LAKE STEVENS — There are any number of cliches that can be used to describe the position Lake Stevens junior quarterback Conor Bardue is in.
Big shoes to fill, tough act to follow and others all apply when talking about taking over at quarterback for Jacob Eason, who was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year following the 2015 season. Eason is continuing his football career at the University of Georgia, while Bardue is the presumed starter for the Vikings this season.
Taking over for one of the most successful high school football players in state history may seem like it would come with a lot of pressure, but the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Bardue seems up for the challenge.
“(Taking over for Eason) hasn’t really hit me yet, but I’m sure it will sooner or later,” Bardue said. “I’ll try to put that all aside and once I’m on the field, I’m on the field and that’s all I’m going to do.”
Lake Stevens head coach Tom Tri, who is entering his 12th season at the helm for the Vikings, said he has seen growth in Bardue over the summer and even at the Vikings’ first practice of the season on Wednesday.
“I’ve just been really impressed with Conor’s maturity,” Tri said. “He’s inexperienced, but yet he comes out here and acts like he’s been running the team for years. He knows his plays. He tells receivers where to line up and what routes they should be running if they don’t know. I’ve been really impressed with his ability to rally the troops.”
Bardue showed off that quality over the summer when he would organize private workouts with some of his teammates.
Of course, Bardue had a pretty good teacher in Eason.
“He’s a pretty dang good leader,” Bardue said. “His mechanics, how he throws, his progessions on certain plays that we run, why he throws balls a certain way — 85 percent of the things that a quarterback needs I learned from him. I probably wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for him.”
Bardue has just two years left of high school football, but his preparation should help him make the most of it.
“I really feel like mentally he’s further ahead then most quarterbacks we’ve had coming into their junior year, and we’ve had some pretty dang good quarterbacks here,” Tri said. “Jake Nelson, Jacob Eason, Nick Baker — all guys that played on Saturdays and all first-team all-league type of guys multiple years.”
Eason isn’t the only star the Vikings lost to graduation following the 2015 season. Lake Stevens returns just three offensive and three defensive starters this season. The void created by the loss of running back Andrew Grimes will likely be filled by seniors Blake May and Jack Larson, who both coverted to the position from wide receiver.
“Blake I see right now is a little bit ahead of Jack, but that being said Jack is faster and just as physical, if not a little bit more. It will be a little bit more running back by committee, but I still think Blake that probably carries 15 to 20 times a game and Jack is probably going to carry nine to 12 times a game.”
Lake Stevens Vikings
Head coach: Tom Tri (12th season)
Key returners: Hunter Eckstrom, WR/DB, sr.; Zach Kylany, OL/DL, sr.; Dylan Hutchinson, OL/DL, sr.; Seth Roberts, OL/DL, sr.; Jake Rasmussen, WR/S, sr; Conor Bardue, QB, jr.; Blake May, RB, sr.; Jack Larson, RB/DB, sr.; Anthony Hutchinson, WR/DB, jr.
Coach’s quote: “Our season motto this year is ‘Rebuild? RELOAD!!!’ We don’t rebuild, we reload. That’s the mentality. I really believe that we’re reloading.”
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