In the coming years, expect Greenwood quarterback Kane Archer to become the next big thing in Arkansas high school sports.
In just a span of a few days in late July, the 13-year-old Archer earned two scholarships from the University of Michigan and the University of Missouri. Archer is already regularly rated as the No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2026 and he is just getting started.
I had the opportunity to recently speak with Archer and get a sense of what the future holds for the 6’1″ and 176 pound quarterback.
Archer, for starters, is the starting quarterback at Greenwood Junior High School where other great Bulldogs like Tyler Wilson, Drew Morgan and Grant Morgan rose through the ranks. Watching Archer, you get a glimpse of a young quarterback who is poised in the pocket.
However, Archer is at his best when he uses his legs to get out of the pocket, while keeping his eyes down the field to find an open receiver.
Still, Archer does not mind using his legs to pick up extra yardage and extend drives.
He is an extremely intelligent player. I asked him which quarterbacks he watches and studies the most and he said: “I study Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers the most, they both use their legs to extend the plays.” Over the years, it has become increasingly more important to younger quarterbacks to study what Mahomes, Rodgers, and Tom Brady do on the field.
Obviously, these three men have been incredibly successful and being able to study tape they produce is a terrific advantage for quarterbacks like Archer who constantly try to perfect their craft and improve every day.
Archer also closely follows some of the biggest college programs in his region. Archer tells me: “I have always paid attention to what the Hogs and the Oklahoma Sooners do. We live in a convenient part of the state where I can watch what the Oklahoma quarterbacks are doing as well as what the Razorback quarterbacks are doing.”
However, Archer has also gotten an appreciation for great quarterbacks from other program like Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson. Archer has watched Lawrence and Wilson take command of the pocket for Clemson and BYU, respectively. He has tremendous respect for the leadership that they display on the field.
Learning tricks of the trade is an endeavor that should never stop, and you can already see the fruits of that passing work in this clip:
Kane Archer on Favorite Colleges
Kane Archer says his favorite college teams to watch are Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
Oklahoma and Texas A&M have a history of solid quarterback play and intelligent offensive coordinators who work closely with their respective quarterbacks. Johnny Manziel and Kellen Mond are good examples of what a talented quarterback can do at Texas A&M.
Archer adds that he’s excited to see what the future holds for Arkansas.
“The Hogs made strides last season and excitement is high for the Razorbacks.” Archer is working toward impressing as many college scouts and coaches as he can and having already earned two scholarships he is off to a great start.
The Greenwood Bulldog has plenty of time to observe and make mental notes on which schools are doing the best and what offensive system they are using to do it.
Earning scholarship offers from the University of Michigan and the University of Missouri put Archer in some rare company. In appears no native Arkansan quarterback has ever received a scholarship offer at such a young age.
Former Arkansas Razorback and USC Trojan Mitch Mustain is likely the closest after receiving a scholarship offer from the University of Arkansas when he was a freshman at Springdale High School nearly two decades ago.
When asked about the scholarship offers Archer replied, “the Missouri was kind of a shock, while the Michigan offer had been hinted at, however it was still a shock.” Jim Harbaugh had hinted in mid July that a scholarship offer was going to be extended for Archer. The young man was excited by both offers; however, he knows that he has more work to do.
In fact, when we talked, he was on his way to Kansas City. Archer’s travel team, the Kansas City Outlaws, took on the Los Angeles Rampage in a battle between two of the top youth football teams in the country.
Archer is honing his craft and is willing to put in the work on and off the field. Over the years, quarterback gurus have become routine for young quarterbacks that have the potential to light up the college and pro levels. One guru that Archer has had the opportunity to work with and study under is former BYU quarterback John Beck, which is something that only the highest caliber quarterback prospects have an opportunity to do.
For a moment let’s look at Beck’s history of putting talented signal callers into the NFL.
According to NBC Sports Washington, “Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, Kyle Trask, and Trey Lance: have something else in common besides being just top quarterbacks in this year’s draft: all four of them have directly trained with John Beck.”
When a quarterback has the opportunity to work with Beck, they are able to go through the mental game with him. And Beck, who initially took an interest in Archer after watching his film, goes through every snap with the quarterback he is working with. Beck knows the position and he is passing on his experience and drive to every quarterback that he works with. Training with Beck is an experience that Archer knows will pay off in the long run.
And it’s not just Beck. At quarterback camps, Archer is also getting the benefit of tutelage from NFL quarterbacks like Dak Prescott:
Kane Archer and Greenwood Bulldogs
Shifting our focus to the home front, the high school football season is fast approaching. The town of Greenwood has seen many Bulldogs play in the collegiate ranks. Players from Tyler Wilson to Drew Morgan to Morgan Hannah and Jordan Hannah.
Kane and his father, Adam, have made use of the families of Bulldogs that have gone on to play at the collegiate level. Adam Archer explained that they have talked to the families of Tyler Wilson and Drew Morgan about what to expect at the next level and how to approach things step by step.
The Morgans and Wilsons told the Archers to stay composed and make use of their contacts in the football world. Essentially, just go step by step and everything will work out in the end.
The Archers are looking forward to the upcoming football season. Kane is extremely complimentary of the team that Greenwood will have with him as he rises through the ranks in high school. Greenwood fans should expect several more years ahead of being one of the strongest high school programs in the state of Arkansas. The Greenwood Junior High implements a similar offense as the high school that allows them to get the ball to the wide receivers and backs out of the backfield.
It goes without saying, that the best is truly yet to come for Kane.
To sum everything up, it is incredibly rare to see a prospect offered a scholarship at such an early age. What we are going to see out of Kane now is a young man that is driven to win and wants to help his team light up the scoreboard.
Going forward, making it a point to remember Kane Archer’s name would be a smart move. Clearly, Jim Harbaugh and Eliah Drinkwitz like what they have seen and found out about the young man. For most prospects, the pressure would be on.
Not for Archer, though. Even at such a young age, responding to high expectations is becoming business as usual.
See more about his story here:
