Year of the Quarterback profile: St. Bonaventure's Ricky Town (VIDEO)
Alabama was just a blip on the radar.
Fight On was in Ricky Town's blood -- he always wanted to be a Trojan.
The St. Bonaventure quarterback decommitted from Alabama and announced his commitment to USC in January and he's classified as what's known as "a solid verbal." You can even take it a step further because in this new day and age of the NCAA, Town has actually signed a financial aid agreement with USC, binding the school to him. He's expected to enroll early and be at USC in time for spring ball.
Catch Town and Co. vs. Oaks Christian tonight starting at 7 p.m. on Prep Zone.
Strengths: One of Town's greatest attributes is between the ears -- he thinks the game. He understands route concepts and coverages. The responsibility he has with a new offense as a senior gives him the freedom to make a lot of decisions at the line of scrimmage with some plays having run or pass options. The offense he's learned is fairly sophisticated for this level but Town was able to catch on very quickly for the Seraphs.
Weaknesses: Escapability. Town is pure pocket passer. He's comfortable in the pocket and can move around within, however, he won't confuse anybody into thinking he's a burner. In today's football, where it seems like every quarterback can run, Town isn't one that will run away from anybody.
Key stat: 8. Town was ranked the 8th best quarterback at the Elite 11 last summer.
Quotable: "(He is) a real football junkie," USC head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Catch Ricky Town and St. Bonaventure vs. Oaks Christian tonight starting at 7 p.m. on Prep Zone.
Final thoughts: When discussing Ricky Town, there are some who will call him the No. 1 pocket passer in the nation. Others will say he's the No. 1 quarterback in the country while there are those who consider Town the No. 1 player in the country, regardless of position. No matter how you rank him, he's a special talent, who's football IQ is off the charts. If he gets on the board or breaks down film, it won't take long to realize just how impressive he is with his knowledge of the game. That will come in handy at the next level. In the discussion of who is the best quarterback in the loaded 2015 class, Town has to be a part of the conversation.
