The idea for this article started with a simple question: Who is the best X attackmen in America? 

The 2024 class graduated a lot of talented behind the goal players. Pat Kavanagh, Connor Shellenberger and Matt Brandau were three of the most effective behind the goal dodgers in recent memory, while TJ Malone and Josh Zawada played behind the net for two of the best offences in the nation. All of them play professional lacrosse now. 

But in researching for the article, a more interesting investigation came up. Is the traditional role of quarterback dead? Let’s investigate.

If you missed the first articles in this series, check them out below.

Part One: Schematic Trends

Part Two: Can Lyght Win The Schmeisser Three Times?

Part Three: What’s Next for the Canadians?

Part Four: Who Will Take Over the Goaltending Throne?

What was it? 

Traditionally, attack lines were built off three archetypes of players.

One player was a pure off-ball player. These players rarely traveled behind the net, were usually one-handed and (in recent history) Canadian. They had sick mitts, could catch anything, and could score from range. They had many goals and few assists. 

Then you had a quarterback. These were talented dodgers who were almost always two-handed. These players scored way more assists than goals, were often the captains or leaders of the offence, and usually did most of their damage close to the goal. For all their strengths, shooting from distance was typically a relative weakness.

Then the third player was usually some combination of the three, someone who could do a bit of everything. Usually they were a lefty. 

In my time as a fan and player in college lacrosse, Steele Stanwick (and his younger brothers), Rob Pannell, Michael Sowers, and Grant Ament all personified the quarterback role. 

How has it changed?

There are a few important changes to the quarterback role. The first is the proliferation of positionless offence, which allows (and encourages!) offensive players to play creatively and attack from different positions around the field. Notre Dame was a good example of this, as you never quite knew where the Kavanaghs would end up. Another good example is how every team has some sort of middie invert offence that pushes X players above the goal. 

Because of that, players now have diverse skill sets that start to blur the lines of the traditional roles. Shellenberger and Kavanagh could shoot on the run from range like elite midfielders. Historically, that was not a characteristic of the great X attackmen. 

This is a good example from Kavanagh. Quarterback attackmen aren’t really supposed to shoot on the run like this.

Slow to slide defences have also necessitated this evolution. Fewer and fewer true off-ball players get playing time around the country and quarterbacks have to do more than ever to earn slides and create passing lanes. In other words, everyone now needs to be a scorer. 

Who changed it? 

Loyola’s Pat Spencer was the best example of the changing roles. Spencer was a traditional quarterback in the sense that he would rather pass than score, was comfortable behind the net, and was two handed. 

But he was a beast above the goal who embraced the freedom of dodging from everywhere. He liked to dodge from both wings, back defenders down from the middle, or catch passes off swings and go to work. 

This one against Loyola is a good example. It’s also just unbelievably cool that he was backing guys down from 30 yards out… in a hoodie.

Lyle Thompson did many of the same things, albeit mostly right-handed. 

Around the same time, there was an evolution in skill development at the youth levels, with an increase in skill instruction (private or on social media) and an acceptance that teaching new skills that may not have been traditionally fundamental was good for a players development.

The result was a new generation of attackmen (like Spencer, Shellenberger, Kavanagh etc) who had a deepening bag of tricks. Staying behind the net meant not getting to use some of the clubs in the bag. 

That illustrates am important nuance to this argument. The elite players are still quarterbacks in the sense that they manipulate defences and make their teammates better. But the variety of their skillsets and the ways they attack defences makes it feel like a new role.

To continue the football terminology, there are a lot more dual-threat guys out there than pocket passers.

Where Are We Now?

Most fans would agree that the two best returning attackmen in college lacrosse are CJ Kirst and Chris Kavanagh. Neither play behind the net, but neither are off-ball guys. They are both wing dodgers / shooters / slashers / absolute sickos. 

The two more obvious choices for behind the net players are Syracuse’s Joey Spallina and Harvard’s Sam King. 

Spallina has traditionally played behind the net, but is a gifted shooter and talented above the goal scorer. Coming off the best offensive season by an American in Junior A history, might he play more above the cage this year? That seems likely. But still, he is one of the closest options to the traditional quarterback role. 

And again, Spallina is an elite mid-long range shooter. Historically, that is not a characteristic of the great X attackmen.

King is liable to be found just about anywhere on the field. He likes to dodge from the high wing (kind of like Spencer) and go down the alley with his stick to the outside. He can feed from there or shoot, with the worst case that he ends up behind the goal. He also has more goals than assists in his career, an atypical statline for the traditional quarterback. 

Consider this example of King looking like a midfielder at the top of the box. After dropping his man, he scores top corner on likely the best goaltender in America this season.

Two other options play in the same conference, on the same team. Cornell’s Mikey Long and Ryan Goldstein are both capable quarterbacks with two-handed feeding ability that separates them from others. Goldstein’s father Tim was one of the legendary pure quarterbacks of all time, who once had 73 assists in a single season. 

Goldstein is a vintage QB.

Who else will emerge? Will McCabe Millon play more behind the goal? Will Owen Duffy take the next step for Carolina? What position will Andrew McAdorey play against elite teams? Will Princeton’s kids break through?

Great offences will continue to put their players in the best positions to excel. But it’s likely going to look different going forward.

The quarterback isn’t dead, but it sure is different.

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