Cue making most of opportunity

FLORENCE -- At the start of last year’s playoffs, there was at least one person who believed the Wilson Tigers were going to be the last team standing in Columbia.
“Coach, we’re going to win the state championship,” quarterback Richard Cue told Darryl Page before the Socastee game.

“He was one of my first players to tell me that,” Page said. “And after the game he’d say, ‘Coach, I told you so. I told you so.’”

That remark reflected a growing confidence in the young quarterback, Page said, and also showed how far he’s come in a short time.
Cue ranks second in the Pee Dee this season with 1,322 passing yards. He also ranks second on the team with 471 rushing yards and has a combined 16 touchdowns.

“He’s made a lot of good decisions, both with his arm and with his feet,” Page said. “He’s helped us move the ball tremendously this year.
“It’s something we always knew he was capable of.”

Taking the reins
The Tigers won the Class 3A title in unique fashion.
Cue was part of a dual quarterback system with Maliek McCall. Neither had ever started at the varsity level before, so both of their talents were used in each game.

Cue played one half while McCall played the other, giving the Tigers a change of pace at quarterback.

“It was kind of odd at first,” Cue said. “As a quarterback, you want to be in there the whole game. But, eventually, I got used to it because it was what was best for the team.”

Both quarterbacks managed to put up impressive numbers. Cue finished with more than 1,000 yards passing.
The system was set to be in place again this year until suspensions levied after a fight against Lake City forced Cue into a full-time starting role.

“It was something you had to get used to again, playing four quarters,” Cue said. “There’s nothing really different about it. You prepare the same way and practice just as hard. The only difference is you’re on the field at the end of the game now.”

Maturing as a QB
Cue’s success this year is due in part to what he went through last season, Page said.

“I think the competition with Maliek helped him a lot,” Page said. “You saw him improve every game and he really picked things up in the playoffs.”
Cue picked things up even more in the state championship game. He was responsible for both of Wilson’s touchdowns, one through the air and one on the ground.
“It was great being able to play in that type of atmosphere and play well,” Cue said. “I didn’t really think about anything other than just going out there and being me.”

“He made a good read on the pass and then made a good decision on the run,” Wilson wideout Caleb Davis said. “He started to become more of an elusive (runner) and he’s done that a lot this year.”

Davis has also been on the receiving end of a lot of Cue’s passes. The duo’s closeness off the field has led to success on the field.

“We talk about the game and watch film together,” Davis said. “Other than that, it’s really about knowing what kind of route to run for the throws he makes.”

Davis isn’t the only one who’s found success with Cue. Bivens Elliott, Justin Kelly and Joshua Jones each have at least 100 receiving yards.

“(Cue) has always had a live arm,” Page said. “It was just a matter of being able to make the right reads and developing that touch on his passes. He’s done a good job of spreading the ball around to our playmakers, too.”

Looking ahead
While Cue won’t get a chance to repeat his state title performance, he did say he’d like the opportunity to play at the next level.

“I’d like to go to a Division II school and have the opportunity to play quarterback,” Cue said.

Page, for one, thinks it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

“Richard’s a good player,” he said. “We might not have the Clemson’s and (South) Carolina’s knocking down our door, but we have a lot of good football players, including him.
“He’s seized every opportunity that’s been put in front of him.”