Four-star junior quarterback
AJ Duffy announced Monday on Twitter he was transferring to
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) in February, leaving Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley, Calif.) and the team where his father is the coach. Duffy joins Jake Garcia as the second high-profile QB to leave California after the state pushed back its high school football season to 2021.
"With the uncertainty, there doesn't seem to be a great chance to play this year and gyms aren't open to train," Pete Duffy
told the LA Times. "He's made good strides with what I've been able to do with him, but if the goal is to be the best player you can be and have the ability to have the best training available, why not do it?"
Former Narbonne quarterback Garcia plays for a Georgia AAAAAAA
championship on Wednesday with No. 3 Grayson after leaving California
over the summer. Earlier this month, Garcia decommitted from USC and signed to the University of Miami.
Duffy, who has started since he was a freshman, went 11-1 for the Mustangs last season. He threw for 2,568 yards as a sophomore on 185 of 261 passing and 26 touchdowns against seven interceptions. Duffy is ranked the No. 5 pro style quarterback in the Class of 2022, according to 247Sports, and holds 37 offers from schools such as Oregon, Penn State, Miami and USC.
IMG Academy sits at No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25 after finishing its
season 8-0, but the Ascenders lose five-star senior quarterback J.J. McCarthy,
who is headed to Michigan.
Football for Rancho Verde and the entire state remains uncertain after the California Interscholastic Federation delayed the January start after it was initially pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to Garcia and Duffy, at least three other California quarterbacks aren't sticking around to see if the state is able to play football this season. Miller Moss is leaving Bishop Alemany to enroll early at USC, Sierra Canyon's Chayden Peery is headed to Georgia Tech, and Mission Viejo’s Peter Costelli is enrolling at Utah.
Four-star junior AJ Duffy announced Monday he's headed to IMG Academy to play quarterback for the Ascenders next season.
File photo by Joe Duncan
