Like it or not, quarterbacks are often the face of football teams and the ones all eyes are on during every play. Entering the high school football season, the area will feature a handful of skilled signal-callers who look to lead their teams to success.

As the first day of official practice on July 29 approaches, here’s a look at eight quarterbacks to watch out for this season:

Chase Boutwell, Richlands: The senior slides into the quarterback role after he snagged 10 catches for 53 yards last year for the Wildcats, who look to improve from last season’s 3-8 record. Boutwell looks to produce the same production as CJ DiBeenedetto, who shared third-team all-area honors after he threw for 1,252 yards and nine touchdowns.

Davion Cephus, Southwest: The senior enters his second season as the starter. He threw for 302 yards and a touchdown and ran for 200 yards and two scores last year for the Stallions who look to improve from their 2-8 record.

Eddie Deptola, Liberty Christian Academy: The junior enters his second season as the starter. Deptola was a second-team all-area athlete after he threw for 1,016 yards and 14 touchdowns, ran for 740 yards and 13 touchdowns, had 17 tackles, three interceptions and a forced fumble for the Heat, which last season went 6-5 overall.

Reginald Gray III, Northside: The junior who goes by 3J was first-team all-area last year after he passed for 2,629 yards and 26 touchdowns and ran for 387 yards and 11 more scores. Gray was one of the key cogs in the Monarchs last year going 11-3 overall, sharing the Coastal Conference title at 5-1 and advancing to the 5-A East Regional final.

Grady Mahaffey, Lejeune: The junior enters his third varsity season and second at quarterback. Last year, he was a second-team all-area athlete after he threw for 641 yards and five touchdowns, rushed for 209 yards and four touchdowns, had 86 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and one recovery for the Devilpups, who look to improve following last year’s 1-10 season.

Kannon McBride, Croatan: The senior enters his second season as the starter for the Cougars, who went 11-2 overall, shared the Coastal Conference title at 5-1 and advanced to the fourth round of the 5-A playoffs. McBride is simply a solid athlete as he was first-team all-area athlete last season after he threw for 2,072 yards and 30 touchdowns, was 61 of 63 on extra point kicks and made 10 of 14 field goals. He was first-team all-area kicker as a sophomore and shared the area’s basketball player of year award this winter.

Aiden Tilley, Dixon: The senior has big shoes to fill as he takes over for reigning area player of year and Coastal Conference Offensive Player of Year JJ Gulat, who rushed for 3,361 yards and 43 touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs to a 6-6 overall record and its first playoff victory in team history. Last year, Tilley rushed for 72 yards on nine carries and made 53 tackles with 1.5 sacks and an interception.

Austin Zoeckler, Swansboro: The senior looks to step in following the graduation of Kevin Till, who was the co-third-team all-area quarterback last season. Zoeckler threw for 269 yards and a touchdown on limited snaps for the Pirates, who look to improve from last year’s 2-8 showing.

Chris Miller can be contacted via email at cmiller@jdnews.com. Follow him on X @jdnsports.