Competitive California (CIF)Southern Section is Quarterback Haven for Rodriguez and Mora

Some of the finest quarterbacks and players are recruited for the Southern Section Division of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), including three quarterbacks playing for Arizona and UCLA.

Josh Rosen, Khalil Tate, and Brandon Dawkins were all recruited from the CIF Southern Section in the Pac-5 Division (D1 level) which is highly competitive. The Southern Section is part of the illustrious Pac-5 Division. Both Coach Rich Rodriguez and UCLA Coach Jim Mora think that playing in that conference contributes to their poise and confidence.

Brandon Dawkins, Oaks Christian HS

Brandon Dawkins hails from Oaks Christian High School in the suburban and wealthy community of Westlake Village, about 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles, California. Oaks Christian is in the Marmonte League of the Southern Section. Dawkins was a three-time all-conference and all-city honoree and named a Blue-Grey All-American with a single-game passing record of 389 yards.

Dawkins is forever confident and not easily rattled, as confirmed by some of Coach Rod‘s sound bites: “Brandon throws well on the run, he’s comfortable in the pocket too — his ability to run and make something out of the run game — is really a big lift — I am never worried about his confidence; he is the Snapchat, Instagram king,”

Khalil Tate, Junipero Serra HS

Khalil Tate, as we spoke about in our last post, played in the Mission League in the Southern Section. Tate showed the world on National TV (ESPN) in the famous Rose Bowl against a strong Pac-12 team, UCLA, how much confidence and poise he has. Both Mora and Rodriguez agreed that So Cal is a hotbed of talent. Rodriguez also believes in 7-on-7 which Khalil played a lot of growing up.

RichRod is in favor of 7-on-7 programs for HS players. "The guys are playing. It beats laying around the house doing PlayStation."
— Michael Lev (@MichaelJLev) October 5, 2016

Tate High came in as the No. 10 dual-threat QB by ESPN and No. 4 by Rivals. He was named the Los Angeles Times QB of the Year, earned USA Today First-Team Offense Honors. In his senior year, he stacked up 4,166 yards in total including 43 Touchdowns. His yards included both 2,000 rushing and 2,000 passing. He was also named a Blue-Grey All-American, Scout Post-Season All-American, and Esmark All-American.

Along with all that, Tate was voted the Cal-Hi Sports No. 2 Best Player in the State, his running back J.J. Taylor (injured) was voted No. 1.

Coach Rich Rodriguez on Southern Section and California talent and true freshman

There’s such tremendous talent in California, in particularly in the CIF and the Southern Section – Arizona Head Coach Rich Rodriguez

There’s such tremendous talent in California, in particularly in the CIF and the Southern Section. I think what’s happening now is where a lot of that talent went other places other than the west coast, and some of it is still leaving, but a lot of it and most of it is staying now in the Pac-12, I think that is why the Pac-12 is getting stronger each year.

Offensively we don’t know if there’s going to be any more true freshmen playing other than Khalil and obviously, he’s going to get ready to play right now.

Coach Rich Rodriguez on Khalil Tate’s performance (c/o Ryan Kelapire)

I don’t want to say a pleasant surprise because… I always say if you want to find a guy that’s going to be a good player in college, find a guy that’s a really good player in high school, and he was a really good player in high school.

I wouldn’t say that! I wouldn’t say that because I think that would take away from what he did. I think that he really did a nice job – UCLA Head Coach Jim Mora on if he played his one’s against Tate

But he was more composed in the game than he was in practice, so that was really pleasant. Sometimes guys get into their first action, and the lights are too bright or something, but he was spot on. Even when he made a wrong read or something, he knew right away. So that part of it was very encouraging.

UCLA Head Coach Jim Mora’s thoughts on Southern Section Quarterbacks and Khalil Tate’s performance:

You know they’ve played in big games, against big time competition in the spotlight and I think any time you have been put in that situation it helps you mature and develop much, much quicker.

On the notion that Mora took Tate lightly and did not play his best defenders, let’s put this to rest, shall we?

I wouldn’t say that! I wouldn’t say that because I think that would take away from what he did. I think that he really did a nice job.

And, you know what’s amazing? I believe this to be true, and I can’t tell you for sure, but I think he’s only 17 years old. Well, that’s unbelievable. I mean, obviously I have a 17-year-old and I wouldn’t have wanted him on that field I will tell you that! I was really impressed with Khalil, and he’s 17 it even makes it more impressive.

Josh Rosen, St. John Bosco HS

Sep 19, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Rich Rodriguez during the fourth quarter against the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks at Arizona Stadium. Arizona won 77-13. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Rosen came on the scene last season, and although UCLA may not have done as well as everyone wanted them to do, just having Rosen on the roster kept Bruin fans positive about the future.

Rosen played as a true freshman QB at UCLA in his first season. Rosen hails from the CIF and national powerhouse St. John Bosco which is in the Trinity League of the Southern Section (which also includes Mater Dei). The Trinity League is the No. 1 toughest league in the nation according to Max Preps Chris Stonebreaker this year.

Rosen grew up in close proximity to Jim Mora and his family in Manhattan Beach California. Josh had always wanted to go to UCLA and start.

Other UCLA Southern Section Quarterbacks (3)

Ucla has seven QBs on their roster, four from southern section including freshman Devon Modster (Tesoro HS) who was first committed to Arizona. The other two are freshman Dymond Lee (Chaminade Prep HS) and redshirt sophomore Craig (Claremont HS). It’s obvious there is a lot of QB competition on the Bruin depth chart including four freshmen.

UCLA Head Coach Jim Mora’s thoughts on his own true freshman quarterback last season according to Pete Thamel (Campus Rush, SI):

"“Give me a little credit, I know what I have here,” Mora says with a laugh. “Josh has a more pure throwing motion than just about any quarterback you’ll ever see. It’s a beautiful thing.”Rosen’s football path is more remarkable for what he didn’t do rather than what he did. He didn’t hire a high-profile quarterback coach."

Coach Rich Rodriguez on Josh Rosen via Arizona Wildcats

September 10, 2016; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora watches game action against the UNLV Rebels during the first half at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

He’s an extremely talented guy; everyone knew out of high school. He’s either one or two of the top rated guys coming out of High School. He’s a big, strong guy, athletic and tough, and very intelligent as a true freshman — I don’t think you can fool him too much.

Who is the biggest name right now in the Southern Section?

According to MaxPreps, it’s QB Tristan Gebbia, from Calabasas (Westlake California – Camino League ). In his last game, he went 35 of 51 for 503 yards, 3 touchdowns in a 37-21 win over Valencia (Calif.)

There’s a good chance he stays on the West coast as he has offers from Washington and Utah along with ASU and Washington State, but this guy also has offers from Alabama and Ole’ Miss as well. None yet from Arizona.

Must Read: Khalil Tate's stellar college debut did not surprise Zona Zealots

Bonus: Anu Solomon, Bishop Gorman HS

We just had to brag a bit here. Anu Solomon did not go to a Southern Section Pac-5 high school, but he did go to an extremely well-known and huge national powerhouse ranked somewhere in the top two high schools in the nation out of Nevada. Currently, Bishop Gorman’s QB Tate Martel is an Ohio State commit and the No. 2 Dual-Threat Quarterback in the country according to 247 Sports.

Anu played varsity quarterback from his freshman season. He took Bishop Gorman to a record four state titles. As a senior, Solomon passed for 2,271 yards, passed for 30 touchdowns and rushed for eight touchdowns for a total of 38.

BearDown Arizona!