ESPN RISE

Heading into last season, Perry Hall had a question mark at quarterback.

Now with a breakout junior season behind him, Davonta Farrell will be the main weapon in head coach Keith Robinson's arsenal this season.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Farrell came into last season not having played football since his freshman year and having to learn a new offensive system that Robinson implemented in his first year at Perry Hall.

lt did not take long for Farrell to get noticed by his new head coach.

"Right away the kids were telling me about him -- that he had a lot of potential and a great arm," Robinson said in an interview last season. "Once we got out on 7-on-7, I saw he had all the tools to be a real good quarterback."

Even Farrell was unsure of what his role on the varsity team would be before the season began.

The Gators had University of Maryland commit Dave Stinebaugh, a tight end, and running back Matt Wood to anchor the offense.

"I didn't really expect myself to produce as much as I did," Farrell said. "I thought the offense was going to be based on [Wood and Stinebaugh]. Then in the jamboree [Robinson] called a couple of run plays for me and he saw that I could run the ball."

That confidence from the summer passing leagues carried over into the season. The Gators had a young offensive line and Farrell took a few games to get comfortable with the new offensive system, modeled after West Virginia's spread offense, but it was during the Gators' game against perennial Baltimore County power Hereford that he had one of his best games.

"That was when our line was clicking and I felt 100 percent comfortable with everything," Farrell said.

Robinson saw the Hereford game as a sign of good things to come from his quarterback.

"He made some real big runs and broke some tackles [against Hereford]," Robinson said. "Then against Franklin he threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more. As the season went on he became more confident in himself and he started to understand the offense more."

Farrell completed 16 of 28 passes for 180 yards and one touchdown and added 43 yards rushing in the Gator's 17-14 victory over Hereford.

On the season, Farrell threw for 1,620 yards and 20 touchdowns and added 805 rushing yards, including 10 rushing touchdowns.

Now a senior, Farrell will be expected to equal his offensive production from last season.

Even though Stinebaugh and Wood have graduated, Robinson said the team has an improved offensive line and a deep corps of receivers.

"Last year he didn't have to be the man. We had some other guys around him. This year he's going to be the man," Robinson said. "He's going to have to be a leader on and off the field, whereas last year he didn't have to do that. He'll be the focus of everyone's defensive plan."

Central Michigan, Temple and Towson have all expressed interest in Farrell as a quarterback.

According to Robinson, other teams have expressed interest in Farrell as a running back or slot receiver. To add to Farrell's recruiting options, Robinson will also give his senior some time as a safety this season.

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Mike Loveday covers high school sports for ESPNRISE.com. Mike can be reached at Michael.Loveday@espn.com