New Saguaro QB eager for season

Scottsdale Saguaro senior quarterback Cole Rarrick has what college recruiters like:

• Size (6 feet 5, 210 pounds).

• Speed (runs 40 yards consistently at 4.6 seconds).

• Arm strength (Saguaro coach John Sanders said Arizona State offensive coordinator Greg Olson raved about it during a recent one-day senior camp at ASU).

All that is missing is game tape.

Rarrick, without ever having started a varsity game, already has a line of Division I college suitors waiting for his first game tape.

Meanwhile, recent Saguaro graduate Tim Ruben had the kind of game tape most players dream of getting in two state championship runs at quarterback. Ruben lost only one varsity game as a two-year starter, and in 2007 gained about 4,000 total yards.

But there was no scholarship. Because of his diminutive size (6-0, 180), nobody offered. So he will walk on at Boise State, where he'll try to play defensive back. As the backup, Rarrick appeared in four games last season, mopping up for Ruben, who ended up winning the Ed Doherty Award as the state's top football player last season. Rarrick completed 3 of 6 passes for 54 yards and ran twice for 21 yards.

"I was thinking of converting to a different position, maybe tight end," Rarrick said. "But they felt they needed me to play quarterback after Tim left."

Don't expect Sanders to rip up the offensive scheme. Rarrick will operate out of the spread, shotgun.

And there will be times when he will take off with the ball. Just not as much as Ruben, who ran for 20 touchdowns last season.

"We'll tweak it a little bit," Sanders said. "He won't beat you with his feet the way Tim Ruben did. But he's got a strong arm."

With Beau Burton back at tailback, Paul Porras returning at a wide receiver and an army of solid linemen, the only question mark entering the 2008 season for Saguaro is quarterback.

But it's not a question to Rarrick and most of those who have watched him grow up. He says he is not shy about running option plays and believes he can lead the Sabercats to a third consecutive Class 4A Division I championship.

"We are pretty thin (not as much depth), but I think we have a good core and can push the table, as long as we stay healthy," Rarrick said.

Rarrick has been traveling to camps around the West. He was invited to a regional Elite 11 Camp after an impressive showing.

He has received strong feedback from ASU and Arizona.

"Most teams are saying they like what they see but they want to wait until they see game action," Rarrick said.

Rarrick has been throwing a lot this summer to Porras, a tenacious hitter who is being recruited as a safety but was the Sabercats' top deep-threat receiver last season.

"I've been with most of these guys since Pop Warner days," Rarrick said. "I've been training and lifting since January. I'm ready to get in there."