OC Register's Steve Fryer talks all-time prep athletes he's covered on Southern Section Sitdown
There's not much Steve Fryer hasn't seen.
The longtime sportswriter at the Orange County Register has been covering high school sprots since the late 1970's. In his tenure, he's covered Hall of Famer, Cy Young winners, Olympians and various professional champions.
In Episode 3 of the CIF Southern Section Sitdown, Fryer names some of the top prep athletes he covered when they were roaming the high school hallways in Orange County.
"Tony Gonzalez. He was a really good football player and a really good basketball player," Fryer said of Gonzalaz, who prepped at Huntington Beach High. "He was fantastic."
Fryer listed off names like NFL quarterback Rob Johnson (El Toro).
"Great football, basketball and baseball guy," Fryer said of Johnson.
Deshaun Foster (Tustin).
"I swear I saw him intercept the ball at the 15-yard line and took two steps before he was in the end zone," Fryer said laughing.
Matt Barkley (Mater Dei/NFL), Freddie Freeman (El Modena/MLB), Matt Chapman (El Toro/MLB), Nolan Arenado (El Toro/MLB), Gerrit Cole (Orange Lutheran/MLB), Misty May-Treanor (Newport Harbor/AVP/Olympics), Tanner Bibee (Mission Viejo/MLB) and Patrick Sandoval (Mission Viejo/MLB) were a top of a long list Fryer mentioned.
"Shane Bieber won the Cy Young award (in 2020). I didn't even see him play in high school because he wasn't even on my map," Fryer said of the Laguna Hills standout.
