Stanford lands NW signal caller

At the EA SPORTS Elite 11 workouts in Las Vegas in July, no quarterback improved their stock more in our eyes than Lakewood (Wash.) Clover Park signal caller Tavita Pritchard. The Washington native was offered by Stanford last summer but was just recently cleared by the schools admissions. Once that happened, Pritchard’s decision was over.

“I was cleared late last week,” Pritchard said. “I wanted to take the weekend to think things over but I knew I would be going to Stanford. I love the Northwest but Stanford is a special place. It’s the top academic school in the country and they play good football as well.

“I was hearing from a few other schools but Stanford was the only one to step up and offer. Oregon showed a lot of interest and Hawaii did as well but it was going to be really hard to beat out Stanford. I was there for the Nike Camp and also camped with them in the summer and it’s an incredible place. I actually called them this morning to tell them I was committing and they were all very excited and my family is happy for me as well.”

Pritchard had a solid showing at the NorCal Nike Camp but really opened our eyes at the Las Vegas workout. The 6-2, 175 pound signal caller had as live an arm as anyone in attendance and was throwing the deep outs and skinny posts on an absolute rope. He moves very well in the pocket and has above average athleticism. The only draw back in some eyes we were told were concerns over how skinny Pritchard was but that won’t be a problem at all.

“I’m Polynesian, we never have problems putting weight on,” Pritchard joked. Everyone in my family was the same way, skinny in high school but then really filled out in college and I know I’ll be the same way.”

Academically, Pritchard is carrying a 3.8 GPA and scored an 1170 on the SAT. His uncle is former Washington State standout quarterback Jack Thompson so the bloodlines are definitely there.