West Coast Spotlight: Five players who need a fall football season
The coronavirus pandemic eliminated most of the off-season football opportunities for high school athletes, and now it is threatening to wipe out the senior season for the class of 2021. In many states in the West region, the high school football season has been moved to December or January. The loss of a final high school season would impact the development of every prospect in the class, but some will be hurt more than others.
Here are five prospects from the West who need to play their senior seasons.
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EAST COAST SPOTLIGHT: Five who need fall football seasons
MIDWEST SPOTLIGHT: Five who need fall football seasons
SOUTHEAST SPOTLIGHT: Five who need fall football seasons
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
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Buchner put up absolutely massive numbers in his junior season with 4,474 yards and 53 passing touchdowns and he also rushed for 1,610 yards and 28 more scores and that caught the attention of everybody when it came to rankings and evaluations. But the Notre Dame quarterback commit accomplished that at La Jolla (Calif.) Bishops School and the competition there was lacking. Since that time, Buchner has transferred to La Mesa (Calif.) Helix, one of the top programs in San Diego, and he was expected to face much stiffer competition in his senior year.
Buchner has had some up-and-down performances this offseason. He looked good at the Rivals Camp Series in Los Angeles before the coronavirus shutdown, he struggled at the Elite 11 and he was reportedly in the middle of the pack at the recent QB Collective. A senior season against better competition could definitely clear up where Buchner’s ranking should end up - whether up or down - as he’s one of the more intriguing prospects in the 2021 class.
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Last season at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, Dixon was not the first option for five-star quarterback Bryce Young as he targeted BYU signee Kody Epps the most and Oregon commit Kyron Ware-Hudson was also a favorite of Young as well. Dixon was an important part of the offense but this season was going to be his opportunity - along with Ware-Hudson - to shine in Mater Dei’s offense with USC commit Miller Moss transferring there.
Dixon recently committed to Michigan and a senior season is still possible if he sticks around through the spring. The big outside receiver could emerge as an even higher-profile receiver in the West especially since now he could be the top target in Mater Dei’s passing attack.
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It’s hard to believe, but Garcia has still not played a full year of high school football and now the delay in the start of California’s season might make that impossible this season as well. The high four-star quarterback could be in the discussion for a five-star ranking with a huge senior season but timing is definitely complicating this as well.
Garcia is committed to USC and could be an early enrollee. With the season not starting until at least December or January, the high four-star quarterback could already be headed to USC. This becomes even more complicated since fellow four-star quarterback Miller Moss is also committed to the Trojans and could enroll early as well. If one goes to USC, it’s expected the other will as well so neither has an advantage on campus while the other plays his senior season of high school.
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The reports out of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco have been positive about Gibbs’ development this offseason and he’s looked good at some workouts, but a senior season would be huge for Gibbs, who has dropped significant weight over the last few years and could be one of the better interior offensive linemen in the country.
The USC commit is still huge at 6-foot-6 and 340 pounds, just a big human being that has improved his speed and footwork over the last year and consumes defensive linemen who try to bull rush him. His coaches have spoken well of Gibbs and his development, but having an entire season to show his dominance could make the decision easier to move him to a four-star ranking and to move him even higher in the offensive guard rankings.
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When Worthy’s junior film was released, he was given a conservative three-star ranking, but it was definitely too low and seeing Worthy this offseason was going to be important as he would compete against some elite players in Southern California. He unfortunately didn’t show at the Rivals Camp Series in Los Angeles and then everything got shut down for months, so seeing Worthy in person was not possible.
Now a senior season is up in the air and the Michigan commit’s ranking remains low. There have been some social media highlights sent out and they have been really impressive - as Worthy has shown his speed, his athleticism, his length and his playmaking ability. Rankings will change for a lot of people in the coming months, both up and down, and Worthy is on the list. But an entire senior season would have been even more helpful as the Michigan pledge could be one of the best in the West, if not the whole country.