Dashnaw makes rapid improvment
For the past few years, Acton (Calif.) Vasquez quarterback Chad Dashnaw has worked to fine-tune his mechanics with premiere quarterbacks coach Steve Clarkson.
At the Berkeley Elite 11 camp on May 16, Dashnaw took advantage of the opportunity to show off his improvement.
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"I thought I did really well," Dashnaw said. "It was my best camp I've ever had. It helped me a lot, and I think it'll help get my name out there. I really enjoyed getting to compete with the other California quarterbacks. It was nice, being from a small school, to get that exposure."
Dashnaw worked three days a week for three months with Clarkson's son, former Hofstra quarterback Anton Clarkson, to prepare for the camp.
The 6-foot-4, 220 pound pro-style passer said his work with the Clarksons has helped make him a completely different quarterback.
"My footwork has gotten a lot better and they taught me my form and how to throw the ball," Dashnaw said. "The reason Steve took me on was he said I had one of the strongest arms he'd ever seen. He said he would be able to perfect it, and he's really helped. I wouldn't be where I am today without him."
One trait Dashnaw displayed at the Elite 11 camp was a three-quarter delivery. He has been working to correct that kink since the camp ended.
"I drop down every once in a while to three-quarters, but it's getting up," Dashnaw said. "I'm trying to fix that. I really thought I threw very accurately at the camp, though, and I was very impressed by my velocity as well. I thought it was one of the best throwing days I've had in awhile."
Dashnaw doesn't have an offers at this point, but he's spoken with many schools and has grown fond of two: Bowling Green and Washington State.
The Falcons' new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Warren Ruggiero, has impressed Dashnaw and earned his attention.
"I don't know too much about the school, but Coach Ruggiero is a great coach with a great offense, and he knows what to do with a quarterback," he said. "He's really a big influence on his quarterbacks and it's a good passing offense.
"He coached Josh Freeman at Kansas State, and we're similar style quarterbacks. He knows what he's doing, and I'd really like to play for someone like that."
He has also spoken with Cougars offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Todd Sturdy and taken an unofficial visit to Washington State.
"They have a great campus, they're a great school, they're in the Pac 10, they have a great offense," Dashnaw said. "It's a young team and just a really good program. Their coach is a really nice guy, that helps."
Dashnaw said Stanford and Arizona State are both schools that are among his favorites, and he's also taken unofficial visits to Oregon and Oregon State.
"I'd like to hear more from UCLA or any Pac 10 school," he said. "The WAC conference appeals to me, too. SMU, Rice and UTEP are also very high on my list and I'd love to talk to them. I just want to go to a school that I know throws the ball the majority of the time and is successful with it."
Dashnaw is looking for a school that offers kinesiology as a major and somewhere where he can eventually see playing time. He hopes to decide on a school by the end of the summer.