Jackson Adlhoch is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Perry High School for AZPreps365.com.

The Perry Pumas (7-3) have state title aspirations led by junior starting quarterback Diesel Taylor. 

After going 4-7 last year, Perry head coach Joseph Ortiz gave the keys to Taylor as its offense's driving force and he has not disappointed. 

“It’s very special, I'm very grateful for the opportunity, for them to put trust in me even though I'm a junior," Taylor said. "Most schools don’t really do that."

Ortiz has been impressed with the young buck so far. 

“We have a good first-year starting quarterback in Diesel Taylor," Ortiz said. "He’s doing really really well."

Taylor finished the regular season on 25 passing touchdowns, the 6A conference's eighth-best 1804 passing yards, just six interceptions. 

Despite Taylor’s stellar numbers, there is a lot more than meets the eye.

Taylor’s football journey began long before he stepped foot on the Perry campus.

His dad Curtis Taylor missed one of his first football games ever due to a work conflict, however his son still showed up and showed out. 

“I worked on a Saturday so I didn’t go to his game… He ran a couple touchdowns in and my wife was texting me, 'Diesel just scored a touchdown, Diesel just scored again.' And I was like OK. So I saw that he had the desire to compete when he was five, in football he wanted to be a running back, so then I took him a little more serious and I got involved a little bit,” said the elder Taylor. 

The consensus from the people in Taylor’s circle is that he is a natural born competitor. 

“Regardless of the outcome he just gets back in it. He tries harder and harder, never shies away from anything, doesn’t matter what the score was, doesn’t matter who he was facing,” said Taylor about his son’s competitive spirit. 

Finding another competitive passion off the field is important to Diesel. He mentioned wanting to get into other hobbies outside of football such as jiu jitsu and boxing. 

One of the most important aspects of football to Taylor was how it put all of his other problems to the side when he was on the field. 

“It was a good way to get all of the stuff that I have off my mind. It was a good outlet for anything, if you have a bad day or if stuff’s not going good at home I just go play football and get all of your emotions out," Taylor said. 

Most young athletes have a pro player they look up to. Taylor is no exception.

“Tom Brady, that’s my favorite football player and what I base my game off is definitely him," said Taylor. "I watch his form and I try to copy it to have that quick release like he does, and make my ball come out like he does. He was my biggest role model."

Not only does Taylor model his game after Brady, but he has a similar mission as well. 

“My long term football goals are obviously to go to the league, the NFL, and I think if I put my head down and keep grinding and not worrying what others think I think I can get there," Taylor said. 

Taylor has mighty goals and long-term aspirations, but a good place to start is a deep playoff run this year for Perry. That's a tall task for any high school QB, but something the young star seems to be ready to tackle.