Taking Center Stage: Central’s Max Gassiott starts first season as QB1
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
Twenty-four career games and two playoff appearances with two different schools provided quarterback Max Gassiott with plenty of memories and flashes of brilliance.
Gassiott was part of Alexandria Senior High’s first undefeated District 2-5A championship and first trip to the Superdome, meeting state power Karr in the Division I select state title game. A year later, following a family move outside the Baton Rouge area to Central High, he was part of another two-quarterback system that featured its share of ebb and flows, ending in the Division I non-select state quarterfinals.
The 6-foot-1 Gassiott bulked up 15 pounds to 195 over the offseason, became further acclimated to the team’s offensive system, earned the Wildcats’ starting quarterback job, and picked up a scholarship offer from Nicholls State, where he committed on June 8.
“I had something to prove, I felt I had been overlooked,” Gassiott said during a break from 7-on-7 competition June 17 at Wildcat Stadium. “This is my first time I’m starting (a season) in my whole high school career. I know I have that job, but I’m not treating it the same way. I feel like I’ve got stuff to prove to people.”
Fourth-year Central football coach David Simoneaux Jr. referred to it as the ‘Drew Brees Syndrome’ when looking for a comparison to Gassiott’s recruiting process in the spring.
Because he lacked the prototypical size of four and five-star quarterbacks, the 6-foot Brees signed with Purdue, where his talent and leadership became obvious. He went on to a 20-year NFL career with the San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints, passing for 80,358 yards and 571 touchdowns, leading the Saints to a Super Bowl title in 2009, and will take his place in the NFL’s Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer.
Simoneaux said that 75-plus schools dispatched coaches to evaluate Central’s spring workouts, including keeping an eye on Gassiott.
“He’s not the 6-3 prototype guy,” Simoneaux said of Gassiott. “He went to some camps. We had a lot of foot traffic through spring, and people were able to evaluate him in person. There was a day Nicholls sent their whole staff to look at him and some of our other guys, too. He performed extremely well at their camp, and they offered him (March 31) on the spot.”
The ability to throw in front of Nicholls’ offensive staff, in particular quarterbacks coach Matt Giampa, helped Gassiott earn a scholarship offer, which he reciprocated with a commitment.
“I liked what they had going on and what the coaches were saying to me,” Gassiott said. “When they offered, I talked to my dad. I wanted to commit there, but we waited and slept on it, and two days later, I committed. I definitely see myself playing there in the future.
“Coach Giampa had been talking to me for a while,” he said. “I feel he has a lot of belief in me, just like their whole coaching staff. That was one of the main things, having somebody that believes in me.”
Alexandria Senior High had one of the state’s most explosive offenses under coach Thomas Bachman in 2024.
With standout running back JT Lindsey, a first-team Class 5A All-State selection and LSU signee (now of Ole Miss), the Trojans featured a 2,361-yard rusher who had 37 touchdowns.
They also had two promising quarterbacks – both sophomores in Karsen Sellers and Gassiott – that could ignite the offense.
Alexandria went unbeaten during the regular season and wrapped up its first undefeated District 2-5A championship – a league where the Trojans knocked off West Monroe (45-35), Ruston (50-36), and Neville (42-16).
The Trojans announced their candidacy as one of the top teams in Division I select with regular season wins over Destrehan (45-27) and Opelousas (43-40), the reigning Division II non-select state champion.
Gassiott completed 4-of-8 passes for 90 yards and a TD against West Monroe and was almost perfect in another league win over Ouachita (55-12), passing for 154 yards and two touchdowns on 10 of 11 attempts.
The game that followed the ASH-Karr matchup was the Division I non-select final with Central opposing Ruston, with the Wildcats exploding for a 42-0 victory, the school’s first state crown in 58 years and second overall.
The Gassiotts moved to Central earlier last spring, with Max touring the school and getting enrolled in March.
“Moving was a little bit hard at first,” he said. “It was definitely a little bit of stress. Now that I’ve settled in, it’s gotten a lot easier, and I think it was just a blessing. I knew they had won the state title the year before. When I toured the school, you could see they had great things going on. They had great facilities. The weight room and stadium were top-notch. Everything was top-notch.”
To try to accelerate his comprehension of the team’s offense, Simoneaux suggested Gassiott take a 60-play script from a team’s practice, review the results of the play, and write it out with the understanding of what the offense was doing and the defense’s alignment.
Gassiott took the assignment to heart.
“He was behind a little in the spring,” Simoneaux said of Gassiott, who hadn’t gained his eligibility from the LHSAA to play in the spring game. “When I mentioned to him about writing out the script, which was in passing, but I wanted him to make sure he knew what was going on.
“He not only did it for one day, but he also did it for five weeks,” Simoneaux said. “He said it helped him a ton after I told him he could stop. I thought it was taking him 90 minutes a night. It was pretty in-depth stuff with what the receivers’ motions looked like and their routes.”
