In this coronavirus pandemic, one of the more fascinating stories in scholastic sports is the emergence of late-stage high school transfers. Quarterbacks and other prospects who want to get in some live-game repetitions are transferring high schools — in many cases, leaving their home states for other states — in order to have the chance to play football on Friday nights.
Utah is playing high school football already. (It will be interesting to see what COVID-19 testing numbers emerge in the coming weeks.) Georgia has not postponed high school football until winter or spring. It is slated to begin on Friday, Sept. 4. California, however, has postponed fall football, a development we noted here at Trojans Wire.
Quarterbacks based in the state of California are leaving for Utah, Georgia, and other states which are playing high school football. In some cases, such as Jake Garcia, the player is a USC commit. In Garcia’s specific case, the Trojans’ coaching staff has had to weigh the benefits of getting Garcia live action versus the risks of having Garcia play in a different part of the country, which might make him susceptible to attempts by other schools to poach him.
These details and more are outlined in a story by Antonio Morales of The Athletic. If you don’t subscribe to The Athletic, we will share a few relevant quotes from the article.
Cole Lavin of Newport Beach, Calif., is playing in Utah. Here’s what he told Morales:
“’We were really just kind of weighing the pros and cons of it,’ said Lavin, whose sophomore and junior seasons were cut short by injury. ‘If I come out here, I’m almost guaranteeing myself a season. If I stay there, who knows what’s going to happen. We have no control over it. Ultimately, I just didn’t want to leave my senior year up to the possibility of me not playing at all.’”
Garcia, who was initially going to play for La Habra High School in California, is setting up to play high school football in Georgia, while the Miami Hurricanes try to wrest him away from USC. Here’s what his new high school coach in Valdosta, Ga., said to The Athletic:
“’I was a little surprised,’ said Valdosta coach Rush Propst, a longtime coach in Alabama and Georgia best known for his time at Hoover High School (Ala.), which was chronicled on the mid-2000s MTV show “Two-A-Days”. ‘He did his research, I think, on everything. With me, the team and the type of football we play down here. In his mind, if California’s going to do what they’re doing, which I don’t agree with, I applaud him. I applaud his parents for making the move. That’s a long way.’”
We are seeing these player migrations now. Will there be a prolonged migration pattern in 2021 and beyond, if the Pac-12 doesn’t play a spring season while the SEC does play a 2020 season?
USC coaches have every right to be nervous. As is the case with so many other aspects of this pandemic, USC coaches are not in control of events or outcomes.