QB Magazine Athlete Feature

On Friday mornings during the season, before anyone at Piper High School steps onto the field, Maksim Steuber is already studying that night’s opponent.

It’s one of the final pieces of a weekly routine he has followed for years with his quarterback coach, Oliver Bozeman. Early in the week, they review film from the previous game to find what Maksim needs to fix. On Friday morning, they go through the opponent’s film one last time. “Watching film and training outside of practice has been the biggest thing to get me ready for games,” the Class of 2029 quarterback from Coral Springs, Florida said.

That preparation has helped him handle a lot more, a lot earlier, than most quarterbacks his age.

Maksim’s football career started almost by accident. Football was always on at home, and when his dad took his older brother to sign up, someone asked how old Maksim was. When they heard he was five, they said he could play too. Maksim begged his dad to let him. That first season, he played every position, and by the end he knew football was his sport. He has been playing ever since, now for ten years.

As an eighth grader, he played varsity at Tru Prep, a small school with only 25 students. The school was small, but the coaches believed in him enough to put him on the field early.

The next step was even bigger. He moved to Piper, a program coming off a 10-win season and a playoff appearance with a senior quarterback. Maksim arrived as the only freshman on varsity and became the starting quarterback. “There was a lot of pressure,” he said. What helped most was the culture Coach Short had built and the senior leaders who welcomed him. “Early in workouts they showed they believed in me and the other teammates followed,” Maksim said. “It would have been a lot tougher if not for them.”

That freshman season ended with the biggest moment of his career so far. In the first round of the state playoffs against Flanagan, Piper trailed 6-3 in the fourth quarter. Maksim threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to win the game and send Piper to the second round, only the second time the program had reached that round in 30 years.

Winning moments like that were once how Maksim measured success. “When I was younger I used to think I only did good if I threw touchdowns or a lot of yards,” he said. Now he sees the position differently. He says a quarterback is like a coach on the field, managing the huddle, making adjustments at the line, and reading the defense. His favorite part is playing a role in the team’s success and seeing the work he puts in away from practice show up on Friday nights.

His favorite quarterback is Jalen Hurts, and the connection runs deeper than football. Maksim admires how Hurts responded after being benched in a national championship game and eventually became a Super Bowl MVP through hard work and faith. “People doubt him but he continues to prove them wrong,” Maksim said. “I have been in similar situations over the years and lean on my faith to overcome.”

The person who has stood by him through all of it is Coach Bozeman, who has worked with him since he was eight. “He believes in me when no one else including myself did,” Maksim said. “I can always count on him to give me good advice, yell at me when I need it and just to always be there.”

Now Maksim is a returning starter with a new responsibility. Piper lost many of its leaders, and he knows he needs to become one of them. His goal for the year is to help the team go even further in the state playoffs. Off the field, he wants to attend more college camps and build relationships with college programs. He has already worked camps at FAU, Marshall, West Virginia, and Penn State. He also understands how difficult recruiting can be for a quarterback. “It’s more important than any other position to get in front of the colleges,” he said.

Follow Maksim: @Qb_Maks on Instagram

Getting in Front of Colleges

Maksim knows what he needs to do next. He said getting in front of college programs matters more for quarterbacks than for players at any other position, and he plans to spend the summer attending more camps and making college connections. An upgraded QB Magazine membership supports that plan all year, not just during camp season.

Feature articles tell the story that film alone can’t. Practice Squad includes one article a year, and Starter includes two. Maksim’s story needs that space. It includes playing varsity as an eighth grader at a school of 25 students, winning the starting job as Piper’s only freshman on varsity, throwing a game-winning playoff touchdown, and building a seven-year relationship with Coach Bozeman. One article can cover his sophomore season as a returning starter. Another can follow his summer on the camp circuit.

Each month, a custom graphic highlights one moment from his season. That could be a playoff win, a fourth-quarter drive, or a milestone as Piper’s leader. The graphic is designed around that moment and gives teammates, coaches, and his family something clear and meaningful to share.

Reposts help those moments reach more people. Practice Squad includes two story reposts a month on X or Instagram. Starter includes four story reposts every week across both platforms, along with a monthly wall collab that appears on Maksim’s page and QB Magazine’s at the same time. This gives quarterbacks, coaches, and football families who follow the magazine a regular way to follow him throughout the season.

Starter’s added benefits line up closely with Maksim’s goals. Priority for the QB Mag College Bus + Camps TOUR supports his plan to visit more colleges and make connections. Top 50 QB Mag Watchlist consideration gives a returning starter with a playoff-winning touchdown a chance to be featured among the quarterbacks QB Magazine is watching. Social media consulting can help him organize his online presence so college staff can easily find him on Instagram and X. Both tiers also include camp access, adding more opportunities to the list that already includes FAU, Marshall, West Virginia, and Penn State.

Each of these benefits helps make Maksim more familiar to the people he wants to reach. When he walks into his next college camp, a coach may already recognize him from a graphic, a repost, or his feature article.

Maksim credits Coach Bozeman with believing in him before he believed in himself, and he credits Piper’s seniors with making him part of the team. A membership lets people follow what that support has helped him become: a quarterback who grew up fast and is now ready to help lead his team.

More info: quarterbackmagazine.com/memberships