DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:

From what science tells us, it’s safe to assume there’s no such thing as a “quarterback gene.”

No one’s been able to look through a microscope at a bunch of squiggly lines and say, “See that? That’s the part of his DNA that allows him to pick up the blitz and make defensive coordinators look like idiots.”

(But you know if anyone ever does, Bill Belichick will be the first one to suss this person out.)

Until then, it’s probably safer to assume that nurture, more than nature, is responsible for creating curiosities like the McDonald family.

Andrew McDonald, the starting junior quarterback on the Newport Harbor High football team, comes from a family of quarterbacks, and he’s not even the last in line for the job.

McDonald, 16, has already started imprinting his 9-year old brother, Matthew, with his knowledge.

It’s information he gleaned from his father, Paul, and his brother Mike, a former Sailors signal-caller now finishing his last year as a backup for USC.

Paul McDonald, an All-American who led the Trojans to a national championship, was the starting quarterback for the 1984 Cleveland Browns.

But it’s little Matthew, Andrew said, who may be the family’s most talented athlete, yet.

“I think he’s the best athlete in the family,” Andrew said. “He’s good at everything he does. He’s just a little baller.”

McDonald has been 8-3 as the Tars’ quarterback this season. He threw the game-winning touchdown on a throwback post to JB Green Friday at Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks. The 7-3 victory advanced Newport Harbor to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 playoffs, where the Sailors will play host to Long Beach Poly Friday at 7 p.m.

“We ran the ball pretty well out of that set, and we thought we might be able to get it deep,” Brinkley said. “He stuck it and made the play.”

McDonald said he knew as soon as he walked out of the huddle with less than six minutes left in the game, that the Sailors would score.

“I looked at my guys, and I told them, we’re going to score on the play,” McDonald said. “My line gave me time to throw. I put it up there for him, and he made the play.”

McDonald is 75 for 118 for 1,154 passing yards this year. He’s thrown seven touchdowns and four interceptions. They aren’t astronomically high numbers, but McDonald only threw three passes in the Sailors’ 42-7 win over Marina, and threw just six in another win over Fountain Valley.

In the same way that Andrew passes tips to Matthew, Mike McDonald has been present to offer big-brother advice for Andrew.

Mike McDonald’s schedule allows him to attend his brother’s games, where he stands on the sidelines. The eldest McDonald is redshirting his senior year, and he only has one class this semester.

“It’s extremely helpful for him to be there,” Andrew said. “He knows me. He can calm me down.”

After a 47-0 loss to Edison, Mike watched film of the game with Andrew, and showed his brother plays where he could have gotten rid of the ball instead of taking a sack.

But the siblings also watched one of Mike’s old Newport Harbor games, “where he got blown out, too,” McDonald said.

During the week, Paul offers his two cents, as well.

“He tells me what I should be thinking going into the game, what I should be doing to help our team be successful,” Andrew said.

These days, it seems every Division-I recruiter wants a quarterback who’s about six-foot-five, and 200-plus pounds. Strong arms and great reading abilities were always in demand, but the market value for quarterbacks who can make plays with their legs continues to rise.

McDonald knows this, but he still wants to play quarterback in college.

At 6-1, 160 pounds, McDonald is hardly a behemoth, but he’s not fragile, either. Long Beach Poly defenders sacked McDonald eight times when the Sailors first met the Jackrabbits in September. Each time, McDonald emerged sore, but not too battered. He finished the game 15 for 22 for 143 yards. He was intercepted twice.

McDonald has started to think outside the family’s tradition of crimson and gold. His sister Stephanie, a former Newport Harbor field hockey player, is also a student there.

“If I got the opportunity to play at a different college, I would take it,” McDonald said. “But I haven’t gotten any looks, so I’m just going to wait.”

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.