Quarterback Jamier Rose led Noble to its first regional final since 1997, completing 62% of his passes for 1,518 yards and 19 touchdowns and running for 938 yards and 13 touchdowns. Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald

After a sophomore season spent as a running back and wide receiver, Jamier Rose was approached by Noble High football coach Keenon Blindow about a position switch.

How would Rose feel about playing quarterback in 2023, when Noble was moving back to Class A football for the first time since 2012?

Rose had taken some practice snaps at quarterback toward the tail end of the 2022 season, and then saw his first game action at the position when the No. 8 Knights lost a Class B South quarterfinal at No. 1 Portland, 42-13, ending a 1-8 season.

Rose said OK. If his coach trusted him to play the position, then he’d love to be the QB.

With one condition.

“I told him, ‘I’m not playing quarterback if I can’t play defense,’ because I love playing defense,” Rose said.

Blindow was fine with Rose continuing to play both ways. It was a good decision.

Playing in Class A South the past two years, Noble compiled a 14-7 record. This season, the Knights were 8-3, beat Bonny Eagle in the playoffs, and reached their first regional final since winning the Class A title in 1997, falling to Thornton Academy despite Rose running for two touchdowns and throwing for two more.

“I think we brought the community together. Nobody really wanted to come to football games before the past two years,” Rose said. “As a group, we were all tight and we all trusted each other to make plays, and that’s what it comes down to.”

Rose has been chosen as the 2024 Varsity Maine Football Player of the Year because of his dual-threat ability on offense, his continued high-level play on defense, and Noble’s rise in the standings. Coaches across the state in all classes are asked to vote for the Varsity Maine POY, and Rose received five times more votes than any other candidate. On Friday, Portland standout junior Cordell Jones was named Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year.

Rose may have been new to the position, but he played quarterback with a maturity rarely seen at the high school level, exhibiting high-level pocket poise to slowly pick his way forward or sideways to avoid the rush while keeping his eyes looking for an open receiver.

When needed, whether on designed runs or in scramble situations, he could tuck the ball and go, using his speed, a solid 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame, and his elusiveness to bedevil defenses.

“He has a natural presence in the pocket and has an ability to throw the ball, and he could understand coverages and had the ability to create and throw kids open,” Blindow said. “His story is incredible. He went from wide receiver to running back to quarterback and he just took off.”

Noble’s Jamier Rose celebrates after making a tackle during a game against Thornton Academy in October. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Against defenses always geared to contain him, Rose completed 105 of 169 passes (62.1%) for 1,518 yards and 19 touchdowns. He was intercepted three times. He ran less frequently than he did as a junior, but more efficiently, gaining 938 yards and scoring 13 touchdowns on 116 carries (8.1 yards per carry).

On defense, he was again the signal caller, and he intercepted four passes, had four tackles for loss and was in on 60 tackles, 34 of those solo.

“The biggest thing is his incredible leadership. He was a guy we could look to (in) a time of need on either side of the ball,” Blindow said, adding that Rose’s charisma and competitive calm kept his teammates always believing they could make the play.

As a junior, Rose was one of only two non-seniors selected to the Varsity Maine All-State team, making it as a defensive back. In his first season at quarterback, Rose threw for 1,082 yards and nine touchdowns and ran 148 times for 1,285 yards and 18 TDs.

Rose, who lives in Berwick and will turn 18 on June 13, is one of five siblings, with two older brothers and two younger sisters.

At the college level, Rose intends to play basketball. He was Varsity Maine All-State pick in that sport as a junior. He said his background as a point guard was a big asset in making the switch to quarterback.

“In basketball, when you’re the point guard, you are the leader and have to be poised. So when I moved to quarterback, it really felt like I was playing basketball,” Rose said. “And really, that ability in the pocket is a shoutout to Coach Blindow. Because I was a running back, last year whenever I saw a lane, I’d take off. We worked a lot in the offseason, doing 7-on-7s, working out at school.”

Rose did not attend any special football camps. Instead, his specialty training was focused on basketball.

With one football player of the year honor already on his resume – and a good chance at adding another when the Fitzpatrick Trophy voting takes place – Rose has turned his attention to basketball.

“Mr. Maine Basketball; that’s definitely on my to-do list,” Rose said. “The most important thing is winning a Gold Ball, as a group. I would rather win a Gold Ball more than any of those awards.”