WALL, TX — Gunnar Dillard, who has been the quarterback of the Wall High School football team the last two seasons, has opted to sit out the 2024 football season.
Dillard is committed to the University of Oklahoma for baseball, and that's where he wants to focus his efforts, said Wall head coach Craig Slaughter.
"He's a great leader and a tough kid, and man you love coaching kids like that. I'm a big fan of his, and I wish him the very best," Slaughter said. "It's just one of those weird situations where he has the potential to have a very good future in baseball."
Wall Hawks Gunnar Dillard
(Credit: Wall Hawks Athletic Booster Page)
Dillard led Wall to an 11-3 record and a spot in the state quarterfinals last year. He was his district's Offensive MVP after accounting for nearly 1,900 yards of offense. He threw for 1,197 yards and 17 TDs — despite averaging only 11 passes per game — and he added 673 rushing yards and 16 TDs, averaging 4.5 yards per carry.
Wall will open football workouts for the upcoming season in less than two weeks on Aug. 5.
Slaughter said junior Landon York and senior Caleb Braden are the frontrunners to replace Dillard as Wall's quarterback. The Hawks are preparing to move to a pass-based spread offense this fall.
"(York) has a ton of those same qualities (as Dillard)," Slaughter said. "We haven't seen him do it on Friday nights, but that's through no fault of his own. He just hasn't had a chance to do it on Friday nights. And then we have Caleb Braden, and those two kids will get the most looks there.
"That's one of the advantages of being in Wall. There's a lot of good players here, and there will be some kids who step up."
Wall will also be without Luke Kemp this season. The ace pitcher on the Hawks baseball team, Kemp had over 500 rushing yards and was a first-team all-district kicker for Wall's football team.
Like Dillard, Kemp has chosen to concentrate on baseball.
Dillard is a catcher who posted a .564 batting average last season and a .648 on-base percentage. He hit 5 home runs, 17 doubles and 3 triples.
Kemp, who has a fastball that can approach the mid-90s, had a .468 batting average and .532 on-base percentage with 6 HRs, 12 doubles and 2 triples.
Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily
Required
Post a comment to this article here: