Polson Quarterback Leads Air and Ground Attack

Two quarterbacks in Montana have surpassed 2,200 passing yards this season. One is junior Connor Dick of Hellgate who has outpaced the rest of Class AA by nearly 600 yards. 

The other is Polson’s Jarrett Wilson, the 11-man all-classification leader in passing yards with 2,276 in eight games. Attached to that number are several other mind-boggling statistics: a completion rate of 71.3%, 38 touchdowns and zero interceptions. 

Here are a few more stats: Wilson has also run the ball 48 times for 391 rushing yards and three more touchdowns. 

According to the Montana High School Association (MHSA) record book, updated in 2020, Wilson could end his high school career this week on a number of all-time top 10 lists: season completion percentage (first), average passing yards per game (second), average completions per game (second), career completion percentage (fourth), most touchdowns thrown in a season (fourth) and on and on. 

But Wilson won’t end his high school career this week, or even this year. He has a full season of likely record-shattering stats ahead of him. 

“It’s crazy to think that he’s a junior and we get another year with him,” Polson head coach Kaden Glinsmann said last week. 

Polson’s first week of the 2021 season was underwhelming, a forfeit victory against Butte Central Catholic. It wasn’t until week two that Wilson got his first action on the field as a junior. 

He didn’t disappoint. In a 52-12 victory against Stevensville, Wilson tied the all-time completion record set by Butte’s Dallas Cook in 2012, and equaled the single-game total touchdown passes shared by Dallas’ brother Dylan Cook. 

His statistical line for the game: Completed 42 of 56 passes for 565 yards and seven touchdowns. Only one Montana quarterback has thrown for more yards in a game – way back in 1995.

“We want to do him justice by getting him the notoriety that he deserves because we 100% believe that he’s a Division I quarterback,” Glinsmann said. “That’s first and foremost, that we want to showcase him in a way that’s going put him in a position to be successful.”

Glinsmann is in his third year as head coach, and he installed Wilson as quarterback last season to run an air raid offense. Partway through the season, Glinsmann let Wilson take charge of most play calling, accelerating the Pirates’ offense further and showcasing his sky-high football IQ. 

“I’m good at just getting the ball into my receivers hands. They do a lot of work for me and when I need to make a big play, I think I can deliver on that,” Wilson said. “But really, whatever works to move the ball down the field is OK with me. It doesn’t matter if it’s me moving the ball down the field or anyone else.”

Glinsmann says that more than his accuracy or in-game decision-making, Wilson’s level head week after week sets him apart. 

“It kind of goes with our offensive philosophy and our team philosophy to just play the next play,” he said. “If the last play was bad, he’ll play the next play. If the last one was an awesome pass or was dropped, he’ll play the next play.” 

“I know that not every quarterback is like that,” Glinsmann continued. “I was at Helena High for five years, and we had great players there, and I spent three years in Kansas and we had great players there, but no one intellectually and leadership-wise was Jarrett Wilson.”

Wilson’s roots run deep in Pirates football. His dad, Scott Wilson, coached the Pirates before taking a job as assistant director of MHSA. Wilson, a triplet, has two brothers who play with him now. His older brother Tanner was Polson’s quarterback during their most recent winning season — 7-3 in 2016 — before playing two seasons with the Montana Grizzlies.  

“I’ve been around football my whole life, watching it and playing it and that’s most likely what made me love it,” Wilson said. “I remember Tanner and his friends would throw to us or coach us and we’d put on our little football pads and run around the yard as kids and have fun.”

Wilson plans to follow in Tanner’s footsteps and play at the collegiate level, but so far Wilson has flown under the radar as a recruiting prospect. A stress fracture from track prevented him from fully participating at football camps over the summer. But even while in a boot, his accuracy was noted by former Griz quarterback and longtime NFL coach Marty Mornhinweg at a quarterback camp.

Wilson isn’t concerned about recruiting right now. There’s still more football to play, specifically this week when the Pirates take on 6-1 Whitefish and hope to cement the conference title to end the regular season. 

“They’re a great football team, but it’s no different than any other game, and I know what I have to do to win.” Wilson said. “We’ve exceeded expectations this year, but we know what our goals are so we need to go and play our best game of football against them.”