MOORHEAD, MINN. - Jett Feeney was captivated and curious.

His older brother, Trey, was Moorhead’s starting quarterback. Their father, Kevin, was the head coach. Together, they’d spend hours at home, studying film.

“He was always around,” Trey said of Jett, who was a middle-schooler then. “He was always listening. He always had a bunch of questions like, ‘Hey Dad, why did this guy run a post?’”

That constant tutelage helped Jett blossom into one of Minnesota’s top high school quarterbacks. He started for Moorhead’s varsity as a freshman and had a prolific sophomore season last fall, leading the state with 48 touchdown passes and ranking second with 3,221 yards and 208 completions.

“He’s grown up playing quarterback since the day he put a football in the hand,” said Kevin, now in his 16th year as Spuds coach.

The 6-2, 195-pound Jett is one of four Moorhead players with Division I offers, joining wide receiver David Mack, running back Taye Reich and defensive back Zak Walker. This group is making the leap to 6A this season after going 9-1 last year in 5A.

“Experience will definitely help me out with the move to 6A,” Jett said. “I don’t really know what the difference will be. I’ve heard the size [of players] is a lot bigger in 6A, but I still think we’ll be one of the most athletic teams on the field every week.”

Jett already has offers from Montana State and North Dakota State. He’s also attended camps at Iowa, Iowa State, Northwestern, Missouri and Wisconsin. Known for his accurate arm and pocket presence, he flashed his speed at Iowa State, running the 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds.

“Right now it’s kind of a dead period [for recruiting], so it’s pretty calm,” Jett said. “So I’m just trying to focus on the season and connecting with all my teammates.”

The Feeney family has been through the recruiting dance before. Kevin started at quarterback for North Dakota State from 1995-98 during the team’s Division II era. While there, he met his wife, Jamie, a soccer player for NDSU. They have three children: Trey, Ellie (who plays soccer and throws the javelin at the University of Mary) and Jett.

As a Moorhead senior, Trey passed for 36 touchdowns — with just one interception — and was named the Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year in football. He spent the next three seasons as a backup at North Dakota before transferring this January to St. John’s, where he has a chance to earn the Johnnies’ starting job.

Johnnies coach Gary Fasching needs to replace All-American quarterback Aaron Syverson, and he told St. Cloud Live he’d be willing to play both Trey and Mankato West grad Zander Dittbenner.

“I’m really excited,” Trey said. “This last spring was my first spring [camp] there, and I really enjoyed it. There’s so many great people there, and just the connections I’ve made already in one semester.”

Meanwhile, Jett is looking forward to another big school year. Besides football, he played in the state basketball quarterfinals, where Moorhead pushed eventual champion Wayzata hard before the Trojans pulled away.

Jett also runs track for Moorhead, but that’s mostly to build speed for football.

“I think he’s got large goals for himself and our team,” Kevin said. “And he knows that he’s got to be the driver of that ship.”