There’s no doubt that a lot is expected from the Mater Dei offense in 2017 with 10 of 11 offensive starters back from last year’s 13-1 squad that finished No. 14 in the High School Football America National Top 50.
There’s a lot of focus on junior quarterback J.T. Daniels and senior receiver Amon-ra St. Brown, but anyone who knows Mater Dei head coach Bruce Rollinson knows that he likes to talk about the guys up-front. This year’s offensive line brings talent and experience that will have Mater Dei in-the-mix for a high national ranking when High School Football America releases its 2017 Preseason Top 100 on July 17.
Leading the way for Mater Dei is 4-star offensive tackle Tommy Brown, who has over 17 college scholarship offers, including one from Alabama, his father’s alma mater.
I’m excited to announce that I just got off the phone with my Father’s alma mater and received an offer from the University of Alabama! #RTR pic.twitter.com/HKfezU3he6
— Tommy Brown (@Tommy_brown18) June 15, 2017
Editor’s note: for our purposes, we consider Southern California to be the CIF-Southern Section and LA City Section.
Brown is the No. 2 offensive lineman in the Class of 2018 in Southern California (CIF Southern and LA City Sections), according to 247Sports’ composite rankings. Brown is ranked as the No. 13 offensive tackle college prospect in the nation.
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Brown, who is 6-7, 318 pounds, is one of four Mater Dei offensive linemen listed in the top 150 college prospects in California in the Class of 2018, according to 247Sports.
Guard Chris Murray, who is 6-3, 300 pounds, is the No. 4 prospect in the area and No. 55 overall in California. Murray has offers from Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa State, Louisville, Mississippi State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCLA, Utah, Vanderbilt, Washington and Washington State.
Murray’s fellow guard Mason Kolinchak is ranked as the No. 12 offensive lineman in our area, while center Kekaniokoa Gonzalez is ranked No. 17. Both are considered 3-star college prospects.
Last year, Mater Dei averaged 346 yards per game through the air and 129 yards per game on the ground.
The area’s top offensive lineman is USC-recruit Justin Dedich of Chaparral. Dedich is considered the nation’s No. 1 center.
The nation’s #1 center recruit announces his commitment to @uscfootball. (@Justin_BigDaddy) pic.twitter.com/qQTGtnjzKy
— Hudl (@Hudl) June 27, 2017
Dedich, who is 6-2, 290 pounds and will play in the U.S. Army All-American Game, made his USC announcement on Twitter.
The time has come… #Fighton ✌ pic.twitter.com/gkfODH08Ys
— Justin Dedich (@Justin_BigDaddy) June 20, 2017
Dedich’s teammate Steven Jones, who is 6-5, 340, should give Chaparral plenty of up-front firepower. Jones is a 4-star recruit, who has offers from Boise State, California, Colorado, Iowa State, Louisville, Oregon, San Diego State, TCU, UCLA, UNLV, Utah, Washington and Washington State. Jones is the No. 3 offensive lineman in our local area.
Joining Dedich as a USC verbal commit is Harvard-Westlake offensive tackle Liam Douglass, who is considered a 3-star prospect. At 6-5, 263 pounds, Douglass is considered the 55th best offensive lineman in California.
Other top linemen in the area that have given their verbal commitments — No. 7 Christopher Randazzo, offensive tackle of Don Lugo, to Oregon and No. 9 Jasper Friis, offensive tackle of Aquinas, to California.
The fifth best offensive lineman, according to 247Sports composite ranking, is Corona Centennial center Solo Vaipulu. At No. 6 is Jarrett Patterson of Mission Viejo.
Narbonne’s offensive tackle Jonah Tauanu’u, who is 6-5, 275 pounds, is considered the top prospect in the Class of 2019. Tauanu’u is a 4-star prospect that has offers from Boston College, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, USC and Washington State. He’s the No. 11 prospect in California in the Class of 2019, according to 247Sports.
Other top Class of 2019 prospects are St. John Bosco offensive guard Marist Talavou and Sean Rhyan, offensive tackle for San Juan Hills.
Class of 2018 Top Offensive Linemen in CIF Southern & LA City Sections by 247Sports Composite Rankings
No. 1 Justin Dedich, C – Chaparral – USC
No. 2 Tommy Brown, OT – Mater Dei – Uncommitted
No. 3 Steven Jones, OG – Chaparral – Uncommitted
No. 4 Chris Murray, OG – Mater Dei – Uncommitted
No. 5 Solo Vaipulu, C – Corona Centennial – Uncommitted
No. 6 Jarrett Patterson, OT – Mission Viejo – Uncommitted
No. 7 Christopher Randazzo, OT – Don Lugo – Oregon
No. 8 Alec Anderson, OT, Etiwanda – Uncommitted
No. 9 Jasper Friis, OT – Aquinas – California
No. 10 Liam Douglass, OT – Harvard-Westlake – USC
No 11 Syr Riley, OG – Palisades – Uncommitted
No. 12 Mason Kolinchak, OG – Mater Dei – Uncommitted
No. 13 Tyler Ostrom, OT – St. Bonaventure – Uncommitted
No. 14 Thomas Wade, OT – San Clemente – Uncommitted
No. 15 Luke LaCilento, OG – Servite – Uncommitted
No. 16 Jarrett Bell, OG – Norco – Uncommitted
No. 17 Kekaniokoa Gonzalez, C – Mater Dei – Uncommitted
No. 18 Ryan Roh, OG – Diamond Ranch – Uncommitted
Class of 2019 Top Offensive Linemen in CIF Southern & LA City Sections by 247Sports Composite Rankings
No. 1 Jonah Tauanu’u, OT – Narbonne – Uncommitted
No. 2 Marist Talavou, OG – St. John Bosco – Uncommitted
No. 3Sean Rhyan, OT – San Juan Hills – Uncommitted
