Time to Cash in: Clearwater has star quarterback and wants to prove 5-0 start is real
College football coaches are far from forming a consensus on what position they want Clearwater senior Tanner Cash to play at the next level.
Some look at his size (6 foot 2, 215 pounds) and see a future linebacker. Others could picture him playing wide receiver or safety. And a few are eager to continue his development at quarterback, the position where Cash has accounted for nearly 1,600 yards of total offense during Clearwater’s 5-0 start to the season.
The thing all coaches can agree on is that Cash is a superb football player, regardless of where he plays.
“He’s a football player before he’s a quarterback,” Clearwater coach Jeremy Scheufler said. “He’s just an exceptional talent and he still has a lot of room for improvement. That’s what I keep trying to tell people. He’s an extraordinary athlete and a very good competitor. He has big arm talent and he’s only getting better.”
Clearwater’s first five opponents this season can attest to that.
With Cash averaging 320 yards of total offense (199 passing and 121 rushing), the Indians’ offense is averaging 46 points per game. Cash has scored 26 of the team’s 28 touchdowns and Clearwater (5-0) is off to its best start to a season since 2011 and just its second 5-0 start in the last 39 years.
“We feel like Tanner has gone a little under the radar,” Scheufler said. “I think within our league, everybody knows how good Tanner is, but maybe not quite outside of our league because traditionally Clearwater has not put together a lot of winning seasons like Andale and Collegiate.”
Clearwater will command respect if it can win Friday at home against fellow unbeaten Collegiate (5-0) in a crucial Class 3A District 7 game. With No. 1-ranked Andale (5-0) also in the district, Friday’s winner between Clearwater and Collegiate would likely avoid Andale in the playoffs until the state semifinals as opposed to the second round.
There is still a bitter taste for Clearwater from its 49-0 loss to Andale in the second round of the 3A playoffs last season. But there’s confidence a rematch could be different this season, as Cash has elevated his play — and in turn, the team’s — through work done this offseason to improve his footwork and throwing mechanics.
Already one of the state’s top dual-threat quarterbacks, Cash has leveled up as a thrower. He’s always had a powerful arm, but Cash worked hard to improve his accuracy and reads in Clearwater’s spread offense. The improvement is clear through five games: 997 passing yards and nine touchdowns to just one interception.
“As a sophomore, he was either going to throw it to one guy or he was going to run it,” Scheufler said. “Now he can throw the ball to either side of the field or take off running to either side of the field. He stretches the defense out and makes them defend the entire field.”
The highlight-reel plays made by Cash are still primarily by his legs — his combination of size and speed allows him to turn broken plays that appear lost into long touchdown runs. But more and more are coming through the air. His two favorite receivers this season have been Brock Toothaker (22 catches, 399 yards, three touchdowns) and Lane Pierce (15 catches, 346 yards, four touchdowns).
It’s clear from his recruitment by an array of Division II and junior-college teams that Cash is soon to be a college football player. Cash said that he is willing to play whatever position a team needs to help win games.
But with every touchdown pass this season, the case continues to build that Cash has become a legitimate quarterback prospect.
“He looks like a quarterback to me,” said Jake Sharp, who hosted Cash in part of his high school football showcase camp this summer. “He just looks like an athlete to me and I think colleges are really looking for just athletes rather than certain positions these days. He’s guy I think could play either side of the ball because of his versatility, but man, I love the way he throws the deep ball from the quarterback position. He’s got a heck of a arm.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 5:03 PM.
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