First in a series of stories profiling top high school football players by position. Today, Ryan Rakowski, Palos Verdes quarterback.
Driving along Palos Verdes Drive on the way to Palos Verdes High, your brain tells you to pull over. On the right is the ocean. Peering down from the cliffs, your senses are immediately activated — smell, hearing, sight. It’s the most picturesque of views. You hear birds. You feel the breeze. You see miles of peaceful blue water. You experience a real breath of fresh air.
Football coach Guy Gardner says he tries not to take his daily routine coming and going along the scenic route for granted.
“We think this is a fun place to play,” he said. “The other teams in the South Bay are closer to the water than we are. We overlook the water. We’re pretty spoiled.”
It’s the day of the total solar eclipse in April, and the team’s star quarterback, Ryan Rakowski, has shown up for practice wearing shorts with a pattern so colorful he could be hanging out at the beach. During a seven-on-seven competition, the ball flies out of his right hand with powerful velocity and accuracy.
Then Rakowski runs an option play and actually slides as if he’s about to be tackled. His old days playing baseball are perfectly evident.
“The turf is nice here,” he said. “I’m pretty familiar with sliding.”
Whatever Rakowski does is not a surprise, because last season as a freshman he was stunningly calm, cool and effective, completing 70% of his passes for 1,866 yards and 23 touchdowns with three interceptions.
“He puts the ball in the right spot,” Gardner said. “One of the things among many he does well is he can extend the play, but his attention is down field.”
Rakowski is a workaholic. He has private coaches for passing and speed training. He lives in the weight room and has gone from 158 pounds to 170. He’s 6 feet tall and spent the spring and summer playing in numerous seven-on-seven competitions. He studies college and pro quarterbacks. He has a 3.8 grade-point average and used to be a multisport athlete until focusing on football. During the school’s March Madness days, he joined a group of football players playing basketball and helped them reach the Final Four.
“He works hard at whatever he does,” Garner said. “He loves to play this sport and loves to compete.”
In an era where height is no longer considered an obstacle at the highest level, Rakowski continues to work on the details and skills needed to succeed.
“I’m not the tallest quarterback, so I have to make it up in other ways,” he said. “I feel improvising I can make it up. Nowadays, there’s a lot of shorter quarterbacks, Noah Fifita, Bryce Young. They just go out there and ball.”
And that’s what Rakowski does — he gets the ball to his receivers even when opponents think they have him trapped or on the verge of blowing up a play. He uses his instincts to be a disruptor and frustrates those who think he’s about to fail.
“I feel I have it in me I can feel someone attacking me if I’m rolling out and know I have to get the ball out. I try to direct traffic with the receivers,” he said.
Palos Verdes won its first 10 games last season before having to face Orange County power Mission Viejo in the opening game of the Division 2 playoffs. The Sea Kings lost 59-35. A number of important players have graduated, leaving the team to build around the 16-year-old Rakowski, who will make his sophomore debut on Saturday in Hawaii against Iolani.
There are many good quarterbacks this fall, from Husan Longstreet of Corona Centennial to Luke Fahey of Mission Viejo to Brady Smigiel of Newbury Park. Rakowski is capable of earning respect along with them. And his development will give college recruiters another reason for asking to visit Palos Verdes, where the view coming and going is not to be missed.
“Every day I try to drive home down Paseo del Mar so I can see it,” Gardner said. “I do it on purpose to remind myself we got it pretty good.”
Tuesday: Oak Hills running back Karson Cox.
Quarterbacks to watch
Bear Bachmeier, Murrieta Valley, 6-2, 220, Sr.: Stanford commit is accurate and dual threat
Dash Beierly, Mater Dei, 6-1, 215, Sr.: Washington commit takes over at school with three Heisman Trophy winners
Wyatt Becker, Sierra Canyon, 6-3, 180, Sr.: Utah commit passed for 30 touchdowns as a junior
Luke Fahey, Mission Viejo, 6-0, 185, Jr.: Accurate, clutch and improving weekly
TJ Lateef, Orange Lutheran, 6-3, 190, Sr.: Nebraska commit is versatile and tough
Husan Longstreet, Corona Centennial, 6-2, 190, Sr.: Texas A&M commit ready for best season yet
Madden Iamaleava, Warren, 6-2, 190, Sr.: UCLA commit passed for 3,626 yards, 43 touchdowns
Steele Pizzella, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 6-0, 173, Sr.: Washington State commit runs 10.64-second 100
Ryan Rakowski, Palos Verdes, 6-0, 170, So.: Completed 70% of his passes as a freshman for 10-1 team
Brady Smigiel, Newbury Park, 6-5, 205, Jr.: Will one day break record for most TD passes
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