Gassiott would be part of another multiple-quarterback system along with Jacori Platt.
Simoneaux said his offense had packages that were built to fit both of their skill sets and flip-flopped them every other series.
That pattern continued through the first seven weeks of the season, during which Central was 5-2 and still in the thick of the District 4-5A race. The Wildcats had dropped a 57-28 game to Catholic High-Baton Rouge when Simoneaux believed a change was in order, turning over the offense’s reins to Gassiott for the remainder of the season.
“Moving into Week 8, he kind of elevated himself,” he said. “The way he ran the ball downfield, ran the offense. He showed fight in the way he threw the football as well. He throws a great football. He had that knack for willing the team down the field.
Gassiott acknowledged his total grasp of the offense wasn’t where he wanted it initially, but accepted the challenge of Simoneaux and offensive coordinator Zach Morris. The Wildcats won their final three games over Liberty Magnet (49-14), Zachary (35-33), and Scotlandville (48-7).
“After the first few weeks of the season, I didn’t understand the offense too well,” Gassiott said. “After drawing out the plays and getting reps, I earned the position and settled in. Moving to my junior year, I realized I had to know what offenses and defenses were doing, and that helped me a lot.”
Central’s spread system became second nature for Gassiott, a true dual-threat quarterback. Not only could he execute all the throws asked, relying on the skill players around him, but he was comfortable running the ball, whether it was by design or scrambling away from pressure.
The Wildcats extended their win streak to five games with postseason wins over Dutchtown (52-25) and East Ascension (46-32) before traveling to Zachary in a rematch in the quarterfinal round.
Central led 21-14 at halftime, and Brody Diel, the team’s top receiver, returned an interception 21 yards for a touchdown and a 27-24 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Broncos, who shut out the Wildcats and limited them to 14 plays in the second half, put together a game-winning drive of 71 yards on 11 plays with a four-yard run with 11 seconds to go for a 31-27 win.
Gassiott threw for 149 yards and a TD on 13 of 20 passing.
“I thought we exploded offensively down the stretch,” Simoneaux said. “We played a good first half against Zachary, too. They shut us out in the second half.”
Central’s quarterback picture changed for the 2026 season when Platt transferred to Zachary.
Gassiott went into his final offseason following a junior season in which he averaged a team-high 190.8 yards of total offense.
He completed 65% (133 of 204) of his passes for 1,877 yards – an average of 156.4 yards per game – with six interceptions and 18 touchdowns.
Gassiott was also the team’s third-leading rusher behind two running backs with a team-best 91 attempts for 410 yards (4.4 yards per carry) and nine touchdowns.
“The offense fits me perfectly with the RPOs (run-pass option) and quarterback runs,” Gassiott said. “Just being on the same page as coach Morris, we can talk about what he’s trying to do and what I’m trying to do. I think we mesh very well.”
Gassiott displayed a toughness, along with an intellect, which brought a smile to Simoneaux’s face.
During a game at Cecilia, Gassiott was backed up to his goal line. He managed to hang in the pocket against pressure long enough to deliver a pass with a rusher in his face. The throw had plenty; the play completely flipped the field with a 41-yard completion.
Gassiott kept on a designed run play toward the short side of the field at East Ascension’s 20, shook off a would-be tackler, and maintained his balance to score on the play in his team’s playoff victory.
Gassiott turned a quarterback delay against Woodlawn into a 33-yard touchdown run, and his precision in the passing game was evident, rolling away from pressure and firing a pass that went for a 74-yard catch and run against Scotlandville.
“He has that gunslinger type mentality,” Simoneaux said. “He wants to put it out there. He trusts his guys. He’s a dominant style thrower. He’s got the touch. He hits the slot fades and can make the long throws at the bottom of the hash that are really impressive. He’s got a lot of confidence in his own ability and is not afraid to pull the trigger on some harder throws.
“He’s a thick kid that looks like a linebacker,” Simoneaux said. “He’s second to none in the weight room. He’s a quiet guy that goes about his work and has improved daily. I expect him to have a great senior year.”
Gassiott’s also excited to have two of his top three receivers returning.
Diel led the way with 60 receptions for 961 yards (16 yards per catch) and 10 touchdowns, with Marcus Watson adding 30 catches for 346 yards (11.5 yards per catch) and three TDs.
“Just being comfortable in the offense is the main thing,” said Gassiott, whose younger brother Quinn is a sophomore wide receiver this season. “That was the thing separating me last year, and just being comfortable with all of my receivers. It definitely helps a lot.
“I like the RPOs and being able to take apart a defense with that,” Gassiott said. “If they try to guard both, then I can take off. In our drop-back game, we have some killers at receiver. It’s also a dream to be going to play at the next level. The jobs not finished. We’re going for state, and then we can be satisfied after that.”