Chad Brubaker knew right away Matt Zollers could be someone.

When Zollers stepped into preseason camp his freshman season at Royersford (Pa.) Spring Ford, Brubaker approached him about his potential.

"I just walked up to him, and I said to him, 'You know, Matt, you realize how good you can be?'" the Spring Ford coach said. "And he said, 'Yeah, Coach, I kind of know,' and it wasn't braggadocios, it wasn't cocky, it was just matter of fact."

Four games into the 2021 season, Brubaker -- who holds loyalty to his tenured players in his program -- did something unconventional: he alternated series between his freshman pupil and senior signal caller Ryan Freed.

"We just needed to have Matt on the field," Brubaker said.

Zollers played 10 games in his freshman season, accounting for 536 passing yards on 40 completions.

The young quarterback ran away with the job from there.

"He prepares like he was already in college," Brubaker said. "Obviously, our coaching staff and I help with that, teaching them what to be looking for in film, but -- and I've said this to a lot of college coaches -- he makes a mistake, that's usually it. He doesn't make the mistake again."

The quintessential memory of Zollers' athleticism for Brubaker came in the quarterback's second season at Spring Ford. Zollers saw an outside backer burst off the edge late, resulting in the sophomore doing too much to get away from the pass rush.

The play didn't result in a turnover, but it did result in a teaching moment.

The following week, Spring Ford's next opponent saw Zollers' mistake on film and attempted the same blitz. Zollers -- who learned to use a defender's momentum against him -- spun away from the rusher, rolled to his left and threw a touchdown to the dig route.

"That was the moment where I was like, 'Oh man, you just have to tell this kid once, and it's ingrained in his head,'" Brubaker said.

Nothing knocked Zollers out of his rhythm for Spring Ford. He didn't bask in the highs or dwell in the lows, giving his emotion to his team.

"That's his personality," Brubaker said. "He's very steady, calm and collected. He celebrates with his teammates and is very happy when his teammates have success, which is a huge thing in my mind for a quarterback."

Brubaker thought college programs would come knocking for Zollers earlier than they did.

Albeit, he saw patience in Zollers and the quarterback's family. Zollers put together a list of what he wanted to see from each program interested in him, and those points never changed throughout the entire process.

"He said to me very early on, it's going to be a place where it fits his personality," Brubaker said. "He's not a like a rah rah guy. That doesn't mean he doesn't get excited or whatever, but whatever happens for him is genuine. He's not going to fake anything. It's going to be authentic."

Prior to one of his games in the past two years, Zollers wasn't keen on a college coach arriving in a helicopter. It wasn't that he was against the spotlight; he just didn't want to stand out from the rest of his teammates.

"He knows he's special inside," Brubaker said. "But he doesn't want to come off as entitled."

Zollers came down to a Top 4 of Georgia, Missouri, Penn State and Pittsburgh, but his connection to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kirby Moore was unmatched.

"I think he knew right away where he wanted to go," Brubaker said. "In fact, he wanted to have his press conference earlier than he did."

A month and a half before Zollers announced his verbal commitment to Missouri, Brubaker suggested to his quarterback to take his final visits before announcing his decision.

"I don't want for any of our kids to be one of these kids that keeps flipping, and I knew he wasn't that type of kid either," Brubaker said. "He certainly wants to make a decision and run with it."

Zollers checked off all the boxes for college coaches. He showed elite potential in arm strength, athleticism and game management, leading to multiple suitors pulling him in for final visits before his announcement.

The signal caller made visits to his top four schools and added a trip to Alabama before returning home and sticking to his decision to commit to Missouri, which he announced April 4. The Tigers officially signed Zollers on Wednesday.

"The thing about Missouri is the connection," Zollers said in April. "I think I have a really good connection with Coach Andy (Belluomini), the assistant quarterback coach, Coach (Jacob) Peeler, the receivers coach, obviously Coach Moore and every single coach on that staff, not just the assistant coaches. I also feel like I have a good connection with the players."

Zollers suffered a season-ending ankle injury Sept. 13 during the fourth game of the season. A sensational rise through the high school football ranks came to a screeching halt in his final run for Spring Ford.

"Obviously, his injury sucked a lot of life out of our season, not only from a leadership standpoint, but obviously, playing standpoint," Brubaker said. "It was pretty tough, but he did the best that he could under the circumstances."

As Zollers progressed in his rehab, he got back out to practices in the following weeks to be around his teammates. Near the end of the season, when he could put more pressure on his lower leg and walk around, Zollers assisted with in-game analysis for Brubaker and sophomore quarterback Trent Yoder.

"I've been amazed at how he's remained positive," Brubaker said. "It was devastating. High school kids love to play their senior year with their buddies, and it was taken away from him."

Brubaker kept reiterating to Zollers that there's a silver lining to his injury. Although missing his final battles with his close friends, Zollers will walk into his January enrollment at Missouri with a deeper understanding of what he suffered in September.

"I don't know what that silver lining is yet," Brubaker said. "Maybe it was just that he gets some rest, and he's going to come out reinvigorated. But I don't know what that is."