By Kyle Coppola
Leesburg High Quarterback Nick Kerr Poised for Breakout Year
It wasn’t long ago that Nick Kerr was playing football in a park, not out on the gridiron on Friday nights. That was until Max Tucker saw Nick Kerr throwing in the park. “I saw this kid balling out in a park where I was training another QB at North Lake Park in Umatilla. Nick came out with his dad and just walked up to me and asked if I would be interested in training him. That’s all it took and I have been training him for the past three years since. He has so much potential,” says Coach Tucker.
(Kerr led a good offense especially in the second half of the Orange vs Black game. While there were things to work on, he did make some nice throws and overall the day was encouraging.) “Photo – Cookupfilms”
Kerr comes into the 2024 season after a successful season playing Junior Varsity football for Eustis High School. Nick Kerr is coming into his sophomore year and has been very impressive. I got the chance to watch him last Friday night in the Orange vs Black game and there was a lot to like about him.
He has a terrific arm. That arm is going to get him places, let me tell you. He reads the defenses well for not playing the game too long and he hits his targets in stride. One thing you can’t teach is raw talent and Kerr is a natural athlete. “He’s a great kid. Last year was his first real year playing quarterback. He has come a long way,” says Coach Tucker.
(Nick Kerr got a taste of football last year while playing for the Eustis Junior Varsity team, but now the sophomore walks in as one of Leesburg’s top options at quarterback for 2024. He has grown a lot mentally and physically in just 1 year.) “Photo Cookupfilms”
At 6’4″ and 205 lbs, Nick Kerr is everything a quarterback should be. The size is an important factor; at 6’4″, he can see over the defensive line. He is a big kid for just a sophomore. Hopefully, Coach Josh Boyer can get him in the weight room to pack even more muscle on him in the coming years!
“We have two great quarterbacks with Jake and Nick. We have a long way to go until the start of the season in August, but that’s what spring practice is all about: putting these guys in game situations and seeing how they react. Come August, we are going to be ready,” says Head Coach Frank Scott.
(Nick Kerr has everything you want a quarterback to have. He stands at 6″4 and has a big arm on him.) “Photo Cookupfilms”
“I am most excited to get more chemistry with my wide receivers and let it rip this spring,” said Nick Kerr in a recent interview. Kerr gets to throw to a decent group of receivers led by James Benton, who started in six games for Leesburg last fall. He will be one of the go-to receivers for 2024.
Nick Kerr is poised for a breakout year. It might not happen right away, but this is one kid that we are going to keep our eye on. There is a quarterback competition going on at Leesburg High as well. Jake Kinsey is an exciting young quarterback who is mobile in the pocket and also has a great arm, so we will see how they develop over the summer.
(For Kerr, playing at Leesburg High was exciting. He was also trying to take all of it in. Here we see Kerrr standing and taking a moment to himself before the game, visualizing things in his head.) “Photo Cookupfilms”
We don’t know what to expect for 2024, but we could expect the unexpected from Leesburg High. This is a new era, and there should be plenty of fun stories during the year.
Photos Provided By: Cookupfilms
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
