Editors note: This is the first in the eight-part “YPS Top 40” series from Your Prep Sports highlighting 40 of the top returning football players for the 2024 season.

Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

The YPS Top 40 is an eight-story series highlight 40 of the top returning football players in the Your Prep Sports area by position group.

The series starts with the most high-profile and likely the most important position on the field – quarterback.

In the next week seven other position groups, running back, pass catchers, offensive line, defensive line, linebacker, defensive back and special teams, will all be featured.

Here is a look at the top returning quarterbacks in the Your Prep Sports area.

Jack Wallace

Senior, West High

One of the top signal callers in the state Wallace has already etched his name into the West High record books.

This fall Wallace will look to completely rewrite the West High record books while putting the finishing touches on a stellar career with his best season yet.

A rare four-year varsity starter Wallace has thrown for 4,390 yards and 35 touchdowns and needs 870 yards to surpass Marcus Morgan as the program’s all-time leading passer.

Wallace already holds the single-game school record after throwing for 458 yards against Cedar Rapids Prairie in the 2023 regular season finale.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Wallace is coming off the best season of his career last fall.

A Minnesota State recruit, Wallace passed for a career-high 1,807 yards and completed 57 percent of his passes while leading West High to a 4-5 record.

With experience under his belt and two of his top four receivers from last season returning look for Wallace to put together another strong season as West High seeks its first postseason berth since 2020.

Bobby Bacon

Senior, City High

One of best stories in the area last season was the emergence of Bacon who took over as the full-time starter in week three and put together one of the best seasons of any quarterback in the state.

With a full season and off season under his belt, Bacon will look to build on what was an incredibly productive first season.

Bacon ranked in the top-10 in Class 5A in passer rating, completion percentage, passing yards, passing touchdowns and yards per completion while leading City High to a 6-2 record as a starter.

A Pittsburg State Commit, Bacon completed 68 percent of his passes (141-209) while throwing for 2,193 yards and 18 touchdowns with eight interceptions and also ran for three scores.

Bacon led Class 5A with a 155.6 passer rating and averaged 15.6 yards per completion.

In high eight games as a starter the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Bacon averaged 257 yards passing and threw for more than 300 yards three times.

Tyler Bell

Senior, Solon

In his first season leading the Spartan offense Bell made major strides closing the season with back-to-back games with over 220 yards passing.

The strong finish capped an impressive debut season for Bell who completed 56 percent of his passes (101-180) while throwing for 1,434 yards with 14 touchdowns with nine interceptions while directing Solon to a 10-2 record and a spot in the Class 3A semifinals.

Bell was 5-for-23 for nine yards in his first career start in a season-opening loss to Davenport Assumption.

After that start, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Bell completed 61 percent of his passes and threw for 1,434 yards as Solon won 10 of its final 11 games.

Bell threw for at least 140 yards five times in the final 11 games, tossing two or more touchdown passes four times in that span.

A multi-year starter on the Solon baseball team, Bell is an impressive athlete and should be in for a big season with a year of experience under his belt.

Brennen Dale

Junior, West Branch

Dale stepped into the starting spot in week three and provided a major boost leading the Bears to a 6-2 record including a win over Pleasantville in the opening round of the Class 1A playoffs.

The 6-foot, 185-pound Dale emerged as a dual threat quarterback accounting for 1,331 total yards and 18 touchdowns in eight games.

Dale completed 60 percent of his passes (86-of-144) while throwing for 954 yards and seven touchdowns with four interceptions.

Dale had at least one touchdown pass in six of eight games and threw for at least 100 yards five times.

As efficient as Dale was throwing the ball he was equally effective as a runner ranking second on the team with 377 rushing yards and running for a team-high 11 touchdowns while average 4.2 yards per carry.

A more experienced Dale will be a leader for a West Branch team that must replace plenty of production at the running back and receiver spots.

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