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Boston Herald
Boston Herald
1 Aug 2023
Adam Kurkjian


NextImg:Massachusetts suddenly evolves into a high school quarterback factory

It’s the sort of thing you expect from California, or Texas, or Georgia.

Or, for that matter, anywhere but Massachusetts.

But in another sign that times are changing in the football recruiting world, the state has suddenly produced a boatload of quarterback talent.

In the classes of 2024 and ’25, some major talents from the Bay State have committed to the most big-time of big-time powerhouse programs. And the party feels like it is going to continue.

In the ’24 class, Xaverian’s Henry Hasselbeck has pledged to Michigan State. Marblehead native Miles O’Neill, who will attend his senior year at the Hun School in Princeton, N.J., has verballed to Texas A&M. Central Massachusetts natives Dante Reno of Cheshire Academy, and Ryan Puglisi of Avon Old Farms, are committed to South Carolina and Georgia, respectively.

For the ’25 class, Central Catholic’s Blake Hebert has already committed to Clemson.

That all followed Springfield Central’s William “Pop” Watson III going to Virginia Tech in the 2023 class.

Again, if this were, say, Western Pennsylvania, maybe no one bats an eye. But for this state, it is truly revolutionary.

“No, never. Absolutely not,” said Al Fornaro, Hasselbeck’s coach, on if there is any precedent for this here.

“Oh, no. This is definitely an outlier,” said Bill Mella, Reno’s coach. “I’m thinking back, and no. No. I’ve never, ever seen it like this.”

There are plenty of factors at play, but to start, these are truly gifted athletes that those interviewed seemed to think would get offers in any time period.

“I think part of it is they’re all the right size, right?” said John Sexton, Hebert’s coach. “We’ve had a lot of kids in this state that have been 6-feet tall and electric and won a lot of games and ran for a lot of yards, passed for a lot of yards, scored a lot of touchdowns. But they haven’t had the physical stature that these guys have.

Lawrence Academy quarterback Ryan Puglisi carries the ball during a 2021 game against Belmont Hill in Belmont. Puglisi, now at Avon Old Farms, is committed to play at national power Georgia. (Herald Photo By Jim Michaud/ Boston Herald)

Lawrence Academy quarterback Ryan Puglisi carries the ball during a 2021 game against Belmont Hill in Belmont. Puglisi, now at Avon Old Farms, is committed to play at national power Georgia. (Herald Photo By Jim Michaud/ Boston Herald)

“I think the other part of it is if you have the means, you can get year round instruction now. That really is a cottage industry in and of itself that has really blown up in the last five to ten years. It was happening in other parts of the country before that, but it’s really kind of blown up and gotten hot here lately.”

Hasselbeck is an interesting case, because even though he is the son of former Xaverian standout and NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, he is also a lacrosse standout who was once a Maryland commit in that sport. But the 6-foot-3 signal-caller picked up a run of offers this offseason and made the switch to Michigan State.

“In my own quarterback world, I would say, I take a lot of pride in my off-the-field abilities, and controlling the controllables at practice, uplifting my teammates, and just being a leader,” Hasselbeck said. “On the field, I would say, I’ve played multiple sports my whole life. I wasn’t a specialized (athlete). My athleticism is something I would take a lot of pride in. I just want to continue to grow in that area.”

The ability to beat teams mentally is an aspect of Hasselbeck’s game that he enjoys.

“There are a lot of things that go into my game on the field that don’t start with arm power, accuracy, being a good athlete, being fast,” Hasselbeck said. “I would say it’s a lot of off the field stuff, behind the scenes, mental stuff, film stuff. A lot of that.”

“I tell all the coaches who care to hear me blabber, (I) said, if you want to do the Jon Gruden, put a play up on the board, erase it, and tell him to do it backwards, and he’ll do it for you,” Fornaro said. “He’s a smart kid. He’s a smart athlete.”

Hebert recently committed to Clemson after a terrific sophomore season for the Raiders. At 6-4, 218 pounds, he has the size requirement down, is a good leader, and a gifted athlete.

Central Catholic quarterback Blake Hebert (12) prepares to pass during a MIAA Division 1 semifinal game against St. John's Prep at Cawley Stadium in Lowell on Nov. 18, 2022. He has committed to Clemson. (Photo by Amanda Sabga/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

Central Catholic quarterback Blake Hebert (12) prepares to pass during a MIAA Division 1 semifinal game against St. John’s Prep at Cawley Stadium in Lowell on Nov. 18, 2022. He has committed to Clemson. (Photo by Amanda Sabga/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)

“I think the two things that stood out the most and that I heard the most from coaches were my poise in the pocket and my ability to kind of look defenders off and read a defense,” Hebert said.

Central Catholic quarterback Blake Hebert was all smiles in announcing his verbal commitment to Clemson University. (Central Catholic courtesy photo)

Central Catholic quarterback Blake Hebert was all smiles in announcing his verbal commitment to Clemson University. (Central Catholic courtesy photo)

According to Jim Rudloff, O’Neill’s coach when the quarterback was in Marblehead, the player’s strengths jump out.

“Miles is very lucky. Not only is he good enough to get the offers he got, and he earned every one of them, but he also checks every box,” Rudloff said. “He’s very fortunate. When you’re 6-5, 225 pounds, that helps a lot. He’s extremely athletic. He’s a very good basketball player. He can dunk. He’s an athlete.”

Mella counts off many strengths for Reno.

“Number one, (Reno is a) complete student of the game. Just eats it up. Wants to know more. Wants to see more film. His football intelligence is at that level,” Mella said. “It’s definitely a coach on the field level. He just eats it up. He loves training. He loves working his craft. He loves getting better. He loves throwing with the guys. He loves getting coached. He loves working out. Those two kind of intangibles are what you see out of the best quarterbacks in the SEC and in the league. They’re, for lack of.a better term, gym rats that can’t get enough of it.”

Puglisi is a childhood friend of Watson, and is heading to the back-to-back national champions. As rare as this phenomenon is, Puglisi’s coach, Jon Wholley, thinks it isn’t a flash in the pan.

“I think it’s going to continue to grow,” Wholley said. “What do they call it? The Roger Bannister four-minute mile effect? No one can break it for a long period of time, one person did, and then within a year a (bunch of) people did. Then you look at it, the Will Levises (of Kentucky) and Tyler Van Dykes (of Miami), guys that were all from this area in the past five or so years that have gone places or been high draft picks. I think that has produced the Ryan Puglisis and Dante Renos. I think it will continue to do that.”

Springfield Central's William "Pop" Watson III, left, tries to fend off the tackle attempt by St. John's Prep's Lucas Verrier during the first quarter of the MIAA Division I championship game at Gillette Stadium in 2022. Watson took his talents to Virginia Tech. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)

Springfield Central’s William “Pop” Watson III, left, tries to fend off the tackle attempt by St. John’s Prep’s Lucas Verrier during the first quarter of the MIAA Division I championship game at Gillette Stadium in 2022. Watson took his talents to Virginia Tech. (Photo by Paul Connors/Media News Group/Boston Herald)