Westling Aces Comeback Test

The best way to judge an athlete’s work ethic is to examine what he does when no one’s watching.

For Drew Westling, the senior quarterback at Aliso Niguel, the test came during the summer. Each Saturday morning, before the sun came up, he’d slowly rise from his bed.

“Sometimes I had to pour a glass of water on my face to get going,” he said. “And it needed to be cold.”

Then he’d drive to Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point and run in virtual anonymity.

“There were a couple people walking their dog,” he said. “You’re barely coherent, but you’re thinking about the season and how it will pay off.”

He’d run up and down a steep incline five times, trying to gain stamina and trying to build strength in his once-damaged left leg.

There were no coaches to cheer him on, no trainer to exhort him and no college recruiters standing by to provide motivation. It was Westling on his own, making the extra effort to become a better athlete.

And what was the reward?

Westling, 6 feet 3 and 215 pounds, has become the No. 1 passer in Orange County, throwing for 1,412 yards and 13 touchdowns for the 5-0 Wolverines.

He deserves the title of comeback player of the year. He missed much of last season after breaking his left leg in a golf-cart accident.

He was attending a friend’s birthday party on a ranch in Temecula a week before fall practice began. The driver took a wrong turn and ended up in a ditch.

“I jumped out but didn’t jump far enough from the golf cart,” Westling said.

The cart ran over his leg. Then he suffered additional damage when he helped remove his friend from the cart.

Westling hasn’t been near a golf cart since.

“I’m not riding in those for a while,” he said.

He underwent surgery that included the insertion of a titanium plate and screws into his leg.

His doctor told him he had suffered a “nine-month injury.”

“I said, ‘No way. I can’t be out nine months.’ I wasn’t going to let it stop me,” he said.

Westling made it back to start Aliso Niguel’s first-round playoff game, but his mobility was vastly diminished.

Once the season ended, Westling went to work to regain his speed and strength. He fell off the recruiters’ radar screen because his junior year was nonexistent. But he was determined to make people take notice.

From his first game this season against Lake Forest El Toro, when he passed for a school-record 482 yards and five touchdowns, to his fifth game last week against Dana Point Dana Hills, when he passed for 328 yards and three touchdowns, Westling has been at his best working primarily from shotgun formation.

“He’s as strong as ever and has a rocket for an arm,” Coach Joe Wood said. “[The injury] was difficult because he was a heck of a competitor. He knew what he wanted and worked hard to come back.”

Helping Westling has been his father, Kurt, who happens to be the team’s offensive coordinator. Kurt has a way to motivate his son.

“Sometimes I throw an interception, I have to mow the lawn,” Westling said. “He wants the grass to be nice and long toward the end of the season.”

Westling was a lineman for much of his youth because of his size, then switched to quarterback as a freshman. He believes his passing skills can match the best.

“I’ve been working hard,” he said. “I don’t think there are many who can out-throw me.”

Because of his lost junior season, Westling understands that most college recruiters forgot about him.

“I figure if I do my job and keep winning, it will take care of itself,” he said.

Resilient, determined and always optimistic, Westling is a 17-year-old who doesn’t need an adult to tell him what it takes to succeed.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.