THERE’S NO MISTAKING MISSION BAY QB’S NAME OR ABILITY
Jason Orsborn just had this gut feeling about his first-born child.
“I knew he would become somebody,” said Orsborn. “I always wanted him to have a name that nobody else would have.”
So a little more than 18 years ago, Orsborn, a gonzo fan of the English rock band The Clash, slapped a distinct handle on his son.
Clash James Orsborn.
Said Jason, “That would be a painful name for a kid who didn’t fit in. But that never crossed my mind. I knew he’d be a badass at whatever he did.”
Come 7 p.m. today at Grossmont High, Mission Bay (10-2) takes on Blythe Palo Verde Valley (10-2) in the San Diego Section Division V football championship. And the young man who’ll be standing in the shotgun formation, slinging passes and scrambling about for the Buccaneers will be Clash Orsborn.
There are many ways to measure a quarterback’s value. Wins and losses. Total offense. Completion percentage.
But a quarterback’s primary job is to put the ball in the end zone. Mission Bay has scored 60 touchdowns this season. Orsborn, a senior, has accounted for 55 of them, 91.7 percent: 43 TD passes, 12 touchdown runs.
“Wow,” said Hoover head coach Will Gray.
“He’s the motor that makes everything go,” said Mission Bay head coach Greg Tate.
As long as he can remember, Orsborn, a three-year starter for Mission Bay, has always loved the feel of a football coming off his right hand.
“Tom Brady said it best,” said Orsborn. “He’s been asked why doesn’t he retire. And he’s says, ‘There’s this crazy piece in me that still wants to throw a spiral.’ ”
Track down Orsborn’s video highlights and it doesn’t take long to understand why he’s good at what he does. In Mission Bay’s 41-7 semifinal win over Calexico last week, he rolled right on one play, spotted a receiver breaking to the end zone front pylon and delivered a low strike for a touchdown.
On another play, a deep corner route with a DB on the receiver’s hip, Orsborn arched a pass that dropped over the defender and into the receiver’s hands. Coaches call it fitting the ball into tight windows.
John Q. Public dubs it accuracy and Orsborn is blessed with the skill. He has completed 204 of 297 passes this season (68.7 percent) for 2,768 yards. Only five times has he been intercepted.
“Every single pass is pretty much right in the breadbasket,” said Jacob Sloan, the Bucs’ leading receiver.
When COVID shut down California high school sports in March 2020, Orsborn began working with Akili Smith, the former Lincoln High, Grossmont College and Oregon star who was the third pick of the 1999 NFL Draft by Cincinnati.
“He’s definitely cerebral and has the ‘it’ factor as well,” said Smith, now an assistant at Lincoln. “He’s very accurate, very smooth,
very smart. You can tell he’s the kind of kid who sits at home and watches a full NFL game. Some will watch a quarter and they’re ready to play some X Box.
“He probably has the remote in his hand, rewinding, looking at plays. He lives the position.”
Said Tate regarding his quarterback’s video homework on the competition and preparedness, “He’s almost like a coach.”
For his career, which included only four games during the truncated 2021 spring season, Orsborn has accounted for 6,111 yards in total offense, completed 68 percent of his passes, thrown for 71 TDs and run for 14.
Orsborn makes a quarterback’s read progressions on pass plays.
When nothing’s there he instinctively darts off to run. Another sign of his athleticism: he beat about a dozen teammates in a basketball 3-point-shooting contest recently. Then beat ’em again.
For major-college football teams, Orsborn is stuck with one drawback. While he’s a solid 180 pounds, he stands only 5-feet-11.
Multiple Division II and III schools, though, have shown interest.
What would the interest be if he stood, say, 6-3?
“Four star, five star (recruit),” said Smith. “Twenty-five offers. Pretty much everybody in the country would be after the kid.”
Orsborn vows that he will play college football somewhere, at some level.
“It just motivates me to become a better player,” he said. “I always have that little chip on my shoulder.”
Mission Bay is seeking its first section championship since 2009, when Orsborn was 6.
“Twelve years ago,” he said. “That just doesn’t register.”
He promises to show his offensive linemen his appreciation for their blocking when the season ends.
“Something food related, definitely,” he said.
As for his distinct first name, Clash tosses his longish hair back, rubs his scruffy beard and admits he loves it.
“I like that it’s unique,” he said. “I don’t get confused with anybody in class.”