better,'' said Briles, who has accounted for 779 total yards and has had a hand in 11 touchdowns through two games. ''A quarterback who can scramble effectively puts a lot of pressure on the defense, because they have to pay attention to the receivers and to what the quarterback might do.''

But Briles and Hodges possess more than just physical skills. They both have intangible qualities that are a result of natural ability and skills acquired through years of watching and imitating.

Briles, whose father Art Briles guided Stephenville to four Class 4A state championships in the 1990s, was one of the forerunners of wide-open offensive schemes. In the mid-1980s when he was at Hamlin, Art Briles installed the framework of what evolved into Stephenville's high-powered offense.

Kendal Briles watched his father's teams practice, learned what Art Briles preached on the football field and along the way developed into a top-notch high school quarterback.

''As a quarterback you always watch other people and see if you can pick up on anything that will make you better,'' he said. ''My dad and I always threw the ball around and he showed me fundamental stuff, but the thing he helped with the most was how to read defenses and what kind of things you need to think about in certain situations.''

That ability to read defenses and make quick decisions might be the one skill that sets Briles and Hodges apart from most of their counterparts.

In Hereford's offense, Hodges is required to make reads at the line before the ball is snapped and then adjust to whatever stunts or blitzes the defense might deploy. Although Hodges has been the Hereford starting quarterback since his freshman year in 1997, making the right adjustments wasn't exactly one of his strengths early in his career.

''When I first started at quarterback in this offense, I had no idea what to look for or how to make adjustments,'' he said. ''I tried to get by on skill and physical ability alone and sometimes that worked.''

But not always. It wasn't until early in his sophomore season ironically in a 31-28 victory at Frenship when Hodges discovered a comfort zone. Ever since then, with the aid of several camps and hours spent with Yenzer watching film, Hodges has mastered the art of decision-making.

Armed with overwhelming confidence last season, Hodges made the Herd offense nearly impossible to stop. Hereford averaged 351.7 yards and 33.1 points a game during the regular season, scoring 27 points or more in every game but one.

''Cody has really matured and become that much more dangerous in our offense,'' Yenzer said. ''When he was younger, if he felt any pressure he was going to take off running. Now he has the patience and the courage to stand in the pocket or move with it and keep his eyes downfield until he finds the right receiver.''

By design, Briles still uses the option of running, whether called for on a play or when the defense applies pressure. He has rushed for more than 100 yards in each of Frenship's first two contests, adding another weapon to the already diverse Tiger attack.

Davis is no stranger to adding plays or altering formations to fit his team's personnel. But he said he and his coaches tinkered with the offense more than usual during the offseason in order to incorporate more chances for Briles to use his speed.

''We still do a lot of the things we've always done, but Kendal gives us the opportunity to add some different wrinkles,'' Davis said. ''We want to give him as many chances to do something with the ball as possible.''

Last fall Stephenville followed that plan and Briles responded. The Yellow Jackets went 16-0 and rolled to their second consecutive state title, and Briles was named the 4A offensive player of the year by the Associated Press.

If there was any doubt that he could adapt to a different offense at a new school, he answered all questions in his debut with 410 total yards, five TD passes and two rushing TDs in a 47-20 triumph over Canyon.

''Playing quarterback has always been a natural fit for him, so I think he could do it in just about any system,'' Art Briles said. ''I knew he'd be able to fit in at Frenship however they wanted to use him, and they've done a great job of blending his skills in with the talent they already had.''

Hodges, likewise, would most likely be a quarterback regardless of the system around him. But he knows he's in an offense that fits him like a glove.

''I've always wanted to be a quarterback no matter what kind of offense we were going to run, but I think being in the system we have now is perfect for me,'' he said. ''I've got the kind of tools you need to do well for us, and I've been able to learn to do some of the mental things pretty well.''

In Hodges' case, he has also helped set the standard for Hereford's football future. The Whiteface coaches installed the spread offense at the seventh and eighth grade levels last year, and Yenzer said the Herd will continue to operate the offense unless and until it stops being effective.

Briles, meanwhile, has already become an influence on his young understudies at Frenship.

''He's an influence without having to say a word to those younger kids,'' Davis said. ''They watch him and try to emulate the things he does, and that's only going to make them better when it's their time to step in.''

Playing the style of quarterback they do should also benefit Briles and Hodges in the future.

Briles has orally committed to Texas as a defensive back, so he should be able to put his experience as a quarterback to good use at the college level.

Hodges is still being courted as a quarterback, especially by programs that have adopted the wide-open offensive attitude that Hodges has perfected at Hereford.

''Both of these guys are going to make an impact at the next level because they're capable of doing whatever a coach asks them to do,'' Yenzer said. ''They're going to take a lot of physical abilities to that next level, but they're also going to have the advantage of having played in an offensive system where they really had to be good thinking football players.''

Randy Rosetta can be contacted at 766-8743 or