CREAM OF THE CROP
Here’s a sample of the profiles of our Top 5 as well as the list of everyone who made it. For links to the complete profiles of all 40players please go to https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/07/23/ bay-area-preps-hqsfab-40-football-players2019-preseason/
No. 1: Liberty quarterback rises to the top
There isn’t much Liberty quarterback Jay Butterfield can’t do. When the coaches asked him to gain 20 pounds this offseason, believing the extra weight would make him more durable outside of the pocket, Butterfield put on 25. When the coaches told him he’d have to consume 5,000calories a day to get there, no problem. Butterfield ingested 5,000 calories each day. It takes effort to become the best, and Butterfield has done the necessary duties to reach the top. He led Liberty to a state championship last season and accepted a scholarship offer to Oregon a few months ago. He enters his senior season as the No. 1-rated player in the Bay Area Preps HQ’S Fab 40list. “Jay looks good,” said teammate Akili Calhoun, himself a Fab 40 selection. “He looks really good. He’s not gonna get sacked a lot.” — Darren Sabedra No. 2: Menlo-atherton WR an elite recruit
How does Troy Franklin deal with all the hype? The 6-foot-2½, 180-pound Menlo-atherton junior is the No. 10 recruit in the nation for the Class of 2021, according to 247Sports. Eight teams out of the Pac-12 already offered the wide receiver a scholarship, including Oregon, USC and Washington. Alabama, Iowa State, LSU, Miami, Nebraska, Tennessee and Menlo-atherton’s Troy Franklin is a Top 10recruit in the nation for 2021.
Texas also intend to entice the four-star recruit into a commitment. “I just pretty much try to handle it the best way I can,” said Franklin, who this summer took unofficial visits to five Pac-12 schools. Franklin lives for the moment. The No. 2-rated player in the Bay Area Preps HQ’S Fab 40list scored eight of his 17touchdowns last season during a five-game postseason stretch en route to the program’s first state title.
— Vytas Mazeika
No. 3: Las Lomas star chooses special date to commit
When Las Lomas running back Isaiah Newell announced he would make his college commitment on Aug. 15, it was not a date he selected at random. His dad, Andre Newell Sr., was born on Aug. 15, 1964. “I’d much rather do it on a happy day, on the day he was born, than on the day he passed away,” Newell said. Andre Newell Sr. died on Dec. 3, 2016. Nobody had more influence on Isaiah Newell than his dad. “From a young age, I remember the conversations,” Newell said. “I played flag football, and I was like, ‘Dad, I don’t want to play flag football. I need to hit something.’ He put me in flag football and saw me play for a couple of years and said, ‘You want to play college football?’ I said, ‘Why not? I love it.’” Andre Newell’s goal for Isaiah was to go to college. That goal was realized when Isaiah picked Oregon State over USC on Thursday. — Mike Lefkow Las Lomas star Isaiah Newell picked USC on his late father’s birthday.
No. 4: Meet De La Salle’s Mr. Do It All
Shamar Garrett remembers the moment the bulb went off. Under the bright lights in Las Vegas two seasons ago, De La Salle had not only lost a game but part of its soul, a 27-point defeat to Bishop Gorman amplified by the notion that the losing side did not compete as it should have. Coach Justin Alumbaugh and Garrett spoke. Garrett recalls the conversation.
“He didn’t want to make it seem like I lost the game,” the running back/free safety said. “But I was the weak link in that game. He said I needed to watch film more and that I had to grow up real soon.” Garrett grew up quite a bit last season. He took command of the secondary, reeled off long runs on offense and occasionally threw a pass or two. Now a senior, Garrett will help fill a substantial leadership void left by last season’s stars, Henry To’oto’o and Isaiah Foskey, while making an impact as a two-way player. — Darren Sabedra No. 5: Los Gatos lineman has one big goal
A year ago at this time, Los Gatos offensive tackle Andres Dewerk was on the radar of many college coaches. But he hadn’t blown up yet. By last spring, Dewerk’s name had become household in the college coaching fraternity. He measured 6-foot-7, 297 pounds. He was stockpiling scholarship offers. He was zooming up the recruit rankings. Now, Dewerk is rated the 80th best prospect in California’s senior class by 247sports.com. He is the top-rated offensive lineman in the Bay Area in his class. He has committed to USC. “He is very athletic,” Los Gatos coach Mark Krail said. “But it’s way more than that. I’ve had big kids in the past, but not with that kind of quickness and the ability to bend. There are not a lot of 6-7, 300-pound guys who can squat like he can.” — Mike Lefkow
The rest of the Fab 40:
No. 6Palo Alto WR Jamir Shepard No. 7Monte Vista WR/LB Nate Rutchena No. 8Bishop O’dowd WR Sterling Stokes No. 9Marin Catholic DT Jamar Sekona No. 10Kennedy-richmond TE Jermaine Terry No. 11Antioch DB Dejuan Butler No. 12Menlo-atherton athlete Justin Anderson No. 13Salinas QB Carl Richardson No. 14Mcclymonds DB Edward Woods No. 15Serra DE Nusi Malani No. 16De La Salle QB Dorian Hale No. 17Moreau Catholic RB Jaylen “Fresh” Ison No. 18Valley Christian LB Moon Ashby No. 19Wilcox RB Paul M. Rosa No. 20Branham lineman Frank Poso No. 21Archbishop Mitty QB Shamir Bey No. 22Valley Christian RB Isaiah Mcelvane No. 23Campolindo QB Grant Harper No. 24Liberty lineman Akili Calhoun No. 25Serra WR/DB Terence Loville No. 26Pittsburg lineman Ryan Lange No. 27Piedmont lineman Patrick Selna No. 28Cardinal Newman QB Jackson Pavitt No. 29Bishop O’dowd DE Colton Vardell No. 30De La Salle WR Grant Daley No. 31Las Lomas WR/DB Jalen Apalit-williams No. 32California School for Deaf RB Calel Aramboles No. 33St. Francis lineman Mose Vavao No. 34De La Salle WR/DB Lu Magia Hearns No. 35Valley Christian CB Deven Vanderbilt No. 36San Ramon Valley lineman Colin Moroney No. 37Campolindo DE Mason Mastrov No. 38Liberty lineman Payton Zdroik No. 39Valley Christian DT J.T. Reed No. 40Leland QB Carson Yates