INLAND FIELDHOUSE

Fontana Kaiser’s Josh Shirley was recently selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the nation’s premier high school football showcase. It’s a terrific honor for the player and the school.

Shirley is 6-foo-3, 215-pounds and plays outside linebacker with special ferocity. He played defensive end last season and recorded 17 sacks. He moved to OLB this season with thoughts of using his outstanding speed to get into the backfield even more. I don’t know how that’s possible — he had 37 tackles for losses last season.

I saw Shirley in Kaiser’s Week 3 game against Cajon and he was very impressive. He was a leader on the sidelines and on the field. I spoke to him and transcribed those quotes in a blog you can read here. It seems accurate that a player like Shirley would receive such an honor as All-American. He fits the mold.

I also shot video of the game, which you can view here. At 1:25 of the video, Shirley is the player coming off the edge to sack the quarterback. It was a great play, the kind which he was making on every defensive series. It’s just too bad that I didn’t get a better look some of his other great moments.

The U.S. All-American Bowl features 90 of the best high school players from across the country and will be played Jan. 9, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas and televised on NBC.