He threw 4 varsity TD passes Friday--and he's 14 years old

Being a freshman, Vance High’s Jalen Latter started this season on the junior varsity, where he won the quarterbacking job. That’s where Cougars varsity coach Pete Culicerto got a look at him.

The first game, Culicerto was impressed with Latter. In the first quarter of the second game, he was more than that.

After a particularly tough completion, Culicerto turned to the coaches standing next to him and said, “There’s our quarterback. This is the last jayvee game he’ll ever play.”

Last Friday, young Latter found himself in the varsity starting lineup for the team’s game with Sun Valley.

“He threw for 269 yards and four touchdowns,” Culicerto said. “He has a presence back there; what a leader he is on the field.”

Latter is 5-foot-10--not tall for a quarterback, but remember, last year he was in middle school and has plenty of time to grow. He weighs 175 pounds. And he's so new to the program that they haven't even timed him in a 40 yet.

It gets a whole lot tougher this week, though—the Cougars play at Independence.

--Stan Olson

As always, if you have some interesting recruiting info, email me at solson@charlotteobserver.com