Top QBs Josh Zamot, Nick Kargman join new teams

The football zipped through the warm summer air, a tight spiral that hit Woodrow Wilson senior wide receiver Travon King in stride deep in the Salem secondary.

"That kid," Overbrook coach Frank Wilczynski said, "throws a great ball."

The perfect strike to King wasn't new Woodrow Wilson quarterback Nick Kargman's only impressive throw of the four-way scrimmage with Salem, Paulsboro, and host Overbrook on Monday morning.

The 6-foot-4 Kargman regularly hit his receivers in the hands during the controlled workout, offering a glimpse of his potential impact as one of the most-watched transfer players of the upcoming South Jersey football season.

New Holy Spirit quarterback Josh Zamot belongs in the same category. He also is expected to make an immediate and significant impact for his new team.

The two standout quarterbacks who changed teams created two of the most talked-about developments of the offseason as each left behind a unique situation at his old school and arrived to high expectations at his new school.

The 6-foot Zamot led St. Augustine Prep to a 9-1 record as a junior in 2016, emerging in his first season as a starter as one of South Jersey's most dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks.

Zamot transferred from St. Augustine to Holy Spirit in mid-June, about six weeks after former St. Augustine head coach Mark Reardon and his top assistant, Chalie Roman, resigned from their positions with the Hermits.

Roman, a Holy Spirit graduate and former head coach there, has returned to his alma mater as top assistant to Spartans head coach A.J. Russo.

"It was hard to leave," Zamot said of St. Augustine Prep. "I spent three years there and I consider those guys all my brothers. But I felt like I had to do what had to be done."

Zamot said he moved from Millville to Buena, so he will be eligible to play right away. Under NJSIAA transfer rules, Zamot would have been required to sit out the first 30 days of the season if he had not changed residences.

"They welcomed me right away with open arms," Zamot said of Holy Spirit. "I love everything about it. We play together, we support each other. We're here to fight, we're here to win and I like the way we're going so far."

Russo said that Zamot has emerged as a team leader. Zamot's arrival plus the return of several top players has Holy Spirit in position to win another West Jersey Football League United Division title and contend for another state title in Non-Public 2 competition.

"He's a special kid," Russo said. "Smart, natural leader, wants to be a doctor. And he's a playmaker. We know that from trying to tackle him last year."

Zamot was 70-for-105 passing last season for 1,158 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also ran 82 times for 544 yards (6.6-yard average) and nine touchdowns.

He led St. Augustine to a 41-0 win over Holy Spirit last season. He'll play for the other side in the rematch Oct. 13 on the Hermits' field.

"I can't wait for that one," Zamot said. "We've already been going back and forth on that game. It's going to be one of the biggest games of the year."

Zamot has drawn recruiting interest from college programs such as New Hampshire, Stony Brook, Bryant, and Elon, all of whom project him as a quarterback. He also has received an offer to join the Rutgers University program as a preferred walk-on.

"I'm enjoying where I'm at and I'm happy where I'm at," Zamot said. "I'm looking forward to the season we're going to put together."

Like Zamot, Kargman has emerged quickly as a team leader, according to his coach.

"He understands what it means to play quarterback," Woodrow Wilson coach Preston Brown said of Kargman. "He knows he has to be the leader of our offense."

Kargman transferred to Woodrow Wilson from Pitman in April. He had been familiar with Brown and some Woodrow Wilson players through his involvement with the high-powered Next Level Greats seven-on-seven program.

"It's awesome," Kargman said of playing for Woodrow Wilson. "We're a tight group. I can't wait to go through a season with these guys."

The feeling is mutual. King, one of South Jersey's top recruits who said he has narrowed his college choices to Temple, Rutgers, and North Carolina State, believes Kargman is the caliber of quarterback who can raise the Tigers' program to another level.

Kargman's arrival has made Woodrow Wilson a stronger contender for the West Jersey Football League Royal Division title and a team to watch in the South Jersey Group 3 championship race as well.

"He works at his craft," King said. "He loves playing quarterback. He works at it, trying to get better so we're trying to get better along with him."

The 6-foot-4 King and his 6-foot-5 younger brother, junior Stanley King — who also is a highly-recruited athlete — form an imposing receiving corps for Kargman along with 6-foot-2 senior Jairo Ramos and 6-foot-5 sophomore Fadill Diggs.

"I can make a bad throw and they make it look perfect because they go up and get it," Kargman said.

Like Zamot, Kargman will be eligible right away because he changed residence. Kargman, who was a tuition student at Pitman as a Washington Township resident, has moved to Camden in order to attend Woodrow Wilson.

Kargman left behind an odd situation at Pitman. About two months after his departure, the school scrapped its varsity football program for the next two seasons, citing a shortage of experienced players.

Kargman politely declined to discuss the Pitman situation. "I prefer to look toward the future," he said.

Kargman said colleges such as Temple, Connecticut, Wake Forest, and Rutgers have expressed interest, although he has yet to receive an offer. Brown believes Kargman will be one of the most highly-recruited quarterbacks in the state in the class of 2019.

"He's going to do some big things," Brown said.

Kargman said his main goal is to do something he's never done on the football field: Win a championship.

"That's my No. 1 goal," Kargman said. "I've never won a championship in my whole life in football. That would be the best feeling in the world."