Tulsa strikes gold in California QB

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University of Tulsa Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe and his staff may have signed one of the top sleeper prospects in the nation in 6-foot-3 and 215-pound quarterback Drew Westling of Aliso Niguel High School in Mission Viejo, California. Due to a broken leg that ended his junior season, Westling truly flew under the radar until late in his senior season, and by that time, most college programs already had commitments from their quarterback prospects. Our staff spoke with Westling's head coach and his father, who is also his offensive coordinator, to find out more about the leading passer in Orange County this past season.

"Tulsa has truly signed a diamond in the rough in Drew," stated Aliso Niguel Head Coach Joe Wood. "If he had not had a bad break in his tibia fibula his junior season, he would have been on the list of all the top schools in the country. Since they didn't get a chance to evaluate him his junior season, he fell under the radar and by the time they realized how good he was, most of the schools already had their quarterbacks."

Coach Wood was impressed with Westling's tremendous abilities and his courage in rehabilitating after such a serious injury.

"Drew has tremendous courage," added Wood. "He had screws and a plate put in his leg and has such a great work ethic that he became even better after a long off-season of rehabilitation. He's a physical player that will stand in the pocket and take a hit. But he also has 4.7-second speed in the forty yard dash and can scramble and run the ball when needed. When he is flushed out of the pocket, he will run toward the line, but always has his eyes open looking downfield for an open receiver."

"He's a smart player, carrying over a 3.0 GPA and has a gun for an arm. During his sophomore year, he had some trouble about decision making, but he makes great decisions now and has a great touch on the ball. Before, he might just rocket the ball into coverage or throw too hard for a shorter pass. But during his junior year and then his senior season, he came of age."

Coach Wood told our staff that he and others thought that Westling was as good as Mark Sanchez of Mission Viejo High School, who is rated the No. 1 quarterback in the nation by Rivals.com.

"Drew and Mark are good friends," explained Wood. "Mark got much more publicity than Drew, mainly because of the great team Mission Viejo had and their string of 36 straight wins under Sanchez. Sanchez is a great quarterback, but so is Drew. Drew led our team to a 10-2 record and the quarterfinals of the CIF. He was the MVP of the Sea View Conference and led Orange County in passing with 2,988 yards on 216-of-350 passes. He threw for 28 touchdowns and only nine interceptions."

"Drew had an offer from Idaho. San Diego State was also going to offer, but their head coach had a son at a junior college and they signed him. A number of other schools were interested after he started performing late in his senior season, but as I said earlier, those schools already had their quarterbacks."

The University of Tulsa began recruiting Westling late in the process, but after watching him on tape, Tulsa acted quickly.

"(Assistant) Coach (Matt) Wells of Tulsa called and asked for film on Drew, and then Bob Johnson, the Head Coach of Mission Viejo and the father of Rob Johnson, started talking with Coach Kragthorpe and Drew's father, Kurt. Rob had played for Coach Kragthorpe when he was with the Buffalo Bills, and Bob really is impressed with Drew and with Coach Kragthorpe. Bob had also worked with Drew at one of the Nike camps. That's how the whole thing got started."

"After Tulsa had watched film on Drew, they called and said they would like for him to visit, and said that they would offer on the visit and would like to know if he would sign. He and his father flew to Tulsa the day after signing day, and Drew signed his letter of intent on the next day (Friday). Bob Johnson not only is the head coach at Mission Viejo, but also runs the Nike Camps and is involved in the Elite 11 Camps, so he knows his football, and he is very high on Drew."

Drew's father, Kurt, coached him as the offensive coordinator at Aliso Niguel and concurred with Coach Wood as to Westling's abilities and potential.

"Drew is what I call an old-school quarterback," Coach Westling said. "He's a Fran Tarkington-type player. He has a cannon for an arm, but also has a great touch on the ball. He used to just throw the ball as hard as he could, but has now developed the touch and realizes that the point is to have the receivers catch the ball, not how hard you can throw it."

Not only was Coach Westling sold on Coach Kragthorpe after talking with Bob Johnson, but after he and Drew visited the Tulsa campus and met all of the coaches and some of the players, he was impressed with everything he saw.

"Drew and I were surprised at the atmosphere at Tulsa," explained Coach Westling. "We met Tulsa's two scholarship quarterbacks, Paul Smith and David Johnson. They were both so nice to Drew and treated him like family. And the Tulsa coaches were great. We really like Coach Wells and offensive coordinator Charley Stubbs."

"I think Tulsa is a great fit for Drew. It's small enough, and I feel like Tulsa could become a top program in the next few years. They just seem to have things going for them, and I compare them to what Utah has done and feel they might be the next Utah."

Coach Westling explained to our staff what Drew's plans were for the rest of the spring and summer and the prospect for early playing time when he arrives on campus.

"This weekend, Drew is going to meet with Idris Moss, the junior college wide receiver who signed with Tulsa. Idris only lives about an hour away, and they plan on working out together, getting in some passing and receiving. I think they plan to do that about once a week. After that, Drew will be going to Tulsa in early July to start working out with the players."

"Concerning playing time, we know Tulsa has a redshirt freshman and a redshirt sophomore on the squad, but Coach Kragthorpe said that Drew would have a chance to compete, and if he didn't win the starting job, then he would redshirt. We agree with that."

Coach Westling concluded by discussing that he will be taking over a new job at the school next season, so he will be available to watch his son play for the Golden Hurricane.

"I'm going to coach the freshman next year, so I will be available to fly to Tulsa and other places to watch the games. We are actually looking forward to getting back to Oklahoma. My wife was raised in Bartlesville, but moved when she was young. My family has some history in that area, and it's not too far from Tulsa."