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Zone Read: Wyatt Horton Unplugged

Arizona Sports News online

Three years ago Wyatt Horton was just another young quarterback on the depth chart at Pinnacle High School.

Not only would Horton lead Pinnacle to the 6A State Championship later that fall as a sophomore, he’d leave ‘Neer Nation as one of the most decorated signal-callers in program history,

Even more importantly, he’s helped transform lives on campus through his faith, self-less attitude, and ability to connect with his peers.

Earlier this week, “Zone Read” caught up with the Idaho State signee to reflect back, and look forward, to Horton’s life on, and off, the field.

When did you start playing quarterback? “I started playing quarterback when I started playing football, to be honest. I was around five. I liked throwing it, but it was more about the leadership. Even at five years-old, playing flag football, it was cool to see all my friends rally around the quarterback. I noticed that.”

Wait…so you took on a leadership role at age five, playing quarterback?!?! (smiling) “Yeah, looking back at it.”

Besides the leadership aspect, what’s your favorite part of the position? “It’s cool getting the ball every play, throwing it, and scoring touchdowns. It’s cool seeing guys follow you and that’s what being a quarterback lets you do. Not all quarterbacks are leaders. It’s not just a given thing. I’ve earned the leadership role. Being a quarterback is such a special thing because all eyes are on you all the time. I feel I was born to do it…and God has allowed me the leadership qualities.”

You finish your three-year varsity career with nearly 8,000 passing yards, almost 1,500 rushing yards, and 107 total touchdowns. Could you have envisioned this kind of success when you arrived at Pinnacle? “No. I mean, to be honest…I came into Pinnacle watching my older brother [Cade] play. [Football] was just a part of it. I had a decent freshman year. Nothing crazy. I kept working, kept grinding. I got some confidence. Then I was throw in there and named the starter [on varsity] as a sophomore. That was the tone-setter for my career. I think it was definitely up-and-down, in terms of knowing where I would be. But I’ve stayed the course.”

I remember being at Camp T. watching you guys before your sophomore year and Coach [Dana] Zupke pointed out the potential starters to me. You weren’t one of those quarterbacks mentioned. Is that kind of crazy to think about you’re going out as one of the most accomplished QB’s in Pinnacle history? “Yeah, it really is. There was kind of a little bit of disrespect from Coach Zupke, and Coach [Matt] Hanshaw [offensive coordinator] because there was that disrespect. There were two or three others guys ahead of me. Things lined up for me well. I was given my opportunity, and I never looked back.”

From the day you started your first varsity game, you’ve had that quiet confidence about yourself when you step on the field. Is that faith-driven, skill-driven? It seems like you elevated your game from the jump. “I think it’s a little bit of everything. It’s definitely faith-driven. I draw my confidence from the Lord. But, like everything, if you do something and it brings good results, you’re automatically going to see confidence. I think it was partly all the hard work, and the opportunity to show it. It was also good timing and I had good players around me. It was a little bit of everything.”

Full disclosure on this one please as I know, at the time, your thoughts were all over the place. What was your first reaction when you found out Dylan Raiola had transferred in from Chandler? “Yeah…that was definitely an interesting couple of days because, I was just sitting there lifting and I saw his head pop out of our locker room. I didn’t know a thing. Honestly, that was one of my biggest frustrations, because I wasn’t told from the jump. Our principal did a pretty poor job. I felt like I was disrespected, and not given [a heads up]…I definitely took it a certain way and I used it as even more motivation when I saw him poke his head in out of the blue.

“Coach Zupke sat me down and said, ‘Here’s the deal.’ I told him, ‘Here’s the deal on my end.’ I said, ‘I’m not going anywhere.'” He said, ‘Hey, Dylan just enrolled here.’ He was probably looking for some kind of reaction and I said, ‘Cool. That doesn’t change anything for me. I’m trying to win a state championship.’

“It was interesting. Definitely a lot of emotions. I sat down and told [Zupke], ‘I’m going to have to do this in college. I knew in the long run, it would be good for me to compete and get used to it.’ I know if I could compete with the number one player in America, I can compete with anyone.”

Off the field, you’ve also really left your mark here at Pinnacle. Explain what Club Impact is and why it’s so important to you and your faith. “It’s connected to Impact Church [in Scottsdale] and it’s Pastor Darrison [Tellez]. One of last year’s seniors reached out and said, ‘You should come talk to the team.’ So, he did. He just spoke to some varsity football players. About 35 showed up and it was amazing. Incredible message. I was like, ‘It would be sweet if he could come [speak] every other week.’ 

“He starts coming back every other week and there’s like 45-50 [people] now. Then he started coming every week. There were like 65-70 and it just kept growing. I was like, ‘Let’s open up [his talks] to JV, let’s open it up to freshmen. Then, it was the basketball team, volleyball. Let’s open it up to other sports. So, we did. It got so big, we started using the big gym. So, we grew it and opened it up to the entire school and now Club has 450 people there every single Monday which is pretty special.

“It’s a special thing when you can get a public school and have faith. It’s not like anyone’s forced to go.”

Obviously, you lead by example on the field and you lean into your faith for the strength to be that leader. Do you walk a fine line not trying to push your faith too far others who may not share the same deep beliefs you do? “It’s a great question because that’s how life is. You and I are at different levels. We all have something in common because we play football and we’re in high school. 

