For years, college recruiters and scouts have combed through South Florida looking for the next great skill player with world-class speed and high-end athleticism.

But rarely have they swamped practice fields and sidelines in search of the next great quarterback.

Despite the successes of Brian Griese (Columbus) and Quinn Gray (Dillard), South Florida has not earned a significant amount of respect for its quarterback prospects.

It has been Eddie Arza's lifelong dream to change that.

'Always, people come down here and say, `They have fast athletes,' '' Arza said. ``But we have produced a lot of great quarterbacks down here. I want people to sit up and take notice of that.''

Arza's dream became a reality Sunday afternoon when he hosted the First Annual CRONS Southern Quarterback Accuracy Challenge and Camp at the Cobb Sports Complex in Coral Gables.

The competition will air during Father's Day weekend on CBS.

The competition, which fielded 61 prospects from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, included game-situation drills and instruction from Arza and his staff.

Arza, 42, a former Coral Park quarterback, has been coaching South Florida quarterbacks since 1985.

Arza was the quarterbacks coach at Miami High under his brother, Ralph, who was the head coach. Arza had a run of eight consecutive seasons with a quarterback named an All-Dade selection. He also served as a consultant to former Booker T. Washington coach Tim ''Ice'' Harris from 2003 to 2007.

Arza also helped mold former Coral Park quarterback Pete Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, who broke all of Arza's records at Coral Park and many of Dan Marino's passing records while at the University of Pittsburgh, went on to play in the NFL and CFL.

Gonzalez also said South Florida quarterbacks are overlooked.

''Its good to see these guys out here taking their trade serious,'' Gonzalez said. ``There are some very talented kids out here.''

In the first round of the competition, the players threw at targets placed at different distances and could score a maximum of 550 points.

The field dwindled from 61 to 16, with Miami Central quarterback Jeffery Godfrey leading with 500 points. He was followed by Braddock freshman Benji Phillips with 460 and Everglades' Raymond Berhnu with 450.

During the morning camp, the quarterbacks were allowed to toss the ball around and showcase their arm strength.

Northwestern junior Teddy Bridgewater wowed spectators, throwing 50-yard strikes downfield as well as making one-handed catches behind his back.

Arza said that seeing the camp come to fruition and helping the kids was the most rewarding part.

''I genuinely love helping and teaching kids,'' Arza said.

``I'm not a doctor, so I can't help you if you have chest pains, but I do know how to make players into better quarterbacks.''

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