Purdue quarterback commit Oscar Rios off to fast start in 2024

Oscar rios tossed four touchdown passes and rushed for three more in Downey's win on Friday

Downey junior quarterback Oscar Rios has committed to play for Purdue Boilermakers head coach Ryan Walters / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK

Entering this season, Downey junior quarterback Oscar Rios had played in 22 varsity games. Through three games this season, the Purdue commit appears to have taken his game to the next level as one of the breakout stars in the Southern Section.

• Top 25 California Southern Section high school football rankings (9/8/2024)

• Best performances in third week of Southern California high school football (Sep. 5-7)

The Vikings are off to a 3-0 start this season following Friday's 69-68 last minute victory over Millikan. Rios turned his best performance yet, completing 20 of 32 passes for 351 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed 22 times for 141 yards and three touchdowns, surpassing the 100-yard mark on the ground for the second time in three games.

Rios played his freshman season at Orange High, before transferring to Downey prior to last season. He took over as the starter following the graduation of Aidan Chiles who is now the starting quarterback at Michigan State.

Rios completed 73 percent of his passes for the Vikings last season, finishing with 23 touchdown passes and more than 2,600 passing yards. He also impressed on the ground with 767 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, averaging more than 11 yards per carry. Only three games into his junior season, Rios has already tossed 40 touchdown passes and rushed for 15 touchdowns as he approaches 4,500 career passing yards.

UNLV became the first school to offer Rios last fall with several more following during his sophomore season. Purdue along with Auburn, Utah, Washington, Nebraska and several offers joined the race in the spring. Rios visited Purdue during the summer and committed to the Boilermakers shortly after. He becomes the first high school recruit to pick Purdue since the 2019 recruiting class.

Downey will close out their non-league schedule with two straight out of state opponents in Westlake (UT) and Red Mountain (AZ). They'll open up Gateway League play with a trip to La Miarada, looking to capture their first league title since 2016.

-- Bodie De Silva | bodie@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveca

SBLIVE SPORTS LAUNCHES HIGH SCHOOL ON SI

High School On SI will serve as the premier destination for high school sports fans, delivering unparalleled coverage of high school athletics nationwide through in-depth stories, recruiting coverage, rankings, highlights and much more. The launch of a dedicated high school experience expands Sports Illustrated’s reach to even more local communities as fans can now truly follow athletes from “preps to the pros” on a single platform, bringing them closer to the action than ever before. For more information, visit si.com/high-school.