“One of [Pastor] Darrison’s first messages was, ‘Life is hard. If you’re going to go far, go together.’ It’s just us trying to get people to know, life is tough. Have a friend. Have someone that has the same beliefs in you.”

From the people I’ve talked to in and around this football program, they always mention your selflessness and how you treat everyone in the program equally, regardless of their role. One of those is your classmate, and good friend, Will DeMauvise, who is a team manager here at Pinnacle. Will may not be as fortunate as you or I, but I know you’ve made a big impact on his life, as I’m sure he has on yours. What does his friendship mean to you? “Will is also a senior in our class. We’ve known each other since seventh grade at Explorer Middle School. That’s where we met. I know he has disabilities, and he’s in a wheel chair. He’s had some struggles at home. I know his dad passed away.

“I’m always amazed, to be honest, how he is, and how he’s always smiling. That’s inspiring to me, and to all of us. We just look at him as a senior. He’s just one of our friends. We don’t even look at all that. Will has gone through so much, and he’s still just Will. You don’t have to treat him different. He’s a funny kid who brings out a smile in all of us.

“One thing I’ll always remember is he’s been such a big supporter of mine. He’s always on the sideline dapping people up. Every time we beat Horizon, he’s the happiest dude. Will’s just an incredible [person].

“I remember, it was his birthday our sophomore year, I put two pictures up of him and I…I was just shaking his hand and he had the biggest smile on his face. You can tell I was making a big impact on him. If that doesn’t bring joy to me, I don’t know what will.”

How many pairs of shoes do you have? “(laughing) I know who you talked to about this. Probably coach Trace [Carroll – Pinnacle Quarterbacks Coach], right? I probably have seven or eight pairs [of tennis shoes]…but my dad is a big sneaker head and my brothers…we’re all about the same size. He [dad] just screamed at me because he’s looking for a pair of shoes and I’m wearing them (laughing). My cleat collection is honestly the biggest.”

I heard you have a special, super unique pair of cleats that you wore in-season. What’s the backstory there? “Oh, those are sweet.I mean…shoot…John Germinaro is our equipment guy. I’ve known him for so long and he and I are so close. He just aid, ‘Merry Christmas,’ and threw them at me. They were white, low-cut Jordans and he made them custom in navy blue. I wore those in the majority of the games. Those are amazing.”

What attracted you to Idaho State because, let’s be honest, Wyatt, they haven’t had much recent success. Is it like when you came to Pinnacle and had to “prove them wrong” – winning the quarterback competition and leading them deep into the post-season three-straight seasons? “That’s a great comparision. When I came in [to Pinnacle], my main goal was to leave this place better than I found it. In 2021, when I was playing freshmen and JV, I was playing with my friends and guys I grew up with. As blessed as I was to play varsity as a sophomore, it did take me away from that [friend] group. 

“Yes, if you look at it, Idaho State hasn’t had the best record, but Cody Hawkins took over. Tbree years ago was his first year. They went 2-10, then got 3-4 wins the next year, and now they have 5-6. You can see the steps. They’re slowly going up. I believe in Coach Hawkins. I think guys buy in, and you can see the development and the growth. To be a part of it is huge for me because I think I can grow so much and I can bring whatever I’ve already grown into there, and turn that into winning.” 

One of your strengths is your abilty to throw off platform and keep a busted play alive with your movement inside, and out of, the pocket. I understand going from 6A football to the Big Sky is a gigantic step up. Did the coaches at Idaho State say if that abilty to improvise will still be a big part of your game, or will they ask you to temper that back a bit? “We’ve had conversations about it. When we watch the film and watch how I play, that is one of my favorite things about me. I can make nothing into something. That’s who I am, but at the same time, I want a healthy balance. I want to play within the offense. I want to have great timing with my drops. They did say that’s something they’ve lacked in the past – someone that can run. I’ve never played in a game where [everything] was perfect…football is very hard.

“They verbalized it to me how important it is to have the ‘it factor.’ At that level everyone should be able to throw the football, but who’s the one that’s going to be able to make [plays] and have a chip on their shoulder.”

Everyone knows this program has produced several phenominal quarterbacks. Brian Lewerke, Spencer Rattler, J.D. Johnson, Devon Dampier. Now you’re a part of that fraternity. How satisfying is it for you, considering where you started as a relatively unknown sophomore, to be a part of that special fraternity? “It’s special. Very, very special. It’s a special history this school has with quarterbacks…the cool part of it all is I watched them. Spencer and J.D. were my brother’s quarterback. To put me up there is very rewarding for me. All the hard work, and the struggles I did go through, it was all worth it.”

The Pinnacle football banquet was last weekend which, I’m sure, triggered several different emotions. Have you taken some time since the season ended last month to reflect on your time here at Pinnacle and everything you’ve accomplished? “I don’t know when I’ll fully comprehend it because the whole thing has been crazy. We were just sitting here talking about my sophomore year…it feels like it was just a couple of weeks ago. Now, I’m done with high school football at Pinnacle. It hits pretty deep for me.

“It’s crazy for me, to be honest. I have had some time to reflect on it. Our Senior Night, sitting there walking. My brother is right next to me. The same brother I walked with on his Senior Night. The whole thing came circle.”

 

 

 

 

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