Football: The quarterback who stayed with no regrets, Ty Gangi

In Sunday’s Los Angeles Times are a series of stories that try to provide a clearer understanding of the culture of high school sports transfers. There were more than 15,000 students in California who sought athletic eligibility this past school year after transferring.

One who decided to stay was quarterback Ty Gangi from La Cañada St. Francis. His story is equally compelling.

In February 2011, Gangi was a promising freshman quarterback training to play varsity football in the fall. Then came news that Jared Lebowitz, a protégé of quarterback guru Steve Clarkson, had checked into school from Vermont. The 6-foot-4 Lebowitz would be a junior in the fall.

It raised immediate alarm bells among parents well aware of the precarious position quarterbacks face when it comes to trying to get interest from college recruiters. Playing is important during your junior season to get video to send to recruiters, but while others were warning Gangi to look for other options, he and his parents ignored the concerns.

“We had so many people come to us and say, ‘You have to move your kid,’” said Frank Gangi, Ty’s father. “We looked at them as a parent. We don’t have to do anything. It hasn’t been about football. It’s been about having a great educational experience. We’ve always believed you’re one hit away from oblivion. The big thing for my son is that he just loved the class at St. Francis and really had deep friendships. It was never in the cards to move. Some of the friends he’ll have the rest of his life.”

Said Gangi: “Recruiting wise, people were saying, ‘Oh, you need a lot of time on the field’ and you should transfer. I didn’t take it into consideration. I wanted to be at St. Francis with great friends and great teammates and make the most of the opportunity.”

The 6-foot-2 Gangi ran the sophomore team in 2011 and was the backup varsity quarterback in 2012 as a junior. Given the chance to finally start last season, he responded by passing for 2,882 yards and 25 touchdowns in helping St. Francis advance to the Western Division semifinals. He was named the area player of the year by the Pasadena Star-News.

Scholarship offers, however, did not come. Colorado offered him a preferred walk-on spot, and he accepted. That’s where he is this week.

“Obviously, I wanted a scholarship, but at the same time, they’re telling me I’ll have the opportunity to earn it,” he said. “I’m willing to do that extra work to earn the spot. I wanted to know from them if I had the fair opportunity to compete. If I don’t beat out anyone, that’s how it is. It was always my dream to go to a Pac-12 school, and I’m going to get that chance.”

Asked about lessons in today’s world of quarterbacks coming and going at the high school level, Gangi said, “I think it really depends on the person and what their real motives are. If I was really trying to get a bunch of scholarship offers, then I think the way would be to transfer. For me, I wasn’t willing to transfer, leave my team and all the opportunities I had at St. Francis.

“Even though I was behind someone, I learned a lot of lessons about life that will help me in the future. If things don’t go always as you want them, it’s how you react. I made the most of what I had. I had a great and fun senior season that I’ll remember forever.”

Twitter:@LATSondheimer