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Quarterbacks without peer: Dual-threat danger Jalen Suggs, drop-back classic Aidan Bouman

By JIM PAULSEN, Star Tribune, 08/26/19, 1:30PM CDT

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Day one of the Star Tribune's prep football preview week looks at the differing styles of the two most highly regarded players at their position.


Quarterbacks Jalen Suggs of SMB and Aidan Bouman of Buffalo. Star Tribune photo illustration by Phill Spiker

Has Minnesota ever had two such highly regarded quarterback prospects in the same class as Jalen Suggs of SMB and Aidan Bouman of Buffalo?

Suggs, perhaps best known as an elite basketball recruit from Minnehaha Academy, is a 6-5, 200-pound dual-threat quarterback who has six Power Five conference scholarship offers to play football.

Bouman, a rifle-armed 6-6 classic drop-back pro-style passer, threw for 3,500 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2018 and has committed to Iowa State.

The Star Tribune's Jim Paulsen talked to both of them to learn more about how they play the same position in very different ways.

 

Suggs' biggest weapon? His versatility

Walking slowly off the practice field at Minnehaha Academy’s Lower School, Jalen Suggs is weary. His helmet and shoulder pads are carried in one hand, exposing a black form-fitted padded football shirt with a gray Superman logo stenciled on it.

Fitting for the state’s most sought-after two-sport athlete.

“It’s mental fatigue,” said Suggs, who is back on the football field for the SMB Wolfpack after spending much of the previous four months traversing the country playing basketball. “All the traveling and constantly got something going on,’’ he said. “But as far as my body goes, I’m feeling well.”

While basketball exploits have made Suggs a recognizable figure in basketball circles nationwide, it’s time to put on cleats and get down to business playing football, a sport he swears he enjoys every bit as much as basketball.

“I love it,” the senior said, his fatigue ebbing and enthusiasm creeping in as he talks football. “I love playing quarterback. I love playing free safety. I love everything about football.”

Suggs is Minnesota’s top dual-threat quarterback prospect. A lean 6-5, his pinpoint arm and speedy legs gracefully turn little things into big plays, as he did in the Class 4A state championship game in November, a 44-18 victory over Willmar.

His repertoire of physical gifts were on display: A weaving, tackle-breaking 23-yard touchdown run. A 97-yard pick-six. An 89-yard scoring drive just before halftime, completing four consecutive passes thanks to his ability to scramble and buy time. A 76-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter in which the ball traveled more than 50 yards in the air.

It’s that versatility, Suggs said, that is his biggest weapon.


Suggs on Suggs: “I love playing quarterback. I love playing free safety. I love everything about football.” (Star Tribune file photo)

“When you play against a dual-threat quarterback, you’ve got to account for everything,” he said. “I can throw, I can run, and when I run, I can throw outside of the pocket. That’s dangerous for an offense if you have a quarterback who can do it all.”

Suggs is expected make a make a college commitment to play basketball after high school. But there’s no denying the passion and dedication that he brings for football. And not just the quarterback position.

“As much as I love offense, I love getting on defense and laying a big hit,” he said, a wide grin across his face. “Last year in the section championship, I had a big hit and caused a fumble. Ain’t nothing like laying a big hit.”

That fondness for contact has become a concern for his coaches, particularly when he runs with the ball.

“I was talking with my coach and my Pops, and they said you definitely need to start sliding more,” he said. “I’ve got to try to preserve my body.”

Suggs said he hopes to make his highly anticipated college announcement “sooner rather than later.” But for the near future, his main priority is enjoying his final high school football season.

“People ask me all the time why I still play football and risk injuries and all that,” he said. “But I’ve been playing this game since I was 4 years old. This is a game I’ve put a lot of effort into and that I love. For me, you can’t compare anything to a Friday night.”

Bouman: Born and raised to drop back and throw

Buffalo’s Aidan Bouman has trouble remembering a time when he was something other than a quarterback.

“When I was in third, fourth grade, we’d be at my grandparents’ farm and my dad would be out with me, working on three- and five-step drops,” he recalled.

Dad is Todd Bouman, the Buffalo head coach and a former Vikings quarterback who had a 13-year NFL career. For Aidan, playing quarterback comes as naturally as walking.

In the 2018 season, he threw for a state-leading 3,474 yards and 41 touchdowns in nine games. The strong-armed, 6-6 Bouman goes into his senior season as Minnesota’s top-ranked pro-style quarterback prospect.

And he can’t wait.

Since losing to Prior Lake in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs last season (despite throwing for 526 yards and six touchdowns), Bouman has been dogged in his pursuit of improvement, both for himself and his team.

“I practice almost every day, to be honest,” Bouman said. “In the spring, we’d wait around until the lacrosse game got over just so we could run some routes. It might have only been about 15, 20 minutes, but we got some throwing in.”

Some might call it obsessive. But football is not just his love; it’s genetically planted in his soul.

“Having a dad who played 13 years in the NFL, I’ve learned almost everything I know from him,” Bouman said. “He’s been great. He doesn’t push me to do things, but we always talk football. He’s taught me how to read coverages and where to go with the ball. But then after football, he’s back to being a dad and doing dad things. I’ve got the best dad out there.”


Bouman on Bouman: “I can see the defense and know what’s out there before it happens. A lot of times, I know where I’m going with the ball before the snap. And I get the freedom to call what I want and throw it where I want.” (Star Tribune file photo)

Physical skills notwithstanding — Bouman says he can throw a football a little over 60 yards on average and has thrown it nearly 70 — the best part of his game is his brain.

“I can see the defense and know what’s out there before it happens,” he said. “A lot of times, I know where I’m going with the ball before the snap. And I get the freedom to call what I want and throw it where I want.”

Bouman loves everything about quarterbacking but says he gets the most satisfaction from being the field general. “That’s the best part: Being there for the team, cheering them on, bringing them together,” he said.

Well, that and winning. He compared two games from last season to illustrate: an 80-70 loss to Elk River that broke numerous state records, and a 21-7 victory over Monticello two weeks later.

“Against Elk River, we were going up and down the field, but we lost and there were seven or eight things I saw that I wasn’t satisfied with,” he said. “Against Monticello, two interceptions, no TDs, but we won. I was much more satisfied.”

Bouman has about three months of high school football left. He committed to the Iowa State Cyclones before last season and spent much of his summer in classrooms, preparing to graduate early. He expects to be in Ames, preparing for his freshman year, in early January.

With so much to look forward to, Bouman is getting restless for the season to start.

“I’m so fired up,” he said. “There’s nothing better than football.”

 

Senior sound-off

While they’ve never spoken, Jalen Suggs and Aidan Bouman are keenly aware of each other. Here’s what they had to say about the other.

Suggs on Bouman: “He can definitely throw the ball. He’s got a rocket for an arm. The way the ball comes out of his hand, so smooth, so slick. He puts it in the right spot every time. He’s got a great game. I know he’s going to do big things this year. I wish him nothing but the best.”

Bouman on Suggs: “He’s got a lot of physical ability. He can make plays with his arm and he can make plays with his legs when nothing is there. Me, I like to see and know what’s there before it happens. He can do that, but he’s a great athlete and can also run and make plays. That’s what make him great.” 

Coming next

On the MN Football Hub Monday evening and in Tuesday's Star Tribune: The quest for new success at five programs with new leaders on the sideline.

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