It didn’t take long for Jurrion Dickey to make an impression.

A wide receiver on a Valley Christian team that grounds and pounds the ball like it’s the 1920s, he needed little time to become the most captivating player on the field, earning Prep2Prep’s CCS Freshman of the Year award in a decision made just as quickly as he was hauling in passes.

Without a single game of over 100 receiving yards, Dickey became the most potent weapon on a field full of talent on any given night. The Warriors threw just seven passes in a CCS Semifinal win over St. Ignatius, including one that looked to be over Dickey’s head by a solid five yards.

He hauled it in, no problem. A 37-yard touchdown to give Valley Christian an early lead en route to a comfortable 28-7 victory, a sparkling example of his unbelievable skills.

With 28 catches for 541 yards, the 6-foot-2 East Palo Alto native, who weighs in at 190 pounds of pure muscle, put up numbers that would be impressive for any freshman but are simply mind-boggling on a team like the Warriors, who have made a living off of four yards and a cloud of dust throughout head coach Mike Machado’s 23 years.

Could Dickey’s prowess convince the old-fashioned Machado, whose team can easily move the chains on the ground with an offensive line full of gargantuan bruisers, to pass more in the coming years?

“When we had Brian Fobbs, we ran some shotgun formations,” Machado said. “Most coaches who have a certain type of athlete will go to them.”

For all the great players who have passed through Machado’s system at Valley Christian, Dickey stands alone as the first freshman since Byron Marshall to suit up for the Warriors at the varsity level, sans postseason call-ups. Unlike Marshall, Dickey was on the roster at the start of the year, whereas Marshall was called up after dominating his first game with the junior varsity team. Not even Collin Johnson, who just completed his senior season at Texas and is expected to be selected in the upcoming NFL Draft, played on the varsity team in his first year of high school.

Dickey’s remarkable freshman campaign is a testament to the adage that college coaches will notice talent, no matter where the players are. Rather than go to a school that airs the ball out, he chose Valley Christian and has already made waves, even in brief glimpses. Following the conclusion of his freshman year, he picked up an offer from Oregon State, the first of many schools to come knocking.

His dominant inaugural campaign is similar to that of another sensation from East Palo Alto who burst onto the scene as a freshman, Menlo-Atherton’s Troy Franklin. As a freshman, Franklin put up similar numbers, with 34 catches for 585 yards, and like Dickey, Franklin had seven touchdowns. Following the end of his recently-concluded junior year, Franklin is one of the most sought-after wide receivers in the entire country, with Auburn and Texas A&M adding themselves to his list of potential suitors, a group that had already included Alabama, Washington, USC and newly-crowned National Champion LSU.

“I think the sky’s the limit for him,” said Adhir Ravipati, who coached Franklin for his first two years and sees similarities in Dickey’s potential. “He’s physically thicker than Troy was as a freshman. Troy was longer and more explosive whereas Jurrion is built bigger. Jurrion is a special talent in his own way and is going to big things the next three years, just like Troy has.”

Franklin has basically been a shoo-in for every award not only as a freshman, but on through his sophomore and junior years. While placing high expectations on anyone as young as Dickey can be a tremendous challenge, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to pencil him in for future awards already.

Like Franklin, Dickey isn’t just a one-dimensional talent. He was the Warriors’ lead returner and tackler on kickoffs, while also impressing in brief opportunities in the secondary when top talents like Kavir Bains needed a breather.

“He showed a lot of aptitude at the safety position,” Machado said of his budding star. “He has abilities that most kids from that age don’t possess from a physical and mental standpoint.”

2020 should provide more opportunities for Dickey to shine, with his second go-around in the WCAL and a nonleague tilt with Pittsburg, where he’ll meet another of the top players in his class, Rashid Williams.

For his efforts throughout his first high school season, we are pleased to recognize Valley Christian's Jurrion Dickey as the Prep2Prep Central Coast Section Freshman of the Year.

Other players considered for this award were Sacred Heart Cathedral's Ryan Silver and Christopher's Jay Lee.