As he prepares himself for a big senior season, Westlake (Calif.) quarterback Nick Owens (6-1, 180, 4.55) is pretty amped for Tuesday.
“We start spring football (today) so I’m pretty excited,” said Owens.
Much of that excitement stems from the fact that Owens will be the sole player behind center, the days of sharing the position are gone. Last year, Owens split time at quarterback with Ryan Campbell, who is headed to Air Force this fall. The Warriors were 12-1 in 2006, advancing to the CIF-Northern Division semifinals where they lost to eventual state champion Canyon.
With Campbell headed to Colorado Springs, Owens is anxious to get things rolling this fall for the Warriors.
“I know that the junior year is key and I still got to play against Canyon and Hart, but I;m looking forward to this year,” said Owens. “I’ve put a lot of hard work into a bunch of stuff, like my speed. I’m ready for senior year. It’s time to go all out.”
Owens has been making the rounds this spring, working at the Air 7 QB Camp and also going to the Scout.com Combine in Los Angeles.
“That was a good experience for me,” said Owens. “I know a lot of those guys and me and Dominique Blackman are really good friends.”
Despite limited action compared to most 2008 quarterbacks, Owens is no stranger to the recruiting process, his older brother Chris having been recruited in the class of 2004 before signing with Florida A&M. In fact, his older brother’s experience in the South has made that region of the country an attractive option.
“I really like the South and I really like Tallahassee. I really like it out there, there are a lot of schools that I’m hearing from that are out there,” said Owens.
Some of the schools Owens is hearing from include NC State, Mississippi State, TCU, Wake Forest, Colorado State, San Diego State and Arizona. He has an offer from Georgia Southern, one of the premier I-AA schools in the country. His dream school is Florida State.
“That school is a goal of mine,” said Owens. “You have to be top-notch to play there so I’m working for it.”
Owens said his top schools were Colorado State, Florida State, Illinois, NC State, Mississippi State, TCU, Wake Forest and Georgia Southern.
San Jose State is another school that he has interest in and Washington will be visiting the Westlake campus. The Huskies signed one of Owens’ teammates in February, lineman Tyrone Duncan.
“One of the things I’m looking for in a schools is checking out how long they’ll be there,” said Owens. “When my brother was at Florida A&M, his whole coaching staff was fired. I’m really interested in a place where I can have a good time for 4-5 years and the coaches will be there.”
When he does make his choice, it won’t be until the end of the year.
“I’m going to wait until after the season,” said Owens. “I want to look for my overall best fit.”
Owens has worked out with UCLA quarterback Ben Olson, the quarterback his brother replaced at Thousand Oaks earlier this decade.
“I trained a lot with Ben when he came back from his missions. He’s a lefty too and we’re similar passing wise,” said Owens.
Owens is planning to attend the Ventura County Coaches Combine this week and then focus the rest of his abilities on spring practice.
Westlake opens their season with as Week 0 game in Hawaii at Aloha Stadium before playing Saugus and Hart, two Northern Division foes, in September.
During the 2006 season, he was 16-of-28 passes for 305 yards and threw five touchdowns.
Academically, he has a 3.17 GPA and will take the SAT on June 2nd, and the ACT at some point.