Vote: Who is the top quarterback in Michigan high school football?

Michigan high school football Power 25: Belleville remains team to beat in 2023

Michigan high school sports scores

Best high school football linebackers in the nation entering the 2023 season

Let’s take a closer look at some of the top returning quarterbacks in high school football for the 2023 season in Michigan.

Plenty of worthy names are on this list, so be sure to read through the nominees and vote in our poll for who you think will be the top returning quarterbacks for the upcoming season. 

Voting will close on August 20 at 11:59 p.m.

Editor’s note: Our corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. This poll is specifically for fans to vote on the players that have been nominated and in no way discredits any other player who may not be mentioned in our poll.

If you are a coach and you'd like to add a nominee before the poll closes, please email butler@scorebooklive.com.

Bryce Underwood, junior, Belleville

Underwood is a top-tier, blue-chip, and the state’s most prized, recruit. A rising-junior, the signal caller is the No. 1 overall player in the nation in the 2025 class, according to 247sports.com's composite rankings.

The Tigers’ star remains uncommitted, but he has his pick of the Power Five litter. Underwood threw for 2,762 yards and recorded 37 touchdown.

He led Belleville to its first-ever unbeaten season and its second consecutive Michigan Division 1 state title.

CJ Carr, senior, Saline

Carr is the nation’s No. 36 recruit in the 2024 class and No. 4 quarterback. The 4-star is a Notre Dame commit and the top recruit in the state in the senior class. 

Carr led a high-powered Hornets offense in 2022, as Saline went 8-3. Carr considered reclassifying and enrolling with the Irish this fall, but in the end opted not to. Carr was invited to the Elite 11, and is the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr. As a junior, he was named to the all-state first team offense.

Isaiah Marshall, senior, Southfield A&T

Marshall is the state’s second-highest senior quarterback recruit, behind Carr. He’s the No. 9 player in the 2024 class, and the nation’s No. 27 quarterback. The 6-foot, 200-pound signal caller committed to Kansas in early February. 

As a junior, he threw for 2,571 yards and 27 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,065 yards and 18 more scores, while leading Southfield to an 8-3 record.

Kalieb Osborne, senior, Waterford Mott

Osborne was one of just two juniors named to the Division 2 all-state first team offense. The signal caller has an impressive 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame and is the state No. 15 recruit in the 2024 class and nation’s No. 50 quarterback. 

Osborne committed to Toledo in February, but has since taken a visit, and been offered by Syracuse. Osborne plays for the school’s basketball team as well.

Vaughn Brown, senior, Erie Mason

A three sport athlete (football, basketball, track), Brown is a leader “on and off” the field for coach Steven Bowers’ program. 

Brown will be entering his third season as starting varsity quarterback, coming off a year in which he threw for 1,776 yards (a school record) and set the single-game, school-history, passing yards record with 369 against Summerfield. He also put up 358 yards and eight touchdowns in the first half of Erie Mason’s season-opener. 

Also, the team’s starting safety (earning first team all-conference honors), Brown “is committed to the weight room and has become a role model for younger athletes in our community,” Bowers said.

Cason Carswell, junior, Mason

Carswell broke the school record for passing yards and touchdowns in 2022 as just a sophomore and was rewarded with a spot on the all-state teams. 

“He gives us a great passing threat in every game and quick strike capability,” coach Gary Houghton said. “True student of the game and film study.”

Preston Otter, senior, Nouvel Catholic Central

Otter has split time at quarterback the last two seasons, while also playing receiver and safety. He was all-league and region last season and already possesses offers from “most” of the GLIAC. 

This season, the 6-foot-3 dual threat signal caller will get the chance to be the lone starter and coach Andrew Weigl has high expectations.

Beau Jackson, junior, Detroit Catholic Central

At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, Jackson has an imposing frame for a quarterback of his age. He’s already equipped with offers from five Division I schools and has been working on a variety of things this offseason ahead of his junior season. 

Coach Justin Cessante cited his uptick in speed and improved ability to make high-level reads, as well as lead. He said Jackson has “great arm accuracy and strength.”

Graham Junge, junior, Flat Rock

A three-year starter, Junge returns this fall to direct Flat Rock’s offense once more on the tail of a historic year in which he threw for a Monroe County record 1,942 yards and 23 touchdowns. 

An all-league and all-state player, Junge is, “the focal point of our offense, both throwing and running and has many weapons to distribute the ball to,” coach Brandon Reaume said.

Aidan Grzesikowski, junior, Madison Heights Lamphere

Grzesikowski has started for the Rams since his freshman season. Last season, he made the move to quarterback, after a career largely defined by his work in the defensive secondary. 

Grzesikowski had a breakout year on offense and helped push the Madison Heights Lamphere to an 8-3 season and its best offensive year, statistically, in school history. Coach Raymond Ostrowski expects another huge season as a junior in 2023.

Eddie Cesar, senior, Lutheran North

Cesar is a two-time all-league quarterback/defensive back who was named all-county in 2022. He has started on varsity since he was a freshman, but last season was his first at quarterback. 

Given the chance to start, he threw for 16 touchdowns, ran for 16 more, and even caught one. Cesar runs a “legitimate” 4.6 second 40-yard dash and will be a “tough matchup for any team on our schedule,” coach Garrett Wenzelburger said.

Hayden Stevens, senior, Clawson

An all-leaguer last year, Stevens threw for 877 yards and eight touchdowns while also leading the secondary from the free safety spot. A Clawson Maverick since his youth, Stevens started at slot receiver as a freshman and has since transitioned the quarterback where coach Steve Haney sees a standout year in store. 

“Hayden's value to the team is that he loves Clawson football as much, or more, than anyone and has been the most committed team member all off-season,” Haney said.

Andrew Schuster, senior, Chippewa Valley

Schuster, at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, will be entering his second year as starting quarterback this season. A all-conference and county player, who landed on the All-East second team, Schuster threw for 1,433 yards, 12 touchdowns and only two interceptions last season, with a 63.7 percent completion rate. 

He’s the most recent quarterback in a family full of them as one of his brothers is the starting quarterback at North Dakota, and the other at Lafayette. 

Schuster, himself, has offers from Indiana Wesleyan, Indianapolis, GVSU, Findlay, St. Thomas, Davenport, Tiffin, Northwood and Madonna.

Reqez Nance, senior, West Bloomfield

Nance has 3,097 yards and 30 touchdowns, to go along with 865 rushing yards and another seven scores on the ground in what has been an exceptional career thus far. 

He missed four games last season with a broken finger, but he enters his senior campaign with several school records in reach. 

Coach Zachary Hilbers called him a “dynamic dual threat quarterback with a cannon arm.”

Braylen Amos, senior, Portage Northern

Amos was an all-conference second team receiver last season out of the slot, but will be taking his offensive snaps at quarterback now, where he’s served as a backup for the past two seasons. 

“He knows our offense inside-out and is a dynamic dual-threat,” coach Kurt Twichell said. 

Also a defensive back, Amons holds offers from Lawrence Tech and numerous Division 3 schools as both a wideout and defensive back. Now it’s time to see how that athleticism translates to a full-time role under center.

Nicholas Warren, junior, Thurston

Warren started throughout 2022 as a sophomore and is a “threat whether passing or running the ball,” coach Nick Davis said. 

Warren is a dual sport athlete and played varsity as a sophomore on the basketball team, too. 

“He has grown as a passer and quarterback this summer and will show that this fall,” Davis said. 

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