Skyler Mornhinweg grew up in Pleasanton, Calif., which is about two hours from San Francisco. Since then, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound St. Joseph’s Prep sophomore quarterback/defensive back has been all over the country, traveling with his father, Marty, the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator and former head coach of the Detroit Lions.
But it’s Pleasanton Skyler remembers best.
Skyler used to tag around with his father, when he was coaching with the San Francisco 49ers. And while all of his friends sat around and first became enamored with college football—the college of choice was Stanford. It’s a program that grabbed Skyler.
It’s why Skyler gave Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, the brother of Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, a former special teams coach with the Eagles, a verbal commitment in June and came out publicly with his commitment.
“Me and my family weren’t sure what we wanted to do before making it public and how we wanted to proceed, but I’m happy with the choice,” said Skyler, who’s shown exceptional poise in directing the Hawks to a 3-1 record, including three fourth-quarter comeback victories. “I feel real happy with this. I knew the Harbaughs a little bit and they’re great.
“I wanted to make a commitment early, because it’s a great school and they offered me and I just took it, and if it wasn’t a school that I loved 100 percent, I wouldn’t have done it. I’m projected to play quarterback, and it’s something that I spoke to Coach Harbaugh about.”
The problem that Mornhinweg may face—and it’s a good problem—is that by the time he’s ready to become a senior, his vastly accelerating quarterback skills are bound to attract other major programs from across the country.
But Mornhinweg put a stop to anyone else who may reach out to the sophomore standout.
“It’s really a nice situation at Stanford, and I think I don’t have to worry about anything now but playing football and winning a state championship throughout my high school career; committing early does give me some peace of mind,” said Skyler, who carries a 3.3 GPA out of 4.0 and did exceptionally well on the PSAT. “There were really no other schools in the running, it’s always been Stanford. I’m set on Stanford, and I’m not changing my mind.”
Floyd is on the road
Sharrif Floyd is getting used to all this traveling business. The 6-3, 307-pound George Washington defensive lineman/offensive guard has been bouncing around the country the last two weeks. After playing Friday afternoon, in the Eagles 42-10 Philadelphia Public League victory over Overbrook, Floyd was quickly whisked away to Los Angeles for a visit to Southern California.
It was the second stop for Floyd in his recruiting travels, after visiting Florida on Sept. 19, when the Gators hosted Tennessee.
Believe it or not, visiting the Swamp marked Floyd’s first-ever college football game he attended live.
“It was crazy, that had to be the loudest stadium in college, I enjoyed it,” said Floyd, who also has planned visits to Penn State, South Carolina and North Carolina. “It was a great experience down there, and beautiful weather. I loved it. In general, I loved the climate and the fans down there. I got to meet every one of the coaches.”
Floyd didn’t have time to breath, because he was off the next week to USC. The Trojans were hosting Washington State.
“Walking into L.A., it was around 70 degrees, and it was perfect, and you see all these people walking around not sweating,” Floyd said, laughing. “I got to see film sets and they told me LeBron James was down there working out. That was a good experience, too, like Florida. I enjoyed it. Anytime you can visit two top-10 teams play, it’s tremendous.”
Floyd spoke at length with Florida coach Urban Meyer and USC coach Pete Carroll.
“Loved both of those guys,” Floyd said. “They are different, one of them is on the West Coast and one is down South. They’re really the same, except Coach Carroll likes to surf.”
Floyd is back on schedule to make his national commitment at the Army All-American Game on Jan. 9, in San Antonio, Texas. Floyd has not named an official five schools yet, because he’d also like to visit Ohio State.
“That’s my six schools, Florida, USC, Penn State, South Carolina, North Carolina and Ohio State,” Floyd said. “I like the two Carolina schools because of the coaches. The coaches are a big part of the programs there, and who I like as a coach will be a big part of my decision.”
So far this season, Floyd has 14 tackles and seven sacks, plus a fumble recovery. He also carries a 3.5 GPA out of 4.0, and he plans on taking the SAT sometime this fall.
Southeastern Pennsylvania Top 10
1. North Penn (4-0. Weeks rated: 5. Last week: 1)
2. Pennsbury (4-0. Weeks rated: 5. Last week: 3)
3. St. Joseph’s Prep (3-1. Weeks rated: 5. Last week: 4)
4. LaSalle (3-1. Weeks rated: 5. Last week: 2)
5. Abington (3-0. Weeks rated: 5. Last week: 7)
6. Quakertown (4-0. Weeks rated: 5. Last week: 5)
7. Downingtown West (4-0. Weeks rated: 4. Last week: 8)
8. Neshaminy (3-1. Weeks rated: 4. Last week: 6)
9. George Washington (3-1. Weeks rated: 5. Last week: 9)
10. Pottsgrove (4-0. Weeks rated: 2. Last week: 10)
Joseph Santoliquito covers high schools for the Philadelphia Daily News and is a contributor to MaxPreps.com. He can be contacted at JSantoliquito@yahoo.com.
