The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Mencl is coming off a junior season where he completed over 70 percent of his passes for 3,815 yards and 33 touchdowns to just five interceptions. He added another 741 yards rushing and 17 more scores.
“I think his football IQ is super high and a lot of that is how he prepares himself day in and day out,” Chandler head coach
Ty Wisdom said. This past fall was Wisdom’s first with the program after leading Omaha (Neb.)
Millard South to a state title the season prior with Alabama 2026 five-star quarterback signee
Jett Thomalla under center.
“He’s a pro in every aspect as far as his preparation and leadership skills and his on-the-field play speaks for itself.”
“He’s almost got a photographic memory,” his father Dave stated. “He can recap things he’s seen once from a long time ago and he loves to prove me wrong all the time while doing it. Plays and coverages, once he gets it, it seems like he’s got it forever.
“There’s been times we’ll be in an argument and he pulls out a piece of paper or he likes to have recordings and be like, ‘I told you.’
“He’s very detailed in what he does.”
And while Mencl boasts a 4.1 GPA, football is where he’s the most dedicated and precise.
“One specific time I remember my dad sitting on the couch in seventh grade and I asked him to go out and catch for me,” Mencl said. “When he said ‘no’, I had video of him saying he’ll catch for me whenever I wanted. We had to go out and get some work in.
“I’ve been doing that since I was little.”
Mencl’s recall obviously helps on the gridiron.
“Memorizing playbooks, getting on the white board, install, getting up there and regurgitating has helped me a lot.”
“He just does a tremendous job leading with our younger kids,” Wisdom said. “He’s one of those that hasn’t let the limelight get too big. He’s the ultimate team guy that is always going to put the team before himself. As a coach you can’t ask for more than that. He’s the guy that can win over the locker room.”
“The thing people underestimate is his laser 40-time is a high 4.7s,” Wisdom said. “He can run. We didn’t really run him intentionally till the quarterfinal this year. He’s 6-4, 205 and he does bring that aspect to it. To me he’s definitely a dual-threat guy. He can sit in the pocket and make every throw you want but he can also turn down and run the ball. I expect him to add another 10 pounds of muscle and be 215 when he comes out in August and is playing.”
Mencl’s mom works in the travel industry and her career has taken the family to the football-loving states of Texas, where he attended elementary school, and Florida, where he played in middle school. Mencl threw for 540 yards and seven touchdowns as an eighth grader in a high school JV game.
“He’s played lacrosse, baseball, basketball; he’d play anything and he was always the best player on the team,” Dave said. “He’s worked hard.”
The Mencl family moved to Arizona after that eighth grade season and, in a blink of an eye, he’s now preparing to play his senior season before the next chapter. A college decision is expected in the spring and Mencl is in the process of lining up trips to his top four.
Miami is coming on strong for Mencl.
“I used to live in South Florida,” Mencl said. He moved out to Arizona after the eighth grade football season. “That’s where I started to fall in love with football.
“The culture they have, I’m someone big on culture. Miami knows exactly who they are. If you’re not with it they don’t worry about it. They have a moxie to them I really like.”
Mencl also likes the style of play.
“The numbers they put up,” he said. “You can’t argue with the results with
Cam Ward,
Carson Beck and what
Darian Mensah is about to do. The pure passers they develop. They have guys that can extend with their legs but are looking to be pocket guys and move the ball downfield with pace.”
