Highly Regarded Running Back Prospect Joshua Quezada Commits to Cougars

After receiving official commitments earlier this month from the nation’s top prep quarterback and one of the best high school receivers in Texas, BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall today announced that one of the top running backs in California—La Habra High School standout Joshua Quezada—has also signed a scholarship agreement to enroll at BYU in January.

Quezada joins Jake Heaps out of Skyline High School in Sammamish, Wash., and wide receiver Ross Apo out of the Oakridge School in Arlington, Texas, as high school seniors coming to Provo to begin college mid-year.

“Joshua is excited to come to BYU, and we are equally excited to have him join us,” Mendenhall said. “He embraces what our program is about on and off the field. He has the ability to be a very successful member of our team and help us continue to improve our program.”

A 5-foot-11, 210-pound running back out of La Habra High School in La Habra, Calif., Quezada rushed for 2,114 yards and 26 touchdowns and added 186 yards and two touchdowns as a receiver to lead the Highlanders to their third straight CIF-Southern Section Southwest Division Championship in 2009. He was named the 2009 Freeway League MVP, Daily News 2009 Football Player of the Year, and CIF-SS Southwest Division Offensive Player of the Year while earning back-to-back first-team All-Orange County honors as a senior. He averaged 8 yards per carry and 151 yards per game overall and accounted for 11.1 points per contest while leading La Habra to a 13-1 record.

Quezada not only put up big numbers during the season but also came through with his best performances during key games. Among the season’s many highlights, Quezada galloped for 304 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-21 semifinal victory over Cypress High School to advance to the championship game. He carried the Highlanders to the 2009 title by averaging 203.8 yards per game in four playoff contests.

As a junior in 2008, he ran for 1,680 yards on 163 carries and scored 21 touchdowns while adding 21 receptions for 318 yards and three touchdowns on the way to the 2008 CIF-SS title. He was first-team All-Orange County, first-team All-League and first-team All-CIF.

In addition to Quezada, Heaps and Apo, several other BYU recruits and returned missionaries plan to enroll in January. 2009 National Letter of Intent signee Kyle Van Noy, a linebacker out of McQueen High School in Reno, Nev., and 2007 NLI signees Famika Anae (OL, Timpview High School, Provo, Utah), Devin Mahina (TE/DE Upland High School, Upland, Calif.) and Marcus Matthews (WR, Southridge High School, Beaverton, Ore.) will enroll for winter semester as well as 2006 redshirt quarterback James Lark out of Pine View High School in St. George, Utah.

ROSTER INFORMATION
Ross Apo         WR    6-3   190  Arlington, Texas / The Oakridge School
Jake Heaps       QB    6-2   205  Issaquah, Wash. / Skyline HS
Joshua Quezada   RB    5-11  210  La Habra, Calif. / La Habra High School
Kyle Van Noy     LB    6-4   209  Reno, Nev. / McQueen HS
Famika Anae      OL    6-5   260  Provo, Utah / Timpview HS
Devin Mahina    TE/DE  6-6   225  Upland, Calif. / Upland HS
Marcus Mathews   WR    6-4   200  Beaverton, Ore. / Southridge HS
James Lark       QB    6-2   219  St. George, Utah / Pine View HS

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Two Stand Out For Quezada

 

Athlete Joshua Quezada (La Habra, Calif./La Habra) has now taken four of his official visits and with one remaining, two schools currently lead the way.
Quezada took his first visit to BYU followed by trips to Utah, Hawaii and Washington.

"We play this Saturday so it's going to be good to get a weekend off and sleep in for a change," Quezada said. "The trips get real tiring but I've loved every one of them. I'm going to take one last trip Dec. 18 to either Fresno State or Arizona and I may try and squeeze in an unofficial visit to San Diego State as well."

Quezada said he loved his recent visit to UW, but still favors the two Mountain West powers.

"Washington was awesome," Quezada said. "I had a great time with the players and really bonded well with the other recruits on the visit. We saw a great game and I like the energy and passion of the coaching staff. Coach Sark (Steve Sarkisian) said he thinks I could be another Troy Polamalu for them at safety and said I remind him of Troy since he was coaching at SC when he played there.

"As much as I liked the trip, I still have BYU and Utah at the top for me. I just felt most comfortable there and I'm closest with the coaches. With BYU, I love their offense, it's a lot like our offense at La Habra and it would be an easy adjustment.

"Utah felt like home to me as well and there's a real family environment. I felt that at both schools to be honest. It's going to be a really tough decision for me and I don't have a lot of time left since I'm graduating early but I know I can't go wrong with any of my choices."

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No Rush to Judgment

If there is any question about why La Habra High School running back Joshua Quezada is so successful on the football field, there is a simple answer.

He harbors an intense commitment to getting better.

He always has. And while it isn't necessarily unique, the consistency and intensity with which he approaches it might be.

"I have an opportunity to prepare myself for my future, to take bigger and bigger steps," Quezada said. "Before my freshman season, I wanted to get ready to play varsity. My sophomore year, I wanted to get ready for college. I wanted to push myself to the next step, be ready for the next level."

The 6-foot, 210-pound senior is on the right track.

As the Highlanders prepare to open the season at La Mirada on Sept. 11, Quezada is the team's marquee player, the leader in a program that has become one of the most stable among the CIF-Southern Section's perennial contenders.

His performances have earned him scholarship offers from a list of college programs, including Fresno State, Washington, Hawaii, New Mexico State, BYU, Stanford, Utah, Colorado State and San Diego State.

Oregon State and California have indicated a strong interest, and it's reasonable to expect that others will join the list as the season progresses.

"He has earned the recognition," coach Frank Mazzotta said. "He is the hardest working kid. He's the most dedicated in the weight room, he's the most prepared in the classroom.

"Just in general, he's so far ahead of most high school kids in terms of work ethic. In that sense, he's a college kid right now, not just in football but in life issues as well."

Last season, Quezada was part of the Highlanders' Thunder and Lightning offense that also featured Ronnie Hillman, now at San Diego State.

Quezada was Thunder, rushing for 1,680 yards and 17 touchdowns. He averaged 8.5 yards per carry. He also was a prime receiver out of the backfield.

While Hillman, the Daily News' Player of the Year, was perhaps a bit faster and more the slasher type, Quezada was always fast enough and could be considered the punisher type.

Although his style doesn't require space for him to be successful, his ability to run over or through tacklers sometimes overshadows the patience he employs that allows him to set up blocks, then accelerate off them.

He acknowledges that his accomplishments to date have set the bar high for future evaluations, but he is looking for new challenges.

"Of course, there is pressure to perform," he said. "The accomplishments so far are because of all the hard work I've put in, but I still have goals. Expectations are very high.

"I always feel I can do better, get better. I know I can never be perfect, but I can try to be."

Quezada, whose father is Samoan, is almost as well known for his hair as he is for his exploits on the field.

He knows his long, bushy, Samoan- style look (a la Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu) is fair-game for opposing defenders.

"Oh, yeah, people grab it," Quezada said. "It has stopped me from making a couple of touchdowns."

He also might be a bit superstitious about it.

"In the first round of the playoffs (last season) I decided to stick all of it inside my helmet," he said. "I was having an off game, so I took it out and let it flow after the first quarter, and then I had a better game."

Hair tucked away or flowing, hard to imagine Quezada having an off game.

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