Big shoes to fill: Graves, Goldsmith locked in battle to become Catholic High’s starting quarterback this year

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

A day after Catholic High of Baton Rouge capped its 12-2 season Dec. 8 with a Division I select state championship over Acadiana, the realization hit reserve quarterback Turner Goldsmith.

The final game of the season also brought down the curtain on the greatest career for a Bears’ quarterback with the impending graduation of Daniel Beale.

Beale, a UL-Lafayette signee, rewrote most of the Catholic High record books. His sparkling 35-5 record overall his final three seasons and two state championships (another was forfeited) were among the program’s standards he set.

“I realized somebody’s going to have to step up,” Goldsmith said.

Beale became the gold standard for Catholic High quarterbacks to follow, an athletic leader that was calm under pressure since he was forced into starting role during his freshman season because of injury.

The two-time Class 5A All-State quarterback and state offensive Player of the Year in 2023, Beale set 12 school single-season and career records that included 8,466 yards passing and 8,745 yards of total offense.

“Daniel’s not a guy you look to replace,” Catholic High second-year coach Hudson Fuller. “You’re thankful he’s been in your program; he’s left a legacy that’s made everyone that’s still here better. Every year the equation is to be a successful team. At every position, finding who are guys and in what spots, what are their strengths and finding the equation that allows us to be successful.”

Goldsmith and fellow junior classmate Baylor Graves are the two leading candidates in the race for Catholic High’s starting quarterback job in 2024.

“Daniel set a standard at Catholic for what it’s like to be a quarterback here,” Goldsmith said. “Learning from him was huge. There’s no one else I’d rather be behind for two years and learn from. That’s the Catholic High offense.”

The pursuit of the position will continue through the summer and into the fall when the Bears open the 2024 season with consecutive road games against Destrehan, a Division I nonselect state quarterfinalist, and St. Thomas More, the reigning Division II select state champion.

“Being under Beale was great for us because of how good he was and how he led the team and himself,” Graves said. “Going into this year we have a pretty good idea of what needs to be done and how to do it.”

A year after signaling in plays to Beale, both players have a good grasp of the offense.

Beale completed 213 of 338 passes for 2,975 yards for 39 touchdowns. He also added 202 rushing yards and seven scores, giving him 3,176 total yards and 46 touchdowns in 2023.

He averaged 414.42 total yards a game and finished his career with a 55-31 victory over Acadiana.

“Whether it’s leadership, play at a certain position like quarterback, our program’s focused on development,” Fuller said. “We’re not just developing the starter and kind of letting the other (guy) sit there.

“We’re going to be constantly developing everybody on our roster so when their opportunities come, they’re able to play to their potential,” Fuller said. “We don’t see it as a void, or they don’t have this or that. They’ve been there developing and working for their turn instead of waiting their turn.”

Graves and Goldsmith shared quarterback duties with both the junior varsity and scout team last season.

Graves saw limited action behind Beale with the varsity, completing 9 of 14 passes for 82 yards and no touchdowns. Cohen Leblanc, now part of the team’s wide receiver corps, was 2 of 4 for 88 yards and a TD.

“I got to learn from him for two years and it was really helpful to learn an entire offense,” Goldsmith said of Beale. “Getting to signal in plays helped me to understand the offense week in and week out and with the game plans. If I didn’t know what to do then I couldn’t tell Beale what play to run.”

Graves said Beale was an excellent mentor who helped inspire Catholic’s team-first culture.

“He was a great player,” he said, “but more importantly he was a great guy the way he carried himself. The way he kind of put us under his wing really prepared us for this year.”

The offseason, which included the team’s intrasquad scrimmage in May, has provided Graves and Goldsmith with opportunities to continue to develop. From the weight room and practice field and film room, there’s plenty of layers involved in securing a starting position anywhere on the field.

“In the offseason we put a lot of effort into that with installs, and studying it,” Graves said. “Knowing the ins and outs of every play. Drawing them out and repping them in your head. It’s very detailed and we like it that way.”

Goldsmith’s offseason work with the football team had to wait until his commitment to baseball was finished. He was a reserve infielder for the Bears (38-2) who won the Division I select state championship and were named national championship by virtue of their final No. 1 ranking by MaxPreps.

“I came back (from baseball) ready to work and learned as much as I could and see how much I improved,” Goldsmith said. “

Catholic used a total of four quarterbacks during its spring game with Graves and Goldsmith sharing equal repetitions with two other quarterbacks.

“Just like with every decision we make, it’s what is best for our team,” Fuller said. “Particularly the quarterback position, you’re looking for a guy that will play there and make everybody else better.”

The spring game provided a highpoint for Goldsmith.

“It was pretty fun, probably the most fun I had playing football in my life,” he said. “I just enjoyed being back with all of the guys. We learned a lot about ourselves and what our strengths were and what we needed to work on. I felt we got better every day.”

Graves’ journey began at wide receiver, transitioned to and away from quarterback, and back to quarterback his freshman year.

“Being a quarterback you have to know before you’re out there,” Graves said. “During the spring and summer, we’re preparing ourselves for the season. Just going in every day and giving your best effort.”

Playing quarterback has been part of Goldsmith’s DNA since the fifth grade. He recalled attending Catholic High games and dreaming about playing the position for the Bears.

“It was always thought about when I was little,” he said. “You come to the games, and you see that guy and say, ‘that would be crazy if that was me’. Time keeps going and there’s the realization it could be me one of these days.”

Graves and Goldsmith alternated at quarterback during a highly anticipated 7-on-7 matchup June 13 at Zachary where the Bears competed against New Orleans staples Karr and St. Augustine.

Both quarterbacks showed their versatility, rolling away from pressure to find their intermediate receiver. They were also able to take three-step drops and hit their receivers on slants or hang in just long enough to beat the four-second count on deep balls that covered the 45-yard field.

It was the among the experiences that may enable either quarterback to separate from the other.

Regardless, though, the two close friends will continue to work for the starting job with the eventual winner getting the full support of the other to lead this year’s offense.

“He’s one of my good friends,” Goldsmith said of Graves. “But whenever we come out to football, we push each other to make each other better. At the end of the day, we’re still going to be friends. We want to see this team and each other succeed no matter who gets the job.”