In one calendar year, North Cobb quarterback Tyler Queen has grown from an inexperienced freshman trying to manage a game, to someone who is in complete control of the offense.

Queen is also one of the big reasons the Warriors

(5-2, 3-2) are in position to claim one of the four playoff spots from Region 4AAAAAA, and the team can take a step closer to earning one when it hosts Pebblebrook (0-7, 0-5) tonight at Emory Sewell Stadium.

“Last year helped him be a great game manager,” said North Cobb offensive coordinator Tom Clark. “This year, we have been able to expand the offense and he’s like another coach on the field.”

Queen, a 6-foot-2, 208-pound sophomore, currently is fourth in the county in passing yardage. He has completed 84 of 148 passes for 1,292 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions, but one of the biggest reasons the Warriors are averaging 40 points a game is because of his running ability. Queen has run for 336 yards and nine touchdowns, making him a dual-threat quarterback that defenses have difficulty game planning for.

“Teams can’t just key on our running back,” Clark said. “(Queen’s running ability) allows us to incorporate the option and defenses have to respect it.”

Queen has played quarterback since the time he was 5 years old, and his father, North Cobb coach Shane Queen, said it was apparent early that the his son was playing the right position.

When Shane Queen was head coach at South Cobb, current Sprayberry coach Billy Shackelford was an assistant on the staff and would run “Quarterback U” meetings for the quarterbacks on the team. At age 7, Tyler Queen would sit in on them.

According to the elder Queen, one day after the meetings, Shackelford quizzed Tyler on the different defensive formations and the quarterback reads they presented. Tyler knew exactly where the defenders were and where he would have to throw the ball to beat the coverage.

With the early success Queen has been having running North Cobb’s no-huddle offense, he has begun to get noticed by different college programs. He has already had the opportunity to throw for Alabama coach Nick Saban and has been invited to go to Tuscaloosa later this season for a game.

But considering Tyler is still only 16-years-old, Shane Queen doesn’t want have the college days come too soon.

“I’ve waited 16 years for this opportunity (to coach my son),” Shane Queen said. “And I’m already have anxiety (about the future). I just want to share in the moments with him. There’s highs and lows and he has some growing pains, but I wouldn’t trade this for anything.”