Dylan McCaffrey, kid brother of Stanford star Christian McCaffrey and former Duke WR Max McCaffrey; son of former Broncos wideout Ed McCaffrey and Stanford soccer player Lisa Sime, isn't the only QB at Colorado's Valor Christian High with impressive bloodlines.
His backup, 16-year-old Blake Stenstrom is the younger brother of Brooke Stenstrom, a senior committed to swim at Stanford and the son of former Cardinal All-American swimmer Lori Heisick and Steve Stenstrom, the most prolific passer in school history. The younger Stenstrom is hoping to make a name for himself this month when he hits the college camping circuit.
It all started for Stenstrom at 4 a.m. Friday when he got up to get ready for a 6 a.m. cross-country flight to Raleigh-Durham. He'll compete at Wake Forest and Duke before he and his parents get on a flight Sunday night to Chicago to attend Northwestern's camp on Monday. A week later, Stenstrom will head to a camp at his parents alma mater on the 14th, then go to camps at Washington on the 16th and Michigan on the 18th before returning back to the West Coast for camps at UCLA (June 23) and USC (June 24).
Stenstrom's the rare high school back-up QB who already has a scholarship offer from a Power 5 program (Colorado). Not bad for a guy who only threw 14 passes last year as a sophomore and probably won't throw that many more passes this year with Dylan McCaffrey, a Michigan commit, entering his senior season. The 6-3, 200-pound Stenstrom, who is also a sprinter on the Valor track team and has a weighted 4.17 GPA, hopes he can show college coaches enough this month to rise up recruiting boards.
"I think it's pretty crucial," he said of his camping tour. "I obviously don't get as much playing time as I would like. I don't really stress about it but I know this is going to be an important couple of weeks."
His father, a former back-up QB in the NFL, concedes that from a logistics and planning side, they are approaching this month like it is a business trip, but adds "I do want for him to embrace and enjoy the journey."
A coach at one of the colleges Stenstrom is visiting told FOX Sports that he's very curious to see how the young QB performs. "I know he doesn't have much film, but his dad was an NFL quarterback, so he's got good genes, and the kid he's playing behind is one of the best quarterbacks in the country, so he might be pretty talented."
While the presence of Dylan McCaffrey might've prompted a lot of other QBs to transfer out rather than waiting behind him, Stenstrom said he hasn't given it much thought.
"The coaching at Valor and my relationships at the school are things I don't want to give up," he said. "Despite limited playing time, I think it makes me better to be able to compete with someone who is the best in the country."
Despite limited playing time, I think it makes me better to be able to compete with someone who is the best in the country. Blake Stenstrom
Stenstrom said he and McCaffrey are very good friends. They'll attend the Michigan camp together. "I think we make each other better. I strive to throw just as well as he does every day."
He said he's determined to attend these came and not think about offers "but just going out there with the mentality to be the best guy out there.
"I believe I can throw with anybody. I want them to realize that as well."
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