The One That Got Away: Meet Anthony Gordon, the Newest QB of the 49ers' Division Rival, the Seahawks
Anthony Gordon is from Pacifica California, located on the coast between Half Moon Bay and Daly City. Pacifica is no more than 20 minutes away from San Francisco.
Naturally, Gordon grew up a huge 49ers fan. Could the 49ers have missed out on an extremely high-ceiling developmental quarterback who grew up in their own backyard? I’d certainly say so.
Going back to his high school days, Gordon was the star quarterback for the Terra Nova Tigers. Terra Nova is a small public high school in Pacifica, with a student population below 1,000.
Gordon spent his junior season quarterbacking for Coach Bill Gray, one of the winningest coaches in Central Coast Section (CCS) football history.
Gordon led the Tigers to a 10-0 record, before losing in the “Open Division” playoffs to Valley Christian (San Jose, CA). Valley Christian featured Collin Johnson, a wide receiver who was just drafted in the 5th round by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Valley Christian plays in the West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL), the same league Tom Brady played in when he played at Serra High School (San Mateo, CA).
During his senior season, Gordon led the Tigers to their 4th CCS championship in school history. Along the way, Gordon set many school and section records.
Gordon threw for 4,899 yards (3rd in the state, 6th in the nation) and 49 touchdowns (7th in the state). He also threw for more passing yards per game than current Minnesota Viking’s quarterback Jake Browning, who went to Folsom High School (Folsom, CA).
Toward the end of Gordon's senior season, he was drafted by the New York Mets in the 36th round to play baseball. But Gordon did not end up signing with them.
Despite being one of the top passing quarterbacks in the state and nation, Gordon did not receive any offers out of high school.
Instead, Gordon took his talents to City College of San Francisco. As a true freshman, he started at quarterback for the City College Rams. Gordon ended his one and only season with the Rams, the same way he did at Terra Nova: a champion.
Gordon led the Rams to their 10th JUCO National Championship in school history.
The next stop for Gordon was Washington State University, the only school that offered Gordon a scholarship. Gordon red-shirted his sophomore season, then sat behind starters Luke Falk and Gardner Minshew the next two years.
Last season at Washington State, Gordon finally had his turn to lead the Cougars and did not disappoint. Gordon torched opposing defenses with his arm on a regular basis. Gordon’s stats speak for itself. (Click here for highlights).
- 71.6% completion percentage. That ranked top five in the country, ahead of Tua Tagovailoa, the 5th overall pick in this year’s draft.
- 5,579 passing yards. That ranked second in the country only to the first overall pick, Joe Burrow. In fact, Gordon’s 429 passing yards per game were better than Burrow’s’ 378.
- 48 passing touchdowns second in the nation to Burrow.
Despite the video-game-like numbers and a strong combine performance, Gordon found himself undrafted last weekend. This came as a surprise to many.
Some draft analysts had Gordon going in the draft as early as the end of Round 3 or toward the top of the Round 4.
All 32 teams had a chance to draft Gordon, and all 32 passed.
Every team in the NFL would have benefited from drafting Gordon, and the 49ers would have been wise to send the local kid a lucrative undrafted free agent contract so they could groom him in Shanahan’s system.
Instead, the team added Broc Rutter. Aside from Rutter, the team has Nick Mullens and CJ Beathard behind Jimmy Garoppolo.
Mullens played well when Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL. However, Mullens doesn’t have the same arm talent as Gordon. A few weeks ago, reports came out that the 49ers were receiving trade calls for Mullens. Adding a bright-future quarterback like Gordon would’ve made Mullens easier to move on from.
Not to mention Mullens is a restricted free agent, and his future with the 49ers beyond next season is up in the air.
CJ Beathard has had his moments, but for the most part it has been tough to watch Beathard play quarterback for the 49ers. He can hang in the pocket and take hits, but that’s about all he can do. His 1-9 record and 12 touchdowns to 13 interceptions speak for itself. Like Mullens, Beathard will be a free agent at the end of next season.
For a team who kept three quarterbacks on the 53 man roster last season, adding Gordon would’ve made a lot of sense. In my opinion, Gordon has a higher ceiling than Mullens, Beathard, and Rutter.
We’ve seen multiple quarterbacks go undrafted and have successful NFL careers. The most recent: Tony Romo. Before Romo there was former 49er Jeff Garcia and Kurt Warner.
Gordon knows how to prove people wrong, and he has made the most out of every opportunity he has been given. Expect that trend to continue in Seattle.
Don’t be surprised if Gordon, the quarterback who grew up in San Francisco's backyard, ends up in the conversation with some of the greatest undrafted quarterbacks of all time. It’s just too bad his first shot to prove it is in Seattle.
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