Trey Garner, Fairhope QB and UAH Basketball Commit, Climbs State Football Rankings

FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Trey Garner, the Fairhope quarterback who stands 6-foot-6 and is committed to play college basketball, has become one of the state’s fast risers among high school football prospects after leading the Pirates to a region title and a win over the top-ranked team in Class 4A.

The senior is committed to Alabama-Huntsville in basketball, a sport in which he averaged 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists per game as a shooting guard last season. But his football season has drawn attention of its own in the statewide rankings of top prospects.

“I think if one college offers there could be several to follow,” said Caleb Ross, Fairhope’s first-year coach, who has coached in college at Troy and Tulane. “There are a lot of great quarterbacks around, but not a lot with his size and intelligence and leadership.”

Garner said his plans have not changed yet, even if he would welcome the chance.

“I would love to pursue football, but for now it’s still basketball,” he said.

Garner’s senior season by the numbers

• Record: 8-2, Class 6A, Region 1 champions
• Passing: 88 of 152 for 1,179 yards and 11 touchdowns
• Rushing: 270 yards and three touchdowns
• Sacks: five all season, by Garner’s count

Those numbers add up to 1,449 total yards and 14 touchdowns. Garner gave the credit for the low sack total to the players in front of him.

“My O-line has been great,” he said.

Seven quarterbacks appear in this year’s statewide prospect rankings, a strong group, but none of them matches Garner’s height.

Two big finishes in two weeks

Fairhope’s last two regular-season games did the most to raise Garner’s profile.

On Oct. 23 at Daphne, with the region championship at stake, the Pirates trailed 24-20 late in the fourth quarter. Garner led a 12-play, 85-yard drive and finished it with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Woodford with three seconds left for a 27-24 win. Fairhope converted a fourth-and-10 and a fourth-and-15 along the way.

“You can’t replicate that,” Ross said of those fourth-down conversions.

The result gave Fairhope its first region title since 2021 and the No. 1 seed in Class 6A, Region 1.

A week later, the Pirates hosted Vigor, the Class 4A No. 1 team, in a non-region finale. The Wolves’ defense features players committed to Texas, Auburn and Kentucky and had not allowed more than 21 points in a game this season. Fairhope scored on its first three drives and led 17-0 early in the second quarter.

Vigor rallied to take a 21-20 lead midway through the third quarter before Garner’s touchdown pass to Nic Ronsisvalle put Fairhope back in front. Leo Palumbo’s 33-yard field goal with 4:15 left set the final at 29-21. Garner repeatedly slipped away from a pass rush led by Texas commit Jabarrius “Chicken” Garror.

“That Vigor team is legit, so it was great to get that win,” Garner said.

Next in a line of Fairhope quarterbacks

Garner follows a recent run of Fairhope starters who went on to play college football. Riley Leonard, once viewed as a stronger college basketball prospect until coach David Cutcliffe saw him as a quarterback, signed with Duke, later led Notre Dame to the national championship game and now plays for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. Caden Creel succeeded Leonard at Fairhope and now plays quarterback at Jacksonville State.

Garner returned this season after leading Fairhope to the second round of the playoffs last year. He spent the fall learning a new offense under Ross, whose coaching résumé includes a Class 7A state championship at McGill-Toolen in 2015, while working with a largely new group of receivers.

What’s next for Garner and the Pirates

Fairhope, ranked No. 8 in Class 6A, has a first-round bye in the expanded playoff bracket. The Pirates will open at home in the second round on Friday, Nov. 13, against the winner of the first-round game between Alma Bryant and Opelika.

“We’ve got a ton of momentum going into the playoffs,” he said.