Drew Brees and Nick Foles share more than their desire to add another Super Bowl ring to their collection. Brees and Foles both went to Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. The two quarterbacks share the same high school but played in slightly different eras.
According to the Washington Post, Brees played at Westlake from 1992 to 1996, while Foles graduated in 2007. Brees led Westlake to their only state title in school history and a 28-0-1 record as a starter. Brees graduated well before the current star system was implemented to evaluate high school prospects.
It is safe to say Brees would have still been undervalued based on his 6’0″ height, which is generally found upon by those that rank high school players. According to 247 Sports, Purdue and Kentucky were the two schools that showed interest in Brees coming out of Westlake, and he ended up going with the Boilermakers.
Rivals ranked Foles as a three-star prospect and the 30th pro-style quarterback in the country. Unlike Brees, his 6’5″ height is a college coach’s dream. Foles ended up going to Michigan State before transferring to Arizona. Foles also had offers from Ole Miss, Duke and Virginia among a list of others.
Brees Remembers Watching Foles in High School
Next Sunday’s game will mark the first time in @NFL history that two Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks from the same high school will face each other in a playoff game. #FolesvsBrees #ChapMagic #GoChaps
Brees remembers watching Foles play at Westlake on an evening when he came back for the anniversary of his state title run. Brees spoke about his memory of seeing Foles in action.
“It was actually during the season,” Brees noted to ESPN. “It was a Friday night. I remember flying back and kind of being part of that homecoming experience, and the starting quarterback for my high school at the time was Nick Foles. Funny how things play out.”
As for Foles, he knew about Brees’ records but does not have any memory of seeing him in action at Westlake. Foles still feels a connection to the quarterback now standing in the way of the Eagles advancing to the NFC Championship.
“I know that [Brees] and I both think highly of the school,” Foles noted to ESPN. “We’ll always be a Chap for life, and I know there will be a lot of people in Austin watching this game.”
Brees Was Not Always a Pro Bowl Quarterback
It may be hard for fans to imagine Brees as anything other than a Pro Bowl quarterback, but there was a time when he was just learning how to run an offense. Brees high school coach Ron Schroeder discussed what it was like working with him during his high school career.
“When he came in there, he really didn’t know how to put his pads in his pants,” Schroeder explained to ESPN. “…Drew is not impressive in camps because he doesn’t score well, or he didn’t, on the measurables. His value is when he gets to play. And when he got to play as a sophomore on our JV, you could see his competitive instincts, his feel, his recognition, and he just looked the part when he was in the middle of the game.”
Foles and Brees both put up crazy numbers in Austin. Brees threw for 5,464 passing yards and 50 touchdowns. Foles topped the Saints quarterback with 5,658 passing yards and 56 touchdowns. Current Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger broke both of their records with 6,920 passing yards and 82 touchdowns per ESPN.
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Drew Brees & Nick Foles Went to Same Westlake High School