So what was the defining moment in the development of East St. Louis junior QB Tyler Macon, named today as the 2019 EDGYTIM/Rivals.com Player of the Year in the State of Illinois?

According to longtime East St. Louis assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Harith Mitchom, you need to go back to end of the 2018 season for the answer.

"The defining moment came late in the third quarter in last year's quarterfinal game against Mount Carmel," according to Mitchom. "On the first play of the game against Mount Carmel they just rocked Tyler with some major hits. After that Tyler was playing like Mount Carmel had 30 guys chasing after him. For the first time all season last year he was just a sophomore doing sophomore things. A great defense will expose you and Mount Carmel exposed him, yet a great defense can also help you develop and get better along the way. Tyler ended up throwing a couple of late touchdown passes to end that game and he was just so relaxed from that point forward. Ever since then he's been lights out. The consistency came back and we stoped seeing errand throws. We knew this season could be special for him."

Macon's play this fall no question was a major key that spearheaded a perfect 14-0 season and the Flyers winning it's 9th IHSA Football State Title for the winningest high school football program in the State of Illinois.

Macon, who in his second season as the starting varsity quarterback for the 2019 Class 6A IHSA State Football Champions passed for 4,241 yards and 39 touchdowns while also completing 70 percent of his passes in 2019. Macon also ran for 879 yards and 18 touchdowns.

The East St. Louis offense scored an amazing 715 points in 2019 and posted 5 regular season running clock results which saw Macon see limited playing time. That same running clock streak also stretched into the post-season as the Flyers put up running clock scores in the first three rounds of it's 2019 Class 6A state playoffs.

Yet If you truly want to get a better feel for just how good Tyler Macon was in 2019, ask a few of the opposing head coach who had to try to stop him and the Flyers offense, an offense that East St. Louis head coach Darren Sunkett called the best offense in East St. Louis football history.

"He's a terrific player for them (East St. Louis) and that team was on a mission from the opening game," said Batavia head coach Dennis Piron. "What impressed me about (Tyler Macon) was just how relaxed and patient he was running the offense. He made great decisions and reads, he never seemed to panic or get rattled whatsoever."

Oak Lawn Richards head coach Tony Sheehan also raved about Macon's abilities.

"What really impressed me about (Tyler Macon) was his patience and just the way he ran that offense. He definitely had a great grasp of the offense, made the right calls and made the right decisions. He also just never panics and knew when to stay in the pocket and also could just feel pressure and knew when to tuck it and run. His running ability is really impressive along with his throwing ability."

Several players from across the state no question received serious consideration for the Player of the Year award. Yet from wire to wire, no one in my opinion was as valuable, made as many improvements along with just embraced the spotlight more than East St. Louis QB Tyler Macon.