‘Unstoppable’: Gwinnett’s 2-time QB of the year draws comparison to Diego Pavia

Archer’s Jordan Do was honored as Gwinnett County’s best quarterback for the second consecutive season on Monday, adding to a football career overflowing with records and accolades.

But for all his accomplishments in one of Georgia’s most talented counties, his recruiting hasn’t drawn big-name interest.

Standing at 5-foot-10, Do doesn’t look like a Division-I quarterback, though his stats make a different argument.

Do set career school records in passing touchdowns (71), completions (551), completion percentage (64%), rushing yards (2,158), rushing touchdowns (33) and yards per rush (6.4). The Touchdown Club of Gwinnett County’s Quarterback of the Year also holds Archer’s single-game records for passing yards (405) and passing touchdowns (5).

Archer’s football program is just 17 years old, but it’s a Class 6A school with four region championships in Gwinnett County and several deep playoff runs. Archer has sent several quarterbacks to D-I and D-II schools.

Do said Division I coaches have shown him interest, but at the end of his senior year, he has three college offers: Berry College (Division III), Kentucky Wesleyan (Division II) and Clayton State (Division II).

The lack of acknowledgment after such an impressive career could be seen as discouraging, but Do isn’t dismayed. He’s comfortable starting his hopeful road to Division I football at a lower level.

It’s not the first time he made the most of a seemingly hollow opportunity.

The summer before Do’s freshman season, when he played defense, Archer’s junior varsity team was facing Dacula in a seven-on-seven game, and Archer’s quarterback couldn’t make it.

Do had played quarterback on Archer’s eighth-grade team and enjoyed it, but he preferred the contact on defense.

But that day, Archer needed him to lead the offense.

“All my teammates from GFL (Gwinnett Football League) were like, ‘He was our quarterback last year,’ so they threw me in there and I did pretty decent,” Do said. “And they made me a quarterback from there.”

Do led the Tigers to a 6-1 record his freshman season.

“He balled out as a freshman playing with sophomores and juniors making every play in the world,” Archer coach Dante Williams said. “He was unstoppable.”

By next August, he was Archer’s varsity starter.

Williams said Do earned the team’s loyalty in Archer’s first region game that season. The Tigers hosted Brookwood, the school that Archer’s projected starter transferred to before the season. The personal tie added extra motivation and emotion for both sides.

Do led the Tigers to a 34-6 win, throwing for 236 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for another 81 yards and a touchdown.

“I remember he had that one scramble run that he broke for 50 or 60 yards, and throwing the ball all over the yard,” Williams said. “Just for his teammates to kind of see that in a big-time homecoming game, a big-time game versus Brookwood, a lot of playoff implications at the time, because we were region foes at the time.

“For us to pull away and in fashion we did, I think that really kind of solidified this kid’s for real.”

Do has capitalized on opportunities before, and he plans to do the same with his college career. His eyes are on what he could offer as a transfer.

“Your one-percenters, they have it made. They can go wherever they like, but at the end of the day, everyone else is more than likely not going to sign at the level that they should be signing at,” Williams said. “So you probably will sign at a lower level than you normally would, and that’s fine.

“Go do your thing, then jump in the portal and be a chess piece on the board. You can’t really whine and complain about it.”

Do isn’t in the business of complaining. He’s focused on making the best next decision available and moving from there.

“I really just want to have an opportunity to keep playing, because I know me, and I know how I get,” Do said. “I know if I get that one opportunity, I keep proving people wrong, and I’ll eventually make my way to the place I want to be, and of course, that’s Division I.”

While Do might not look like a typical college quarterback, he reminds Williams of a current Heisman finalist.

“He is Diego Pavia 2.0,” Williams said. “He’s going to start at this school, then probably go to another school, then probably go to another one, right?”

Williams also sees similarities between Do’s and Pavia’s play styles and profiles.

“Just like Diego Pavia, you know, it doesn’t really make sense. You almost can’t put it into words,” Williams said. “I mean, this guy’s not tall, he doesn’t have a really rocket arm, he wouldn’t be deadly accurate. He’s not a Michael Vick or Lamar Jackson 4.3 blazer, albeit he’s athletic, but there’s just something about him where he is elevating Vanderbilt to one of the best programs in the nation.

“Jordan Do will elevate a team to be one of the most competitive in the state or nation, wherever he’s at.”

Williams has coached Gwinnett County talent for years. He coached at Grayson when the Rams won a 7A state title in 2016. He coached eventual Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter at Collins Hill.

“I’ve seen the creme de la creme of players,” Williams said. “This is just paying homage to I think what high school football is in a big-time state like Georgia, Texas or Florida where high school football means something. It’s kind of paying homage to that originating storyline.”

The uncommitted Do doesn’t know his next team yet, much less his path to Division I football. He does know he’s satisfied with the legacy he left at the program that raised him.