Heading into spring practice, Ramona football coach Damon Baldwin wasn’t sure who would emerge as the quarterback.
“Some of the kids said I should look at Ryan Shaw, that he had a good arm,” recalled Baldwin.
Ryan Shaw? The freshman offensive tackle who moved up to play center on the junior varsity at the end of the season? Quarterback?
“We decided to give him a shot, he didn’t exactly look like a quarterback when he played in the fall,” Baldwin said. “We were still thinking junior varsity in the spring but heading into the Battle of the Mountain 7-on-7 Tournament, I asked him to play in the varsity game on Saturday.
“He completed 38 of 42 es, better than 90 percent, and I said ‘wow, he’s staying up.’ Then in the season-opener against Steele Canyon, he went 18 of 22 for 250 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
“The funny thing is, he started looking more like a quarterback.”
Physically, he actually did just that, dropping five pounds to 180 while filling out to almost 6-foot-1. Solid, but more mobile.
Baldwin looked at the matchup in the second game against Vista and decided to see how strong the running game would be, limiting Shaw’s number of throws.
That was fine with the Shaw, especially since despite the great numbers, Ramona had lost to Steele Canyon. While the Bulldogs scored just as many points, 41, against Vista, this time it for a win. He has six TDs ing and one rushing through two games.
Shaw said he enjoyed playing on the line as a good-sized freshman, but when the team assembled in the spring, he hoped to return behind center where he’d played in Pop Warner Football.
“Playing on the line, I was doing whatever I could to help the team,” said Shaw, an unassuming, 15-year-old. “I even played some defense where I appreciated hitting rather than being hit.
“I was pretty nervous playing quarterback in the scrimmage, but I trusted Coach Baldwin and my QB coach (David Langill). A lot of the offense is complicated, but they’re very patient and explain everything. It helped that I’d played on the same teams with the freshmen and sophomore receivers and I’m getting to know the seniors and juniors better.”
Baldwin said the thing that jumped out to him about Shaw was his accuracy.
“He’s only thrown one interception, and I think that was part of learning how much faster the high school game is,” said Baldwin, now in his 20th year. “The windows open and close much quicker in high school but I couldn’t be more pleased with his progress.
“Not only is Ryan accurate, he’s very coachable. He’s not afraid to stay in the pocket and , he’s super young. We’ve kept it simple for him, but we have a lot more volume to add to the playbook.
“What we’ve introduced, he goes with the right read and he puts the ball in the right place.”
The Bulldogs’ schedule is especially difficult this year, so Shaw will get an opportunity to see teams like San Marcos, Poway, Carlsbad, Rancho Bernardo and Del Norte. If all goes well, he could even get some post-season experience.
Shaw should get stronger, even though he says he’s accurate to 45 or 50 yards. He also knows how to spread around the kudos for his success.
“When you put up numbers like I did against Steele Canyon, you have the give credit to the line,” said Shaw, who carries a 3.83 GPA. “I’ve only been sacked once, and I really haven’t been hit hard. They’ve done a great job and the coaches have all been so helpful.”
Baldwin is more than pleasantly surprised.
“I don’t think he’s a lineman anymore,” Baldwin said, stating the obvious.
