High School Football Player of the Week: Espinoza willed himself to be CdM’s starting quarterback

Nathaniel Espinoza sees more snaps in practice for Corona del Mar High than he does in a game. The starting quarterback does not mind at all.

Espinoza has been waiting for the moment to lead the football team since he arrived at CdM three years ago. At every level, he had to wait his turn. And not everyone believed he was a true quarterback. He did not pass the eye test. He was short. He had small hands.

Each year, Espinoza came back looking bigger and stronger. When it came time for his senior year, he grew to 5 feet 9 and 185 pounds. Then he had to beat out two other quarterbacks.

The job still wasn’t Espinoza’s when the Sea Kings named him the starter for the season opener two months ago. Each week, Espinoza earned his way into the starting lineup. There used to be two quarterbacks he competed against in the first five games of the season. A third quarterback joined the competition during Pacific Coast League play.

There aren’t many teams that can say they play four quarterbacks in a game. The Sea Kings (7-1, 3-0 in league), ranked No. 5 in the CIF Southern Section Division 4 poll, are one of the few. One of the reasons CdM can is because Espinoza usually gets the offense rolling early.

Espinoza knows he won’t get to play an entire game, so he tries to take advantage of his opportunities. He made the most of them last week, when he only played in the first half.

Espinoza completed nine passes, more than half of them went for touchdowns. Espinoza threw a career-high five touchdowns, one shy of the CdM single-game record, completed nine of 13 passes for 279 yards, and his night ended with him watching the Sea Kings shutout Northwood 56-0 at Newport Harbor High.

Espinoza and the Sea Kings have hammered opponents in league, beating them by an average of 48 points per game. There is no reason for Espinoza to play more than a couple of quarters because CdM is going to need its top signal caller during the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs, which are right around the corner.

Those games in the postseason will be a lot closer than the ones the Sea Kings have played in league, and CdM coach Dan O’Shea said expect to see Espinoza play a lot more then. In the meantime, as the Sea Kings are two wins away from completing their sixth undefeated league title in a row, CdM plans to play senior Erik Zimmerman, sophomore Ethan Garbers and freshman General Booty behind Espinoza.

Espinoza actually likes the rotation at quarterback. The foursome should see action on Friday, when the Sea Kings play host to Irvine (5-3, 2-1) at Newport Harbor High at 7 p.m. The Sea Kings are going for their 29th straight win in league, and a victory will most likely set up a first-place showdown with Woodbridge on Nov. 3.

“I think it’s really good,” Espinoza said of CdM using four quarterbacks. “It’s giving the young guys good looks, and me some good looks, too. We are just trying to execute the offense as best as possible with our minimum plays that we have.”

Despite not having played an entire game this year, Espinoza is putting up impressive numbers.

He has thrown for 1,444 yards and 18 touchdowns, with only one interception, while completing 64.8% of his passes. He has three big targets in 6-4 TaeVeon Le, 6-5 John Humphreys, 6-5 Mark Redman and 6-2 Spencer Hook, all of which caught at least one touchdown from Espinoza last week.

Speed is also something Espinoza offers the offense. He is a dual-threat quarterback, running the 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds. His legs allow him to scramble and make plays outside of the pocket, or take off and run.

Espinoza, who has rushed 57 times for 360 yards and four touchdowns, isn’t easy to bring down either.

Kevin Hettig, CdM’s offensive coordinator, said Espinoza is fearless with the ball and one of the strongest players on the team. Espinoza said he benches 235 pounds, squats 385 pounds and power cleans 205 pounds.

Espinoza’s biggest strength might be his mental game.

A year ago, Espinoza backed up Chase Garbers, who is now a freshman at Cal, and observed how he handled pressure. Once Garbers graduated, after leading CdM to a section finals appearance, the Sea Kings challenged Espinoza.

“We wanted to … put some pressure on him and see how he handled it, and he responded exceptionally well,” O’Shea said. “There’s no sense of entitlement. He doesn’t take anything for granted. He’s appreciative of the competition. He doesn’t shy away from it. A lot of kids would crumble, or they wouldn’t rise up to it. They would potentially say, ‘Oh, it’s my turn. I’m a senior.’ He has never once done that. He’s an amazing kid.”

Nathaniel Espinoza

Born: Jan. 25, 2000

Hometown: Newport Coast

Height: 5 feet 9

Weight: 185 pounds

Sport: Football

Year: Senior

Coach: Dan O’Shea

Favorite food: Steak

Favorite movie: “Limitless”

Favorite athletic moment: “The process of getting to the place where I am right now.”

Week in review: Espinoza completed nine of 13 passes for 279 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, all in the first half, during the Sea Kings’ 56-0 shutout of Northwood in Pacific Coast League action last week.

david.carrillo@latimes.com

Twitter: @ByDCP