Pearl-Cohn quarterback LJ Funk couldn’t have asked for a better voice in his corner.
The Toledo commit transferred to the Firebirds ahead of his sophomore season, and there to take charge of his development was co-offensive coordinator Jimmy Ferrell, a former standout QB at Pearl-Cohn himself.
Ferrell graduated from Pearl-Cohn in 2016 as one of the program’s most illustrious passers, having pushed the Firebirds to a state semifinal appearance in his junior season before finishing state runner-up as a senior, with Pearl-Cohn ending a nearly two-decade BlueCross Bowl hiatus.
It’s a remarkably similar path to that of Funk’s with the Firebirds. In his sophomore season, Pearl-Cohn reached the Class 4A semifinals before he took things one step further
as a junior, falling in the championship game to powerhouse Alcoa.
Now Ferrell is doing his part to ensure Funk captures the illustrious championship ring which eluded him in his time at Pearl-Cohn.
“I told him, ‘You’ve grown every year. You’ve made it to the state championship, the only place to grow from losing the state championship is to win,’” Ferrell said. “This year, I feel like it’s finally time to take that big step and I feel like we’re really prepared to take that next step and win state.”
Funk brought Pearl-Cohn one step closer to another playoff run on Oct. 9, completing 10-of-12 passes for 138 yards and four touchdowns in a 54-12 region win over Greenbrier (1-6, 0-3) in Week 8 of the TSSAA football season.
The victory extended the winning streak for Pearl-Cohn (5-3, 2-0) to four games, with two matchups remaining before the close of the regular season. Announced during the game were Funk’s recently minted program records for passing yards and passing touchdowns, surpassing marks set by his now coach.
And nobody was happier to celebrate than Ferrell.
“His thing is, he wants me to be better than him,” Funk said. “He was kind of like the test run. He went through the process and learned the things he lacked and now he’s teaching me those things he needed. I think I’m so much better (because of it) and I think it’s something he’s proud of. I’m grateful to have him as a coach.”
It’s been easy to celebrate Funk’s many successes, but just as important was Ferrell’s steadying voice in the aftermath of a heartbreaking state championship defeat last season. It was a feeling Ferrell was all too familiar with, and rather than let his QB sulk, he was quick to refocus Funk on a return to Chattanooga in his senior season, a goal they’ve been striving for in tandem this season.
“I tell him all the time, my goal is to truly make you the best quarterback you can possibly be, but always be better than the guys before you," Ferrell said. "I feel like we work on that a lot, we work hard every day, and he’s showing to be one of the best quarterbacks in Pearl history.”
Harrison Campbell covers high school sports for The Daily Herald and The Tennessean. Email him at hcampbell@usatodayco.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @hccamp.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What Pearl-Cohn's LJ Funk learned from assistant Jimmy Ferrell's Firebirds career
