National Signing Day: St. John Bosco QB Caleb Sanchez picks Columbia

One of top unsigned signal callers for one of country's top teams picks Ivy League school in Big Apple over other offers, including Nevada; Three more Braves sign

His reward for patience, hard work and all that talent was to quarterback one of the top high school football programs in the country. 

And his reward for an absolute stellar senior season — 256 completions, 362 attempts, 3,341 yards, 35 touchdowns — and all the work before was a ride and future four-year journey to New York City. 

On the first day of the regular National Signing Day period, St. John Bosco senior Caleb Sanchez announced at school Wednesday morning that he'll be attending Columbia University to play for the Lions. 

St. John Bosco senior Caleb Sanchez picked Columbia University as his college choice / Photo: Heston Quan

The 6-foot-3, 220-pound standout had an offer from Nevada and much more interest from Arizona, Davis and Oregon State, but he picked the unique experience of an Ivy League education in The Big Apple, the most populous city in the nation, accented with culture, entertainment, tourism, fashion and, of course sports. 

New York has been described as the "capital of the world." It seems a perfect landing spot for a lad who has always had a big picture in mind. 

He'll be focused on school and of course football, where the Lions went 3-7 last season and 6-4 in 2022 and 7-3 in 2021. Over the last five seasons, Columbia is 25-25.  

Look: St. John Bosco QB Caleb Sanchez interview - 'We'll be ready for them next time'

They'll be getting a quarterback who stayed loyal to St. John Bosco, a perennial national power, playing backup for two seasons when he likely would have started at most Southland schools. He waited his time until his senior year, leading the Braves to an 11-2 record and No. 12 national rankings by SBLive Sports. 

The pinnacle moment for the Braves and Sanchez was a 28-0 home win over eventual national champion Mater Dei, which vaulted Bosco to a Trinity League championship. Sanchez' numbers were pedestrian with 112 yards passing and a touchdown, but he didn't turn the ball over. 

He had many more massive games on the season, including going 23 of 31 for 396 yards and six touchdowns in a 44-22 win over Orange Lutheran, and a throwing for 345 yards and six more scores in a wild 43-42 victory over Corona Centennial in the Southern Section Division 1 semifinals. 

Sanchez, a high-achieving student with a 4.2 grade point average, told SBLive's Tarek Fattal his family considered transferring at times, but said "The wait was worth it," after the win over Mater Dei. "The patience paid off. Bosco has gotten me ready, and it showed tonight." 

St. John Bosco QB Caleb Sanchez seeing patience, loyalty pay off

Said Sanchez' father Armando: "He bet on himself. He had a vision that was hard for us to see, but it was very clear to him." 

Said coach Jason Negro that night: "The patience he plays with is no different than the way he's been with his approach to be the quarterback here." 

Sanchez' top target in 2023, Stacy Dobbins, was also part of a signing ceremony at Bosco Wednesday, the first day of the regular signing period. 

Dobbins, who had 69 catches for 900 yards and eight touchdowns, signed at UC Davis. The fleet 5-foot-7, 170-pound Dobbins had another offer to Idaho. 

Other Braves to sign were wide receiver Tommy Maher (Colorado State) and defensive back Dillon Rickenbacker (Yale). Maher (5-10, 185) had 50 catches for 637 yards and five touchdowns while Rickenbacker (6-1, 197) contributed 50 tackles, three pass deflections and an interception. 

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