Early Years
Stafford was born in Tampa, Florida to John and Margaret Stafford. He lived in Dunwoody, Georgia while his father attended graduate school at the University of Georgia. His family then moved to Dallas, Texas, and Stafford attended Highland Park High School. He was coached by Randy Allen and was widely considered to be one of the best high school quarterbacks in the United States in the Class of 2006, ranked ahead of Tim Tebow.
Stafford made his varsity debut in the 2002 playoffs against Sulphur Springs High School. He lettered in baseball as a power hitting first baseman where he was teammates with future Major League Baseball pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Jordan Walden. However, after a disappointing junior football season in which he threw for only 1,748 yards, 18 TDs and 11 INTs, Stafford quit baseball to concentrate on football.
In 2005, he led his team to a perfect 15–0 record and won the Texas 4A Division I State Championship. During the playoff run, Stafford faced stiff competition from Jevan Snead and Ryan Mallett. Both gave Stafford very close games. Stafford had over 4,000 yards passing without playing the first three games of the season due to a knee injury. Stafford received numerous accolades including being named to the Parade All-America Team and the USA Today Pre-Season Super 25 in 2005. He also won the MVP and Best Arm awards at the 2005 EA Sports Elite 11 Quarterback Camp and was named the 2005 EA Sports National Player of the Year. Regarded as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Stafford was listed as the #1 pro-style quarterback prospect in the class of 2006 by Rivals.com.
Before he had even started a game at the collegiate level, analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. predicted, correctly, that Stafford would eventually be the first pick in the NFL Draft.
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40‡ | Commit date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Stafford QB |
Dallas, Texas | Highland Park HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 4.7 | May 13, 2005 |
| Scout: Rivals: ESPN grade: 93 | ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 2 (QB) Rivals: 1 (QB) ESPN: 1 (QB) | ||||||
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Famous quotes related to early years:
“I believe that if we are to survive as a planet, we must teach this next generation to handle their own conflicts assertively and nonviolently. If in their early years our children learn to listen to all sides of the story, use their heads and then their mouths, and come up with a plan and share, then, when they become our leaders, and some of them will, they will have the tools to handle global problems and conflict.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)