Rivals Los Angeles Combine: Top Middle School Quarterbacks

The Rivals Combine Series kicked off its annual spring slate of events on February 26th in Los Angeles. The combine, largely geared towards high school athletes, saw a total 1,085 kids go through combine testing drills such as the 40-yard dash, 3-cone drill, vertical jump, broad jump and shuttle run. The top performing athletes from the combine on Saturday, were then invited back on Sunday to compete with the upperclassmen. <strong><img class="alignleft wp-image-285966 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/JaydenPicoNXGN-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="212203" first="Jayden" last="Pico"] | Quarterback | Arizona | 2026</strong> We’ve seen Pico a few times this off-season and all this kid does is win. It doesn’t matter what it is, he just comes out and performs. The Rivals Combine was no different, as among middle school quarterbacks he finished with the fastest time or best score in every drill. He swept it. His results are very promising: 40-yard dash (4.85), shuttle (7.042), 3-Cone (4.32), broad jump (106") and vertical (26.9"). <strong><img class="alignleft wp-image-293720 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/JesseVega-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="283629" first="Jesse" last="Vega"] | Quarterback | California | 2026</strong> Vega has very promising size and strength, weighing in at 173 pounds. He scratched his height and 40-yard dash time, but he did finish with a top-10 broad jump at 100.5", in addition to finishing with the second best vertical out of all middle school quarterbacks with a 25" jump. He already holds an FBS offer from Georgia Southern and per his twitter, will be visiting for the spring game. <strong><img class="alignleft wp-image-306444 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/03/Matai-Fuiava-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Matai Fuiava | Quarterback | California | 2026</strong> Fuiava is a bit of an outlier here, because he scratched all his testing times and jumps. However, he did measure in at 6-foot-1 and 174 pounds, which was the biggest of all middle school quarterbacks. However, watching his film, there’s no doubt he’s going to be a big time prospect in high school. Has already visited an Ohio State practice with some of the biggest prospects in the 2023 class at St. John Bosco. <strong><img class="alignleft wp-image-293693 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/02/Devin-Rasmussen-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />[player_tooltip player_id="283609" first="Devin" last="Rasmussen"] | Quarterback | California | 2026</strong> Rasmussen is another quarterback we’ve seen a few times this off-season and he was again spectacular at the Rivals combine. His verified size has been, essentially, as advertised at 6-foot and 158 pounds. Finished with the second best 3-cone drill time among middle school quarterbacks with a 4.455. Also finished third in the broad jump with a 102.75" among the same group. <strong><img class="alignleft wp-image-306459 size-thumbnail" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/03/ElijahMcDaniel-150x150.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="150" />Elijah McDaniel | Quarterback | California | 2027</strong> McDaniel was easily the most impressive seventh grade quarterback (class of 2027) at the Rivals combine. He busts his tail training and his physique is the proof of the hard work. Despite being a grad class behind most the other middle school quarterbacks, McDaniel finished with the second best broad jump at 103", the second best 40-yard dash at 5.11, and the third best vertical with a 24.7". &nbsp; <strong>Berrell Staples</strong> is a very talented 2026 quarterback out of Walnut Creek (Northern California) who made the trip down. He scratched his times and jumps, but did measure in at a promising 6-foot and 153 pounds. He’s going to be a recruited kid during high school. A pair of 6-foot-1 quarterbacks looked the part physically in <strong>Khalil Abdul-Aziz</strong> out of Moreno Valley, California and <strong>Robert Smith</strong> out of Bakersfield, California. Their testing times can, and will, improve but there’s no denying the duo has nice size headed into their high school careers. <strong>Richard Valle</strong> of Yuma, Arizona flashed some a lot of athleticism during the combine. He finished with the second best shuttle time amongst middle school signal callers with a 7.187.