Fort Worth Christian QB enjoying breakout season: 'When the lights come on, he just wants to play'

Son of TCU hall-of-famer Luke Dodd has nearly 1,000 passing yards through three games

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - Fort Worth Christian had a big question mark under center heading into the high school football season.

Who would replace Hogan Nelson, its starting quarterback who transferred to Liberty Christian in Argyle in the offseason, after throwing for 2,831 yards and 37 touchdowns for the Cardinals last season?

In short order, Fort Worth Christian has found its answer in senior transfer Luke Dodd.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound son of two high school coaches (and a TCU hall-of-famer), is off to one of the best starts of any high school quarterback in Texas through three weeks.

He arrived at the TAPPS Division II power from UIL 3A power Gunter to a vastly different offense and soared. 

He came from a run-heavy Gunter team that dominated UIL Class 3A in 2022, winning the 3A-D II championship decisively. Dodd saw time in the championship game last year, throwing for 34 yards — 3 of 5 passing — while also running the ball twice for eight yards.

In three games at Fort Worth Christian (3-0), Dodd is the seventh most productive high school quarterback in Texas on record. He's thrown for 987 yards and completed 58 percent of his passes on 104 attempts, 13 touchdowns and two interceptions with a QB rating of 122.1.

His best game of the year was in Week 2, a 47-13 win over Dallas Bishop Dunne, when he threw for 462 yards and six touchdowns.

Dodd points to team's success — namely the protection from his offensive line and receivers' hands — when asked about his hot start. However, since that eye-popping showing, he’s gotten a few more recruiting calls to show interest in this relatively new full-time starter.

In a come-from-behind 42-34 win over Arlington Grace Prep on Saturday, he shows the ability to make quick routes to wide receivers about 5 to 10 yards away, but also sling it deep — shown on a 52-yard pass to Grant Ghali.

Of his 23 completed passes, he connected with nine different receivers.

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COACH'S SON, TWO TIMES OVER

Dodd's transfer started with a change in his mom's coaching position. 

Jill Dodd was hired onto the girls basketball staff at Fort Worth, returning to a town where she had a great deal of success in college. 

Formerly Jill Sutton, she played for Texas Christian University from 1997-2001, where she was the WAC Pacific Division Freshman of the Year and helped the Horned Frogs reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time her senior season. She was inducted in the TCU Hall of Fame in 2019, leaving the school No. 2 all-time in program history for 3-pointer baskets and points.

She and her husband, Chris, whose been a head coach at numerous football programs in North Texas, moved the family from Gunter to Hurst this spring.

Luke Dodd favored both basketball and football growing up. Given his parents' coaching backgrounds, that was a natural pull. His dad started the football program at Colleyville Covenant Christian School and was also the head coach at Anna, and had stints on staff at Colleyville Heritage, McKinney North, and Gunter.

His mom took Colleyville Covenant Christian's girls basketball team to the TAPPS semifinals in 2001-02, the first time the program reached that stage of the postseason. She also had a stop at Euless Trinity before moving around with her husband and ultimately going back to Gunter, where she and her twin sister, Amy, were standouts. Both are members of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame for their play at Gunter.

After nearly a decade away from coaching, Chris Dodd is back coaching this fall as a quality control coach for the Cardinals. He is Fort Worth Christian's Middle School Principal while Jill Dodd teaches at the high school level.

Gunn recognizes the exposure Luke Dodd has had to team settings since both parents are coaches.

“He came from a really good program, so he knows how to win and he knows how to lead," Gunn said. "That is what he’s done. When the lights come on, he just wants to play … he’s a great kid.”

The first day of class for Luke Dodd was on May 8, and admitted the transition wasn't always easy.

“I'll be honest, it was really tough,” Luke Dodd said. “But now, I think especially, I can't imagine being anywhere else. And I love my coaches and I definitely love my teammates here.”

Dodd spent the summer working out and attending 7-on-7 camps, and secured the starting job heading into the fall. His new teammates voted him one of the captains.

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RECRUITING NOISE?

Dodd has an offer from Division II East Central in Ada, Oklahoma but hopes the recruiting picks up the more chances he gets to showcase his arm.

He added camps at SMU, North Texas and went to junior day at Division II Central Oklahoma. He was named the QB MVP of a LaDanian Tomlinson Saturday Night Live Showdown in June.

“I hope I get the opportunity to play at the next level,” Dodd said. “I've got a couple of opportunities right now. But hopefully, that'll just continue to grow. And I'm just looking forward to finishing out this season and then wherever life takes me from there. It is nice to be able to throw the ball and show off what I’ve got, you know? This kind of offense is built for me and I have some great guys here that can go up and make plays.”

-- Cody Thorn | @sblivetx