Hushing up the haters, Miami Norland’s Yapoor remains driven to achieve greatness
Ennio Yapoor has been hearing it since he first started throwing a football in youth leagues.
He wasn’t tall enough to play quarterback.
He weighed too much.
He was even told his hair was too long.
But Yapoor has never stopped working to accomplish the goals he set for himself playing the position he loves.
“For EJ, what always keeps him grounded and makes him work is the doubters,” said Yapoor’s father, Ennio Sr. “Even now after four years of great work and showing he’s legit and one of the best in the state and maybe the country, it’s always what the kids nowadays would say ‘the haters.’ As his father, I make sure we keep that there because that gives him an edge and keeps him bringing it.”
Yapoor’s motivation and perseverance brought him to the point he’s at today.
Heading into his third season as Miami Norland’s starting quarterback and fourth overall at the varsity level, Yapoor is Miami-Dade County’s all-time leader in passing yards (11,024) and touchdown passes (91).
He was a backup on Hialeah Champagnat Catholic’s 2020 state championship team as an eighth-grader, and guided them to a state runner-up finish as a freshman.
Since transferring to Norland as a sophomore, he’s helped the Vikings make the playoffs back-to-back seasons including a state runner-up finish last year.
But even after all of that, Yapoor hasn’t stopped hearing the doubts.
His performances over the past couple of seasons have drawn the interest of several lower division programs and some FBS schools like FIU, FAU, Toledo and Arizona State.
But none have extended him a formal scholarship offer.
“It’s not where I hoped I’d be, but I’m grateful for what I have and can’t complain because there are kids out there that aren’t getting recruited at all,” Yapoor said.
Yapoor remains humble through it all but quietly driven to keep proving himself.
One of his main goals remains to lead Norland to its first state championship since 2011 — a milestone the Vikings fell painfully short of accomplishing last season after an upset loss in the Class 2M state final to Tampa Berkeley Prep. The deflating defeat followed a 14-0 season to that point that included a pair of dramatic overtime wins over rival Miami Central.
This season, Norland is in a revamped Class 4A and won’t have to face Central or other Dade powers like Miami Booker T. Washington or Miami Northwestern on the road to state, but could have to contend with nationally-ranked Plantation American Heritage.
“The mindset is to hush up everybody and win a state championship,” Yapoor said. “I think last year we underestimated our opponent. This year I feel like we have just as good a team as last year, maybe better. No matter how good you are, you can be humbled. No matter how good we thought we were, we learned we can never take your foot off the pedal.”
But this offseason, he decided to make changes physically that might help him break through the stigma that has kept college recruiters from taking a chance on him.
Yapoor, who now stands roughly 6-feet even in height, dropped 35 pounds and now weighs 215 pounds.
Already one of the quickest and most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the state, Yapoor could prove to be even more explosive than the player who has run for 2,561 yards and 33 touchdowns already in his career.
To do so, Yapoor competed on Norland’s track and field team running sprints this past spring. He also closely monitored his diet with help from his family and even faculty at the school.
“It’s a family effort,” said Yapoor Sr., an assistant coach at Norland. “We understood the assignment. His mom helped prepping meals every day for him. We controlled his eating habits. He’s still a teenager. He’s going to want to eat when he wants to eat and go to bed when he wants to, but everybody was on board and he kept himself on track. Even his teachers were in on it and made sure he was eating right.”
Yapoor, who grew up often playing multiple positions on defense, has never been one to shy away from contact and has added speed to an already strong physique. Yapoor can bench 315-320 pounds and maxed out at 19 reps at that weight.
Yapoor, whose father is Dominican and mother is American, also grew up playing baseball and pitched growing up which helped develop his arm strength.
“I’m expecting great things from EJ. This summer, he had to trim his body down to be more elusive and more attractive to college coaches and he’s done that,” Norland coach Daryle Heidelburg said. “As many yards and records he has, he knew he had work to do to make himself better. When you see a leader do those things, it trickles down to the rest of the team. I’m proud of who he’s become.”
But Yapoor hopes colleges will take note of things he can offer a team that go beyond the measurables.
“I bring a different caliber of football. I feel like I can change an offense,” Yapoor said. “A play can go from a 5-yard run to a touchdown. And I’ll give it everything I’ve got every play. I feel like I inspire my guys on the field with the passion I play with. You see how hard I work and I take notice of all the little things we need to do to make it work.”
Yapoor also has excelled academically throughout high school.
A 4.2 student at Norland, Yapoor is hoping to pursue a degree in either sports medicine or sports science after he’s done playing football.
Another prolific season could help Yapoor shatter a lofty state record.
Yapoor enters the season 4,013 passing yards shy of breaking the state record of 15,034 yards set by former Orlando Lake Nona High and Clemson quarterback Tucker Israel in 2014.
Yapoor’s name has become more and more recognizable in South Florida and abroad. He even signed an NIL deal this summer with a Miami-based apparel company.
But his hope is to be signing a letter of intent with a college this December at a school that will give him the opportunity he’s worked for since he was a little kid trying to block out the noise and prove he was a great quarterback in the making.
“The school he chooses will be somebody who loves him and wants him,” Yapoor Sr. said. “EJ will go somewhere where they appreciate him for what he does. He definitely should be playing Division-I football, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t look at D-II schools. There are many D-IIs and D-IIIs and NAIAs looking at him.
“Even at 6-0, 215, colleges still have their concerns and worries, and I get it, but the thing people are missing out is that he’s a dog and he’s a football player and measurables don’t always win games.”
