In Eric Booth’s first season leading Collins back in 2016, the former Southern Miss standout chose to start a freshman at quarterback.
The youngster took his lumps, and the Tigers finished the season with just two wins. His name? Mar’ques “Hershey“ McLaurin. Two years later, Booth’s alma mater considers McLaurin one of their prized recruiting targets for the 2020 class.
“When I took the job, I knew I had a bunch of young kids coming up,” said Booth. “I knew I had 25 seniors that left that year. I said I would start a ninth grader because I know I’m going to be here awhile.”
Booth’s Tigers rebounded in a big way last year, winning 12 games en route to an appearance in the Class 2A South State Championship. McLaurin, a sophomore at the time, finished the season with 3325 passing yards and 48 total touchdowns (42 passing, 6 rushing).
Now a junior, McLaurin is hoping to lead the Tigers back to a state championship in 2018. He looked to be in midseason form in their season-opener last Friday night, passing for 302 yards and four touchdowns in a 32-29 win over county rival Seminary. McLaurin added a rushing score, too, and for his efforts, he has been named our Sports601 Covington County Player of the Week for Aug. 13-18.
“Last Friday was a good game for the kid,” Booth said of McLaurin. “For the summer, he worked out good, and we did a couple of drills with him for his footwork. He got bigger, faster and stronger from last year to this year.
The win snapped the Tigers’ two-game losing skid to the Bulldogs. McLaurin actually missed last season’s contest with an injury.
“We had to come back strong,” said McLaurin. “Very strong. Just like we did Friday.”
Just as it often does, it all started with their quarterback, said Booth.
“He [McLaurin] controlled the game all night long.”
As of right now, McLaurin holds only one scholarship offer from Alcorn State. But Southern Miss and plenty other schools are showing real interest in his talents.
“There’s a lot of big schools I want to go to,” said McLaurin. “I just gotta get my film out there to them.”
He and the Tigers (1-0) will be back in action this Friday at home against Jefferson Davis County (1-0).
