SoCal 09 QB has early leader

Quarterback Josh Nunes (6-4, 205, 4.8) from Upland, Calif., will be one of the Golden State's most highly sought after quarterbacks for the class of 2009. He was named Co-MVP of his league with another outstanding 2009 signal-caller, Richard Brehaut from Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Los Osos.

Last year at this time, Nunes also an outstanding baseball player, sacrificed not playing the national pastime to work all around the clock to focus on football and learning more the quarterback position.

"Josh spent countless hours early in the morning before school at 7 am with offense coordinator Scott Schultz learning the offense of plays but more importantly and very rare, learning the Lineman's blocking responsibility on each play," Upland assistant coach Mike Esquivel said. "Josh has played baseball his whole life, but he knew that now he was the starting quarterback for the 2007 season he would have to give that up in the spring of '07 to understand the complex offense that Coach Salter runs at Upland the past 14 years."

Nunes proved to be a fast study as he threw for 2,105, 14 touchdowns and only five interceptions in 216 attempts. He completed 124 of his passes hitting on 57.4 percent.

Once again Nunes will back on the diamond for Upland where he will pitch and add his powerful bat to the lineup. He has been working out with former Upland quarterback and pitcher Dave Coggin who actually pitched in the major leagues for Philadelphia Phillies.

UCLA was always near the top of his list when it came to playing college football and he attended several Bruin games last fall. He wasn't very pleased with the way the Bruins were playing offense last season and he was thinking of other schools, but with all the buzz surrounding the UCLA football program with the hiring Rick Neuheisel and Norm Chow that reverberated renewed interest for the Bruins by the talented quarterback.

"On Tuesday Jan 22nd, defense coordinator DeWayne Walker came by Upland High School to get more information on Josh," Esquivel said. "He was very excited about Josh, and he told me he was going to give Josh's film and information to Coach Neuheisel and Coach Chow so they can break it down and look over it."

Nunes was very fired up about the meeting with Walker and the idea of having his tape perused by Neuheisel and Chow was very enticing.

"To be able to be coached by Coach Neuheisel and Coach Chow would be a situation that every quarterback across the nation would love to be in," Nunes said. "It would be a dream come true for me."

"I have great feelings about being here at the Rose Bowl; I also love the atmosphere and the excitement around Westwood," Nunes said. "Every Division I college is wide open for me right now. There are a couple schools I would rank higher than others but I'm wide open."

Besides interest from UCLA, Nunes already has two offers on the table from Arizona and Hawai'i.

It wouldn't be too surprising to see SMU jump into the fray since the former Hawai'i head coach June Jones is now running the show for the Mustangs.

Cal, Oregon State, Colorado and Notre Dame has also shown early interest in Nunes.

Esquivel knows some of the reasons why Nunes is already a highly sought after quarterback.

"Josh is a class act individual," Esquivel said. "He works countless hours on and off the field.

"When you talk about hard work and dedication, you're talking about Josh Nunes. It takes a lot of hard work to be a starting quarterback in our system here at Upland and maintain a 4.5 GPA honors. I handle the recruiting for our kids to help them move on to the next level for college. When you have a 4.5 GPA it makes my job a lot easier, that and an accurate and strong throwing arm."