There’s a current sweeping through Orange County high school football, and it has arrived at the precise time that members of a potentially historic quarterback class are poised to catch the wave.
At the center of this perfect storm is a shift toward the spread offense with quarterbacks using their speedy feet along with their strong arms.
The days of pocket or drop-back passers, once a staple of the the Orange County scene, don’t appear over, but a different style of quarterback is emerging more often.
They’re the dual-threat QBs.
“Maybe 70 to 75 percent of the county runs some form of the spread offense,” said Bill Cunerty, the former Saddleback College football coach and Cox3 announcer. “It’s just become the offense of right now.”
The conditions seem ideal for Servite dual-threat Travis Waller, who has committed to Oregon.
“They (Oregon) run a spread offense, which is perfect for me,” he said after his commitment in July.
Waller’s talents also have helped raise the profile of an astonishing group of senior quarterbacks in Southern California. The recruiting class of 2015 includes San Clemente’s Sam Darnold (USC), St. John Bosco’s Josh Rosen (UCLA), Santiago of Corona’s Blake Barnett (Alabama), Hart of Newhall’s Brady White (Arizona State), St. Bonaventure of Ventura’s Ricky Town (USC) and Rancho Verde of Moreno Valley’s Sheriron Jones (Florida).
“This is probably the best group of maybe the last 15, 20 years, for sure,” said private quarterback coach Steve Clarkson, who trains Waller and has worked with former county standouts such as Matt Barkley and Matt Leinart.
The county’s collection of quarterbacks also appears especially deep. Junior KJ Costello of Santa Margarita has emerged as a major 2016 recruit, while seniors Nick Robinson of JSerra, Cole Norris of Newport Harbor (Northern Arizona), Trey Tinsley of El Toro and Cole Wilber of Dana Hills (Northern Arizona) have attracted college recruiters.
Junior Devon Modster of Tesoro is among the aspiring dual-threat quarterbacks in the county.
“It’s insane,” Orange Lutheran linebacker Keisean Lucier-South said of the depth at the position.
SPEED IS KEY
Orange County has seen waves of talented quarterbacks for decades. Mission Viejo coach Bob Johnson has coached his own impressive list, including his sons, Rob and Bret, and others who reached the NFL, including Carson and Jordan Palmer and Mark Sanchez.
“I’m naming a bunch of drop-back guys,” the coach said.
But the spread offenses look to capitalize on the quarterback’s speed and athleticism out of mostly shotgun formations featuring multiple receivers. The main idea is to spread the offensive players to create vertical seams to attack.
“Space,” Cunerty said, “that’s really what the spread is all about.”
Edison coach Dave White said the increase of spread offenses has “trickled down” from college. He points to the success of dual-threat quarterbacks such as UCLA’s Brett Hundley as one of many sparks.
White also faced spread quarterback Kai Ross twice last season during the Huntington Beach senior’s sprint to county player of the year honors.
“It makes it tough on a defense when a quarterback can run,” White said.
Waller has the speed to make defenses worry. He’s a former track athlete and wide receiver playing quarterback.
“The way the game is played now, you need an athletic guy (at quarterback),” said Los Alamitos coach John Barnes, a county innovator with the spread in the ’90s. “You used to defend two backs, now you’ve got to defend three.”
Darnold’s athleticism offers a peek into the trend at the college level. His commitment to USC, when the Trojans already had a pledge from the pro-style Town, is thought to be a signal that USC is placing more importance on the quarterback running and an up-tempo offense. Darnold is a former league MVP in basketball and also has played receiver.
“They also wanted to bring in a guy who can kind of run (Coach Steve) Sarkisian’s offense and they don’t really have that guy at USC,” said Greg Biggins, a national recruiting analysts for FOX Sports and Scout.
“(Darnold is) not a 4.3 guy (in the 40-yard dash), but he’s definitely a mobile quarterback who can run around a lot and make plays.”
CHANGE IN TRAINING
The spread offense could have plenty of capable quarterbacks in the future.
Clarkson said he has always tried to teach quarterbacks multiple skills and approaches but has noticed a change in training.
“They’re working more with speed coaches,” he said.
Bob Johnson has tutored different style quarterbacks, especially during his years running the Elite 11 camp. While he believes that Palmer, Sanchez and his sons were gifted athletes, he acknowledges that they weren’t dual-threats.
“They were definitely drop-back guys,” Johnson said. “That’s what they were schooled at. That’s what they were good at. … Could they have been (dual-threats)? Yeah, but not (like) the effective guy.”
Today’s quarterbacks still hone their passing skills. Many train and compete almost year-round because of the rise of the “7on” passing circuit or 7-on-7 passing competitions.
Waller, Costello, Tinsley and Modster are among the county quarterbacks who played 7on this past offseason. Tinsley participated from January until spring football began at El Toro in May.
“It definitely helped me get better,” he said.
Darnold isn’t a fan of the passing circuit. After football season ends, he moves on to basketball. He also doesn’t care for the rules, which often require the QB to release the ball in just a few seconds.
“I like to run around a little,” he said. “I think that’s an advantage.”
Yes, in the spread era, it’s good to be the quarterback.
Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com
