While the college football season is about to start, many known and unknown future Bruins are also about to start their high school football season tomorrow. One of the most interesting national players to watch will be UCLA’s committed 4-star QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson of the Bishop Gorman Gaels from Las Vegas, Nevada. This year, I will follow DTR and provide a weekly update as the journey of his senior year unfolds for the Gaels.
Stars
High school players and college fans are fascinated by the star ratings given to high school players. A recent article on the Bruin Sports Report spoke about DTR’s chances to move up from a 4-star to a 5-star on Rivals charts. While I am not always sold on the stars given to high school athletes equating to college success, I know from my own high school coaching experience that stars attributed to high school players mean a lot to them and their perceived ability to get a scholarship to their school of choice. It may be worth understanding just what goes into each service’s rating system. Last year, SB Nation Washington State sister site CougCenter had an article that explained the ratings system of each service. Since I’m talking about whether Rivals will move DTR up to a 5-star, here is what CougCenter wrote about their rating system:
Rivals rates players based on the impact they are expected to have at their new school and their stars are
A five-star prospect is considered to be one of the nation's top 25-30 players, four star is a top 250-300 or so player, three-stars is a top 750 level player, two stars means the player is a mid-major prospect and one star means the player is not ranked.
Rivals also assigns each player a number in their evaluation. Here's what they mean.
6.1 Franchise Player; considered one of the elite prospects in the country, generally among the nation's top 25 players overall; deemed to have excellent pro potential; high-major prospect
6.0-5.8 All-American Candidate; high-major prospect; considered one of the nation's top 300 prospects; deemed to have pro potential and ability to make an impact on college team
5.7-5.5 All-Region Selection; considered among the region's top prospects and among the top 750 or so prospects in the country; high-to-mid-major prospect; deemed to have pro potential and ability to make an impact on college team
5.4-5.0 Division I prospect; considered a mid-major prospect; deemed to have limited pro potential but definite Division I prospect; may be more of a role player
4.9 Sleeper; no Rivals.com expert knew much, if anything, about this player; a prospect that only a college coach really knew about
So where does DTR currently rank? He’s the 43rd-ranked player in Rivals 100 with a Rivals Rating of 6. So he’s close to that area where he might start getting consideration for a change to a 5-star. The one factor that plays into the possible ascension to 5-star is production on the field. More so, production on the field against top competition and let’s say top competition will not be a problem for DTR this year. Bishop Gorman starts the season as ranked as the number five team in the nation according to MaxPreps. Moreover, Bishop Gorman currently has a 54-game winning streak with back-to-back seasons ranked No. 1 nationally.
The Opposition
The first four games of DTR’s season will quickly let us all see exactly how fast he might move up to claim that coveted last star. Bishop Gorman kicks off the season on ESPN tomorrow against 13th-ranked DeMatha of Maryland. Bishop Gorman then travels to Southern California on a Fox Sports West televised game to face off against what many believe is the strongest Mater Dei team in many years. Mater Dei is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation. Let’s not stop there, Bishop Gorman then hosts Central (Miami), the 13th-ranked team in the state of Florida, on an ESPNU televised game. Lastly, they will wrap up the four-game stretch against one of the greatest high school football programs ever and holder of the record 151-game winning streak, De La Salle of Concord, California, at home.
The competitive stage is set for Bishop Gorman and DTR. Where the uncertainty lies is how exactly will DTR look in his first season as the full-time starting QB for Bishop Gorman. DTR is fully aware of the perceived uncertainty that surrounds his senior year, and he has highlighted on Twitter the national questioning of just how good he really is.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson has more scholarship offers than starts at QB. https://t.co/fCbrR4v7zk
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 6, 2017
I hope this inspires someone to work towards their dreams. https://t.co/WTvtR6l2mo
— DTR (@DoriansTweets) June 6, 2017
As a junior, he completed 21 of 31 passes for 269 yards and 3 TD’s. DTR rushed for 171 yards with 6 TD’s. However, DTR’s main threat last year was on the receiving end of Ohio State Freshman Tate Martell’s passes where he hauled in 22 receptions for 397 and 8 TD’s.
Based on my DTR film study, his skill set is off the charts, and I will highlight this skill set in future articles. This highlight film clearly shows some of DTR’s skills.
So, Bruin fans, we will have have a great opportunity to watch firsthand our future Bruin lead Bishop Gorman as a first-year starting QB as televised games abound and the high school season begins. Many believe that his play will be the determining factor towards the Gaels once again finishing the year with the No. 1 national ranking. If that happens, the last star will be a formality.
Go DTR and good luck!
Go Bruins!
Update (10:28 am): This article had been updated to correct the location of the Central and De La Salle games. Bishop Gorman will play these games at home in Las Vegas, not at the opposing schools.