QB Magazine Athlete Feature

Most quarterbacks get a full offseason to learn a new offense. Ethan Esmailian got a few days.

Last season, he moved to San Diego three weeks into the football season and joined Morse High School, a team that had gone 1-9 the year before. He had to learn new teammates, a new playbook, and a new locker room while the season was already underway. Ethan calls it the biggest challenge of his career. It also turned into one of the best things that has happened to him in football.

Morse didn’t just get better. The team won a regional championship and reached the state title game. Along the way, Ethan threw a touchdown in the San Diego CIF championship game, which Morse won. “That type of feeling cannot be replicated,” he said. “Last season was crazy because I transferred into a team that went 1-9 the year prior and helped lead them to the state title game.”

Now the Class of 2028 quarterback is at Western High School in Anaheim, California, bringing that experience to a new program.

Ethan’s football journey began at age five, when his parents signed him up for flag football. He says it didn’t take long for him to know he’d found his sport. “After a few seconds on the field I found love in the sport,” he said.

Today, what he enjoys most is the responsibility that comes with playing quarterback. “The whole offense and game rests on my shoulders,” Ethan said, “and I’m prepared for that pressure.” He has already shown that he can handle it, stepping into a new team in the middle of a season and helping lead one of the biggest turnarounds in the region.

He believes the qualities that matter most at quarterback are mental ones: processing, knowledge of the game, and accuracy. It’s no surprise that his favorite quarterback is Tom Brady. “The way he plays with his brain and how he processes defenses is second to none,” Ethan said.

His ability to process the game has been shaped by years of coaching. Ethan currently trains with Danny Hernandez. The mentor who has had the greatest impact, however, is Coach Grant Caraway of First Down Training. Ethan started working with him just before the COVID pandemic, and Caraway helped him develop his mechanics and his understanding of the game. “He’s helped me so much that I see him more like family than just a mentor,” Ethan said.

Ethan’s goals are clear. In the short term, he wants to prepare for the season and improve every day. Long term, he wants to lead Western to a CIF title. After helping transform a 1-9 team into a state finalist, he has proven he knows what it takes to help a program take a major step forward.

Follow Ethan: @ethanesmailian on Instagram and X

From Morse to Western

Ethan’s story spans two schools and two regions. At Morse, he helped a 1-9 team win a San Diego CIF title and reach the state championship game. Now at Western, he has his sights set on another CIF title. People in San Diego saw the turnaround at Morse, and Anaheim is getting to know him now. An upgraded QB Magazine membership brings both parts of his story together for one audience.

The heart of it is the feature article. Practice Squad includes one each year, and Starter includes two. Ethan’s story is well suited for longer coverage: arriving in Week 3, learning a new offense on the fly, winning a championship, and then moving to a new school. A stat sheet can show a touchdown in a title game, but an article can explain how he got there. A second article can follow his junior season as he tries to lead Western toward a CIF title.

A custom graphic is created for him every month. His highlights can include a CIF championship touchdown, key moments from Morse’s state title run, and new moments at Western as the season unfolds. Each graphic is designed around Ethan and gives teammates from both schools, along with coaches and family, an easy way to celebrate his success.

Reposts expand where that content goes. Practice Squad includes two story reposts each month on X or Instagram. Starter includes four story reposts every week across both platforms, plus a monthly wall collab that appears on Ethan’s page and QB Magazine’s at the same time. Because he uses @ethanesmailian on both platforms, every repost points followers to one account. QB Magazine’s audience of quarterbacks, coaches, and football families nationwide can follow his season as it happens.

Starter also offers benefits that fit a junior with his experience. Social media consulting can help him present his page in a way that reflects the processing and preparation he values most. Top 50 QB Mag Watchlist consideration gives a quarterback with a CIF championship and a state title game appearance a chance to be featured among the players QB Magazine is watching. Priority for the QB Mag College Bus + Camps TOUR gives him a chance to see college campuses in person. Both tiers also include camp access, adding more coaching opportunities to his work with Danny Hernandez and the foundation he built with Coach Caraway.

With two high school seasons still ahead, the benefit grows over time. Articles, graphics, reposts, and collabs from this junior season will still be available as he moves into his senior year. Anyone who follows Ethan will be able to trace his path from Week 3 at Morse through his seasons at Western.

Ethan says Coach Caraway feels more like family than a mentor, and that support helped prepare him to handle a new team in the middle of a season. A membership helps preserve what came from that preparation: a championship turnaround, a new home at Western, and a quarterback who is ready for the pressure.

More info: quarterbackmagazine.com/memberships