Testing the Bounds at Quarterback : Taft’s Coach Tries to Mold Another Raw Talent at Helm

The first pass K.C. Bounds throws for Taft High this season will be the first he’ll toss in an organized football game.

Which makes it seem slightly strange that Toreador Coach Troy Starr would convert a seldom-used wide receiver into a quarterback competing for the starting job.

Take a closer look at the off-the-field similarities between Bounds and his predecessor, Nick DiPadova, and one begins to understand why.

While at Taft, DiPadova was an excellent student, devoted to community service, and was switched to quarterback his junior year after playing wide receiver on the varsity as a sophomore.

DiPadova was hand-picked by Starr to be a quarterback because of his leadership, intelligence and maturity, not because of the way he threw a spiral.

Bounds is on a similar track. He earned straight A’s his first two years of high school, volunteered at an Encino hospital this summer and caught six passes as a backup on the varsity last year.

Which helps explain why Starr moved Bounds to quarterback this season. He hopes to duplicate the success of not just DiPadova, but former quarterbacks Mike Ferguson and Dayon Shaw. All are former receivers who helped Taft become one of the top City Section programs in the Valley the past five years.

But it won’t be easy for Bounds.

DiPadova turned a two-year learning process into a magical senior season. He led the Toreadors to their first 10-0 regular-season record and did something neither Ferguson nor Shaw could achieve: take Taft to its first 4-A Division championship game. DiPadova’s season culminated when he was named City Section 4-A co-player of the year.

“There’s going to be a lot of pressure on whoever’s after Nick,” Starr said. “Anyone who plays quarterback for me is going to have to be tough mentally. I’m tough on them anyway, and it’s going to be tough to follow Nick.”

Bounds received a crash course in quarterbacking during summer passing tournaments, receiving constant pointers from Starr and occasionally John Mazur, the former USC quarterback who helped DiPadova develop his skills.

“I didn’t know much of anything about playing quarterback before the summer,” Bounds said. “I would take my sister out in our backyard and toss passes to her but she got tired of doing it after a while. There’s still plenty of things I have to work on.”

Like footwork and arm strength. DiPadova visited Bounds during one summer tournament and stressed the importance of balance. Starr wants to see progress in distance and accuracy.

“He’s getting stronger, but he’s just not a natural quarterback,” Starr said.

While Bounds tries to master the basics of playing quarterback from a physical standpoint, he already has the mental makeup and intelligence Starr is looking for.

As a sophomore, Bounds scored a five--the highest possible score--on an Advanced Placement biology test and he’s taking two other AP courses this year.

“I don’t know what IQ you need to be called a genius but he’s pretty close,” Starr said.

Bounds, 6 feet 1 and 180 pounds, isn’t assured of the starting job yet. He must beat out Steve Alvarado, the backup who threw 13 passes last season. But Bounds took nearly all of the snaps during the summer.

“I just want to play, I don’t care what position it is,” Bounds said. “If [Starr] wants me to play quarterback, I’ll play quarterback.”

Unlike DiPadova, who in his first year took over an inexperienced and youthful squad that struggled to a 7-3-1 record and a lopsided loss to Narbonne in the first round of the playoffs, Bounds should have some help on offense.

Tailbacks Marquis Brignac, Sedric Hurns and Larry Jones all played effectively last season and will get plenty of playing time as Taft puts more of an emphasis on the running game.

“Having those guys back there takes a lot of the pressure off,” Bounds said. “There still is some pressure just by being the quarterback but they’re not asking me to do everything that Nick did.”

Finding receivers is a different story. Bounds is the only returner to have caught a pass last year, although Hurns was a starting wide receiver as a sophomore.

Taft will rely on newcomers such as sophomore Ronald Andrews, a frosh-soph star who was brought up to the varsity late last season, and senior transfers Dominic Early from Hawthorne and Airabin Justin from the state of Washington.

Even if Bounds does not win the quarterback job, there are no plans to return to wide receiver.

“I’ve had plenty of time to get ready for this,” Bounds said. “I’m ready to play in a game for real.”