Stanford-bound Ben Yurosek hopes to cap his high school career with a state title for BCHS
Stanford-bound Yurosek looks to cap prep career with a state title
Darren Carr had a pretty good idea why Ben Yurosek was screaming in the hallway outside his office. Two years earlier, Yurosek, then a talented but raw high school freshman on the Bakersfield Christian football team, had confided in Carr, his head coach, that he hoped to attend Stanford University after high school.
Fast forward to January 2019, where Carr received a call from Stanford coaches telling him they planned to offer Yurosek, now a nationally-recognized recruit at the tight end position, a scholarship. Just moments later, Cardinal football coach David Shaw called Yurosek personally to make it official.
“He got the call right outside my door,” Carr said. “He started screaming that he got an offer from Stanford. (Our coaches) ran out there and he gave us hugs. He was so jazzed, man.”
“I was on cloud nine,” Yurosek added. “A lot of work was put into getting to that point.”
Beginning next fall, Yurosek will be enrolled in a university which, according to U.S. News and World Report, has a nation-low four percent acceptance rate.
“It really has the best of both worlds, with academics and athletics,” said Yurosek, who is leaning towards enrolling in the school’s Mechanical Science and Engineering program. “I know I’ll have a great opportunity if I do not play football after (school).”
But while he has high hopes for his future, Yurosek’s immediate post-graduate plans very much involve football, and history suggests he’s in a good position to fulfill his NFL aspirations.
Since 2010, the Cardinal have had seven tight ends selected in the NFL draft. This group includes Philadelphia’s Zach Ertz, who set a single-season record for tight ends with 116 catches in 2018, and Atlanta’s Austin Hooper, who like Ertz, was a Pro Bowl selection a year ago.
“They call it Tight End U for a reason,” Yurosek said. “Obviously I’m wanting to live up to it.”
His senior year of high school has given him reason to believe he will. Offensively, Yurosek has thrived in 2019, recording 43 catches for 581 yards and eight touchdowns.
A matchup nightmare at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, he’s big enough to endure punishment across the middle, while fast enough to burn defenders on the outside.
His speed was on full display on a 68yard catch-and-run touchdown along the left sideline in the Eagles’ 28-14 win over Central Valley Christian in the Division III Central Section championship game.
His production is a big reason why BCHS, which has averaged nearly 40 points per game during a six-game win streak, is one win away from capturing the first football state title in school history. The Eagles look to finish off their championship run against Rancho Cotate in the Division 3-A State Champion
I know how hard we’ve been working these last four years, so I just want make sure we can say we left it on the field, no matter how it ends up.”
ship Saturday night.
“He’s a man amongst boys,” BCHS quarterback Dominic Gamboni said. “He’s almost always open, even if there’s three guys on him.”
And that does nothing to account for Yurosek’s impact on defense. He has four multi-sack games this season, including a 2.5-sack performance against Fullerton-Sunny Hills in the Southern Regional bowl game last Saturday.
Yurosek also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown against the Lancers, leading the Eagles to a 42-21 win that lifted them to the state title game for the third time in school history.
When Saturday’s game ends, so will Yurosek’s decorated prep football career, and Carr acknowledges it will be very difficult to replace his production.
“On Sunday, (it’s) going to set in that he’s not going to be with us anymore,” Carr said. “He’s been a blessing. We’re definitely going to miss him.”
Aside from his production, Carr says it will be equally difficult to replace the leadership of Yurosek, the most vocal of his 17 seniors.
And though he’s very serious about winning, Yurosek says he’s spent most of this week imploring his teammates to soak up every aspect of their final days together.
“This is just all dessert,” he said. “At this point, we’re the last team in Bakersfield. It’s just a really exciting time. You don’t get to experience it too many times.
“I know how hard we’ve been working these last four years, so I just want make sure we can say we left it on the field, no matter how it ends up.”