Top 25 Early Contenders high school football team preview: No. 9 St. John Bosco

Before head coach Jason Negro arrived in 2010, the football program at St. John Bosco hadn't made the playoffs in seven seasons.

It was a respectable program for sure – 32 wins over six seasons — but certainly lost in the shuffle among the dozens of flourishing teams around vast and fast-paced Southern California.

Now, Bosco is a shimmering destination point for promising college football prospects, and with a 41-3 record over the last three seasons, it has emerged as an established national power.

In fact, the Braves have finished Nos. 6, 19 and 3 the last three seasons in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard. The 2013 team, which finished 16-0, was No. 1 in the MaxPreps National Football Computer Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.

"I definitely feel like we've arrived," Negro said. "The thing I've been most proud of is our consistency the last five years. We're right where we want to be."

 A great sign for SJB is its ability to reload. Quickly.

See the St. John Bosco Early Contenders photo shoot

Two years ago, the Braves graduated arguably the top quarterback in the nation in Josh Rosen, who started last season at UCLA. Replacing him was Quentin Davis, who put up better numbers than Rosen, throwing for 3,612 yards, 40 touchdowns and four interceptions.

The Players
Davis went down with an injury early in the Southern Section Open Division title game in December, and he was replaced by Re-al Mitchell, who accounted for 313 yards and three touchdowns in a wild 62-52 loss to Centennial (Corona).

Mitchell, a 6-foot, 185-pound junior, is now set to pick up where Rosen and Davis let off. He's a different type of quarterback, perhaps the fastest player on the Braves (he ran a 21.96-second 200-meter dash in track). He'll lead a team that returns six starters on each side of the ball.

"His abilities are just impossible to ignore," Negro said. "He helped us put up 42 points in about three quarters against one of the top defenses in the state last year."

As good as Mitchell has looked, the competition will be fierce at quarterback. Another junior, Julian Boyd, and sophomore Joey Yellen look superb, but many eyes will be on much-ballyhooed D.j. Uiagalelei, a 6-4, 230-pound incoming freshman who already has offers from Oregon State and Fresno State.

A more striking case of the Braves' reloading is the secondary, where all four spots last season were filled with college scholarship seniors. No matter.

"Honestly, we have a chance to be even better there this year," Negro said.

That starts with the transfer of five-star junior safety Jaiden Woodbey (6-1, 195), who already has 16 offers, including from Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, Miami and every Pac-12 school. Junior Stephan Blaylock (6-0, 170), who played a lot as a sophomore, is another future college safety.

Of Woodbey, Negro said: "Super humble kid. Extremely talented. Multiple threat."

The Braves are brimming with similar multi-threat players at receiver, including Terrell Bynum, Kristian Gilbert and Berkeley Holman, all with multiple college offers. Seniors Jovohn Tucker and Jonathan Bonds and sophomore transfer Colby Bowman give the quarterbacks more weapons than the Braves can possibly use.

Bynum (6-1, 180) is committed to Washington and ranked the 25th-best receiver in the country by 247Sports.

"Super dynamic and very unselfish," Negro said of Bynum. "He's a great return man. Versatile, excellent speed and great route runner."

Terrance Beasley (639 yards, 14 touchdowns last year), a speedy 5-9, 151-pound senior, will replace 1,800-yard rusher Sean McGrew as the primary ballcarrier.

"He's ready," Negro said of Beasley.

As deep as the skill players go, the strength of the Braves is actually in the trenches, led by one of the nation's top offensive tackles in Wyatt Davis (6-5, 310) and California's best defensive end Jacob Callier (6-3, 250). Davis and guard Ben Holmes are two of the three returning offensive line starters, while Callier leads all four returners along the defensive front.

On Davis, ranked the No. 14 senior overall by the 247Sports Composite: "He's a complete team leader, utterly unselfish but a nasty finisher, much like Damian Mama we had here two years ago."

On Callier: "A third-year starter, super talented and explosive off the edge. Big-play guy." 

The Schedule
As usual, Bosco has no trouble traveling to far destinations. It starts its season Aug. 27 at perennial Midwest power St. Xavier (Cincinnati) in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown.

Negro thinks the travel helps the team grow up quickly.

"It's what they're going to have to do at the next level," he said. "We're here to prepare them."

The Braves will also host third-ranked Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) Sept. 9 in a rematch of their 2014 tussle in Las Vegas, a 34-31 Gorman win. The game will be played at Long Beach City College.

Negro and Bishop Gorman coaches teamed together at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio three years ago. They've become good friends, and like 2014, this could decide a mythical national championship.

"We'd like to play every year if we can," Negro said. "We think it's great for high school football and to see where we stand."