Chase Rettig moved to San Clemente High.
College football coaches are starting to make the school a destination, too. Notre Dame coaches were on the San Clemente campus Tuesday to work out Rettig, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound junior who transferred from La Salle of Pasadena in January. Fighting Irish head coach Charlie Weis was not there, but quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus was. Rettig emerged as a top prospect last fall, when he passed for 1,275 yards and 13 touchdowns on a 1-9 La Salle team. Rettig reportedly stood out at the Nike Combine a couple of weeks ago, where he got some pointers from nationally recognized quarterbacks mentor Bob Johnson, the head coach at Mission Viejo. “He had a nice camp,” Johnson said. “He’s a strong-armed kid, a nice young man.” Rettig also has worked frequently with another quarterbacks guru, Steve Clarkson. San Clemente coach Eric Patton has coached several fine quarterbacks with the Tritons, and as head coach and assistant coach at Capistrano Valley, and as a player at Mater Dei, Notre Dame and in pro football. Patton said Rettig will be a special player. “I haven’t seen him play in pads, which is a whole different ballgame,” Patton said, “But he’ll be the best I’ve had here, without a doubt.”
The Tritons have had some good quarterbacks under Patton, for whom the 2009 season will be his 10th in charge of San Clemente football. The better ones include Cole Bergquist, who went on to an All-Big Sky career at Montana and will be at some NFL camp as a free agent this summer Beau Budde Chris Hayward and, last year’s Tritons quarterback, Duke deLancelotti.