Westerville Souths Rocco rocks

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – When Drew Tate was coming out of high school in Texas, everybody said he was too short to be a big-time college quarterback. Sure he still had some offers, but most people said he would never amount to anything.

Some people are probably going to try to lump Westerville (Ohio) South junior quarterback Rocco Pentello in that same group. But like some people were wrong with Tate, they'll be wrong with Pentello because he's a Drew Tate type quarterback with wheels.

Some college coaches are already making the Tate to Pentello comparison and on paper the association sticks. Both are 6-feet and around 185 pounds, but the one thing that Pentello has that might help him a little more is that he can also hurt you with his feet.

He is in his third year starting and as a sophomore he threw for 2,220 yards and also rushed for an additional 890 yards.

"I haven't heard that yet comparison yet, and you're the first person that's mentioned it to me," Pentello said "He's not tall like me and has a good arm like me. It's really a compliment to hear something like that because he's a great college quarterback, and if I can achieve some of the same type of things that he has then I know I would have made it."

Pentello is making the most of his career at South. Playing for his father, longtime coach Rocky Pentello, has given him an advantage and he uses that every week to get better.

"It's fun at home," Pentello said. "I can talk to my dad about things that you usually wouldn't be able to talk about with people you live with. We have a special relationship and a great bond. We can talk about football and watch films together. I kind of get a good jump start on everything. I know the game plan before everybody else and that helps me be a better player."

Pentello knows he's blessed with great physical ability.

He has been clocked as fast as 4.45-seconds in the 40-yard dash, and he impressed at the Ann Arbor NIKE Training Camp this past spring with a rocket arm and good technique. But he said it's his leadership skills that he prides himself in most.

"I try to lead by example, and I'm not real vocal," he said. "That's just the way I try to lead. The way I play on the field is how I am off the field. I try to be a good person around the fellas and everything.

"The biggest thing that I have going for me is my speed and leadership. Then I mix that with throwing and it's a hard combination to stop."

Watching Pentello play is a mixture of read options, three-step drop passes that are on the money and bootleg plays that allow him to read the defense like a pro. So does he think of himself as a athlete playing quarterback or is does he truly believe he will be a quarterback in college?

"I like the running plays where I can read the end," he said. "I like being able to have the option to put it in the running back's belly or cut it up field. But I also think I'm money when it comes to throwing it long downfield.

"If it's me, I'd rather run the ball instead of handing it off, but I'd rather throw it. I'm a quarterback all the way in my mind."

Pentello knows that playing for Westerville South is a big deal. Not only is the team a traditional playoff team – it won state back in 1994 – it also sent great players like Andy Katzenmoyer, Kijana Carter, David Mitchell and Lance Moore to the next level. He said following in those players footsteps is tough, but he said he loves the challenge.

"And being around that growing up since my dad has been the coach for so long it's been amazing," he said. "I've been waiting for a long time, and it finally got to be my turn to finally play for him and make the most of it. It's been like a dream for me.

"There is a little pressure there because of the high expectations and everybody knowing that I am going to hopefully be a college quarterback. When you want to go to a Big 10 school or a big school, you have a lot of pressure to do your best on the field."

Toledo has already offered him a scholarship, he said. And at this point many Big 10 programs like Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan State are showing him early interest. He also pointed out that Washington and Alabama have also been sending him regular mail.

"I'd like to stay somewhere near home, but I honestly haven't given it a lot of thought," he said. "It'd be great to stay in the Big 10 region, but if somebody is going to give me an opportunity from outside the area, then I'm going to look hard at them, too."