Sleeper Quarterbacks in Orange County (Part 2)

Orange County has produced outstanding quarterbacks in its history. Former USC quarterback and Buffalo Bills starter Rob Johnson played his high school years at El Toro High. Heisman Trophy winner and former Bengal Carson Palmer was dominant at Santa Margarita before he had success on Saturdays and Sundays. Matt Leinart and Matt Barkley donned the three stripes at Mater Dei before their dominant years at USC. Mark Sanchez was winning CIF championships at Mission Viejo before he led the Jets to an AFC championship. Sam Darnold was enjoying cool Friday nights at San Clemente before excelling at USC and becoming a first round draft pick. You get the picture. In September, I wrote a three-part series on the top 15 quarterbacks in Orange County this season. You can find those stories here: <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/09/top-quarterbacks-in-orange-county-11-15/">Top Quarterbacks in Orange County (11-15)</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/09/top-quarterbacks-in-orange-county-6-10/">Top Quarterbacks in Orange County (6-10)</a> <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/09/top-quarterbacks-in-orange-county-1-5/">Top Quarterbacks in Orange County (1-5)</a> The problem is, there are more than 15 quality quarterbacks in Orange County. I analyzed the first batch of sleepers on <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/11/sleeper-quarterbacks-in-orange-county-part-1/">Tuesday in part one</a>. Here is a list of sleeper signal callers in the OC to watch this season: Bo Kelly, Jr., Dana Hills, Dana Point Kelly split time with a senior quarterback last season until he took over near the end of the season, but he has been doing fairly well in the offseason camp circuit. He drew some attention at the QB Throw Down Camp in Las Vegas when he performed well along with Capo Valley quarterback Dartanyon Moussiaux. He is a hair under 6-feet tall and about 190-pounds but he is athletic and extends plays with his legs. He can throw on the run which is probably something he picked up from his baseball background. Dana Hills will be a contender in their new Pacific Coast League, which is far weaker than the Sea View League where they finished in last place a year ago. I expect the Dolphins to be a top 3 team in that league, largely due to the production of Kelly and his top target Kellan McGrath. https://twitter.com/SouthOCsports/status/1169790135673614337?s=20 <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11252624/Bo-Kelly">Bo Kelly Hudl</a> <hr /> Hayden McKenna, Sr., Laguna Hills, Laguna Hills McKenna plays in a double-wing offense which can be restrictive for a lot of quarterbacks, but McKenna has the skillset to make plays that many other double-wing quarterbacks can’t make. His eyes are always downfield instead of on the pressure, he has a clean throwing motion and an elite playmaker to play with in [player_tooltip player_id="25077" first="Mitch" last="Leigber"]. The knock on him is that he played poorly against the good teams in the Sea View League, but he was playing from behind in those games and had to take risks he wouldn’t normally take in a close game. Plus, in the new Pacific Coast League, he won’t be playing any teams that are more talented than the Hawks. He has offers from Lake Erie College, Whittier College, Rose-Hulman and Macalester. <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/6362955/Hayden-McKenna">Hayden McKenna Hudl</a> <hr /> Beck Moss, Sr., Irvine, Irvine Moss had a record-setting year for Irvine as a junior last season. He broke the school record for completions in a season with 199, breaking the previous record of 176 set a few years earlier. He led the Pacific Coast League in passing despite playing on a 1-9 Irvine team. He’s a big guy around 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. He takes some risks throwing slants against cover 3 and narrowly missing the defender rushing to the flat, but it often pays off with a big play. Moss has a big arm and loves throwing corner and wheel routes to the far side of the field. His arm is an asset because some quarterbacks in the PCL can only throw to the boundary but he can use the entire field. His top target Kade Zimmerman, who also set a school-record in receptions with 79 and had over 1,000 yards receiving. Moss threw for 2,194 yards and 19 touchdowns and has no offers yet. https://twitter.com/BeckMossQB/status/1311521351341989888?s=20 <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/6205318/Beck-Moss">Beck Moss Hudl</a> <hr /> Jimmy Russell, Sr., Fountain Valley, Fountain Valley Russell is an interesting quarterback to evaluate because his best receiver Blake Anderson graduated and he accounted for nearly 70 percent of Nelson’s passing yards. But Russell makes plays with his legs. He single-handedly kept the Barons in the game against Newport Harbor last year with 61 rushing yards and a touchdown. He is smaller at around 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds. But when a QB is 6-feet we don’t say he is too small but when he is one inch shorter it’s a dealbreaker for some programs which makes zero sense. He is confident and will throw the ball in man coverage and trust his receiver to make a play. Russell threw for 1,394 yards but had 15 touchdowns to just 6 interceptions. I don’t know if he will get a chance to play at the collegiate level, but if Fountain Valley has a winning season this year, it will be because of Russell. https://twitter.com/FVBaronFootball/status/1175232970103197696?s=20 <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/9971051/Jimmy-Russell">Jimmy Russell Hudl</a> <hr /> [player_tooltip player_id="25428" first="Jaxon" last="Potter"], So., JSerra, San Juan Capistrano This is purely an upside pick because Potter has had minimal varsity playing time which is understandable because he was a freshman last year. He is tall and athletic at 6-foot-4 and 170 pounds and can make plays on the run. Fortunately for Potter, JSerra’s strength is its offensive line with [player_tooltip player_id="25060" first="Mason" last="Murphy"] leading the way and hopefully they can protect him. He threw a touchdown pass against Mater Dei in garbage time last season which is impressive for a freshman and with both of last year’s running backs graduating, Potter may get the chance to throw a lot this season. He led the Lions’ freshman team to a 9-1 record and a second place finish in the Trinity League and has drawn interest from a few power five schools. https://twitter.com/JeffPot88706691/status/1191218706669436929?s=20 <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/11499194/Jaxon-Potter">[player_tooltip player_id="25428" first="Jaxon" last="Potter"] Hudl</a> <hr /> Whoever the Corona del Mar quarterback ends up being, Corona del Mar It’s a five-man race for the starting quarterback job at Corona del Mar and everyone in the program is very tight-lipped as far as who has an edge. Whoever wins the job will have to replace Ethan Garbers who broke the Orange County record with 5,035 yards and 71 touchdowns. Cooper Wrenn is a transfer from Jesuit High in Oregon and he is 6-foot-4 around 190 pounds and has a Division III offer from Graceland. Jackson Oksnee transferred from Mission Hills in San Marcos and has an offer from William & Mary. Max Lane and Dane Voorhees are the two JV quarterbacks from last season who have a chance to compete. David Rasor is a 6-foot-1, 175-pound sophomore who is highly regarded according to Dan Albano of the Orange County Register. <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/10/five-quarterbacks-competing-to-start-at-corona-del-mar/">I wrote about this competition earlier</a> and the team and coaching staff is so good that whoever the team decides to start will put up big numbers and lead the Sea Kings to win.