St. John Bosco’s Bryce Treggs is like his father — only taller

On the practice field at Bellflower St. John Bosco, Brian Treggs coaches the receivers. He was once the all-time leader in receptions at California, and there’s a 16-year-old junior receiver who looks just like him.

Bryce Treggs is learning the tricks of the trade from his father.

“He always shows me his old tapes of his games, ‘See, this is what you need to do,’ ” the younger Treggs said.

Something must be getting through, because Treggs has thrust himself into the conversation over who’s the best player at a position that is unquestionably the strongest in Southern California this season.

“This receiver class is nice,” Treggs said. “We try to make each other better and push each other.”

The debate over who’s No. 1 includes George Farmer from Gardena Serra, Victor Blackwell from Santa Ana Mater Dei, Jordan Payton from Westlake Village Oaks Christian, Antoine Arnold from Temecula Chaparral, Nelson Spruce from Westlake Village Westlake and many others. It’s that kind of a talented group.

Treggs earned respect based on his performance at summer passing tournaments and camps, where he displayed the combination of good hands, speed and route-running ability needed to excel.

“What makes Bryce a quality receiver is his work ethic and how he prepares every single day,” St. John Bosco Coach Jason Negro said. “During our three-week dead period, he was out lifting and running and doing all the things he needed to do to better himself.”

At 6 feet, 160 pounds, Treggs passed his 5-10 father more than a year ago in height. That can be disconcerting to the pride of a parent, but his father said, “It feels good. I didn’t think he’d make it.”

Brian Treggs was a standout at Carson High and caught 167 passes from 1988-91 at California. He works as an NFL agent while helping coach at St. John Bosco. His talks with his son don’t involve only football.

“My parents have always been hard on me about grades,” Treggs said.

Treggs’ mother, Keisha, was an economics major at UCLA and now teaches middle school. Mom and Dad made threats to Treggs growing up.

“They’re like, ‘I’ll take you out of sports. I won’t let you play this season. I’ll take away your social life.’ Yeah, I believed them,” he said. “I’m happy they’ve been telling me that all these years, or I wouldn’t have that Stanford offer if it wasn’t for my grades.”

He has a 3.5 grade-point average and an early scholarship offer from Stanford. He’s coming off a sophomore season in which he caught 33 passes for 534 yards and three touchdowns. Negro, a first-year coach, intends to make Treggs a major part of his new offense.

“We’re excited what he’s going to be able to bring to the table for us,” he said.

Treggs welcomes the challenge of a one-on-one duel against a cornerback.

“As a receiver, I just like making the person who is guarding me look bad,” he said. “It gets me fired up when I shake them off the line, then catch a touchdown. That’s what I play the game for. I play to win.”

Treggs has three younger siblings ages 6, 4 and 2, so he knows people are watching on and off the field.

“They all look up to me,” he said. “Every time I come home they run up to me and give me hugs.”

He’s looking forward to more hugs for A’s on his report card and touchdowns on the field.

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Twitter.com/LATSondheimer