Sleeper QB about to explode on scene
Every year it seems some Golden State quarterback makes such a quantum leap that the player seems to come out of nowhere. Though this quarterback started as a junior for one of the better coached programs in Southern California, he is still a sleeper.
The quarterback to keep your eye on is Matt Abbey (6-2, 180, 4.75) from La Canada (Calif.) Saint Francis.
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Rivals.com took in a passing league tournament the other day at Oaks Christian and Abbey stole the show while leading Saint Francis to the tournament championship.
One person who was in attendance was the father of former Tennessee quarterback (now on his way to the KC Chiefs) Casey Clausen, current Tennessee quarterback Ricky Clausen and current Oaks Christian quarterback Jimmy Clausen, Jim Clausen.
Oaks Christian was in attendance for NIKE’s passing league challenge held at USC and where there was a lot of quarterback talent including Clausen’s son Jimmy who quite possibly is the best sophomore quarterback in the Golden State and USC bound Mark Sanchez from Mission Viejo.
The reason for this long build is Clausen was so impressed with Abbey the other day that he said that if Abbey was at the NIKE Passing League tournament and threw the way he did at Oaks Christian he would have been the best passer at NIKE.
Very high praise indeed.
Saint Francis coach Jim Bonds is even more impressed by his young quarterback.
“Matt’s progression over the summer has been unbelievable,” Bonds said. “His confidence is way up and his arm strength is a lot stronger than a year ago.”
“Matt’s decision making is vastly improved,” Bonds said. “I like to see that most of all because that will carry over into the season.
Abbey attended one-day camps at Oregon and ASU. He also attended both of the school’s senior days.
Abbey threw for 1,311 yards and 11 touchdowns. On the down side he only completed 44.3% of his passes and threw for 12 interceptions.
“We struggled a bit on offense last year,” Bonds said. “We tried to run an offense that was similar to Hart’s (Newhall (Calif.) Hart).”
“We will go back to a pro-style offense because it is better suited for Abbey’s style of play.”
Abbey also has great bloodlines. His uncle is former UCLA Bruin quarterback and Philadelphia Eagle John Sciarra. His cousin is former Bruin quarterback John Sciarra, Jr., who has since transferred to Delaware.