Same face, new place: Jake Rubley wins Week 1 start in Iowa

Colorado’s top high school quarterback prospect decided to move out-of-state to Iowa to finish his high school career before heading to play at Kansas State in the fall of 2021. The two-year starter for Highlands Ranch made his varsity debut for Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 28 when they hosted Roosevelt. Valley, the Class 4A runner-up in 2019, enters as the top-ranked programs in the classification this fall. <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Game recap</span></strong> In his first start in Iowa, the Kansas State commit led Valley a 40-20 win on its home field over Roosevelt. Valley trailed 7-3 late in the first half but got two rushing touchdowns in the final 3 minutes, 30 seconds to take a 17-7 lead into the break. Roosevelt kept it close with a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, but Valley pulled away with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter while keeping Roosevelt off the board to get the 20-point win. <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Look at Rubley’s play</span></strong> For a quarterback who just joined the team, Rubley looked solid. He may still be growing and getting to know his team, but it appears he will help the offense with his steady play. One trait he brings is that he does not turn the ball over. While he completed 11 of his 24 passes (46 percent completion percentage), he did not have any turnovers. The offense he runs with Valley has many similar traits to that of the one at Highlands Ranch, which should help his transition. He has a 2.8-1 touchdown/interception ratio in his high school career. His two touchdown passes in the second half highlighted his ability to read defenses and make an on-target throw. His first touchdown was a beautiful pass to [player_tooltip player_id="23818" first="Matthew" last="Mahoney"], who beat his cover man on a corner route in the red zone from the slot. The other was a play-action pass that forced a safety to freeze in the box to play against the run instead of covering the middle of the field deep, and that resulted in Cael Nesheim beating the corner one-on-one on the go route and diving to catch a strike from Rubley for the touchdown. Both throws show that he can put touch on his passes but also rifle it in a window quickly. https://twitter.com/HPOnAir/status/1299566122321182720 In addition to his two passing touchdowns, Rubley also had one of the two rushing touchdowns in the final minutes of the second quarter that saw Valley take a lead into the halftime break. <span style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>What he said</strong></span> In an interview with The Des Moines Register after the game, Rubley told the paper that he felt his team played well in the second half of the game. “The first quarter and a half, (Roosevelt) did a good job bringing pressure up the middle,” Rubley said. “We made adjustments, fixed that and ended up really helping out our offense.” When asked about 22 new starters and the team chemistry so far: “We just had to get the nerves out I feel like in the huddle. Our o-line got together and banded together, and our receivers started making some great plays. We just needed one play there to get the momentum and after that, it was smooth sailing.” Catch the full interview from Rubley with the Des Moines Register <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/high-school/2020/08/28/iowa-high-school-football-top-ranked-valley-outlasts-des-moines-roosevelt-weird-wild-season-opener/5662610002/">here</a>. <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Early analysis</span></strong> It’s going to be hard to grade many high school football players properly in the first few weeks. From restrictions to offseason workouts and adjusted schedules, many are still catching up. Add in moving to play with a new team earlier this month, and that adjustment period will only ramp up. That being said, it was a solid start for Rubley with his new team in Iowa. Expectations are high on him and his team with their preseason No. 1 ranking, but Rubley should be a perfect fit and a piece that will help Valley make another run to the state championship game. He has a 1,000-yard rusher in [player_tooltip player_id="23814" first="Jayden" last="Williams"] to hand the ball to, and his receivers have already shown an ability to get by defenders and catch the ball in space. The more Rubley and the team gel together, the greater their chance will be at the state title.