Meet new Valley QB Jake Rubley, who headlines the group of out-of-state players transferring to Iowa schools

Iowa's 2021 class of football talent was already considered perhaps the best this state has ever seen, with prospects like four-star Clear Creek Amana defensive end T.J. Bollers and four-star Lewis Central tight end Thomas Fidone leading the way.

Now, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state just added another 2021 gem.

Jake Rubley, a four-star Kansas State quarterback recruit who is from Colorado, was at West Des Moines Valley's first football practice Monday. He told the Register he has officially enrolled at Valley, his family has moved into its new home and all signs point to him being eligible to play this fall after transferring in from the Denver suburbs.

"It’s kind of bittersweet leaving my friends back home," said Rubley, a 6-foot-3, 205-pounder who 247Sports considers the 12th-best pro-style quarterback prospect in 2021. "But it’s a new start for me and my family."

Rubley played his first three seasons at Highlands Ranch. He threw for 3,718 yards and 38 touchdowns as a sophomore and junior. He emerged as one of the country's top quarterback talents and picked Kansas State over programs such as Tennessee, LSU, Michigan, Iowa, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Colorado is one of a handful of states that have either canceled their high school football seasons or delayed them until spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Iowa has become an intriguing option for athletes willing to move in order to play football this fall.

Landon Nelson, a defensive back from California, has also transferred to Valley. With no high school football in Illinois this fall, Dominic Virelli, an offensive lineman and long snapper who played for Chicagoland power Nazareth Academy, is transferring to Dowling Catholic. Aaron Wiley, the head coach of Bettendorf, which is part of the Quad Cities, said he's already heard from a handful of families interested in moving across the border so their sons can play football.

Recruiting is one of the main reasons these players and families are deciding to move. Nelson told the Register he wanted to move to Iowa to have more film to send to college coaches in hopes of landing an offer.

Rubley, though, is different. He's already committed to Kansas State.

He doesn't need any additional exposure.

He just wants to improve.

"I want to be the best player I can be, and you can’t mimic real football snaps," Rubley said. "When you’re lifting, running, throwing with your guys, that’s seven-on-seven — every quarterback can do that. You can never mimic a real live defensive lineman chasing you, trying to take your head off.

"There’s no drill where you can do that. When I get to Kansas State, I want to be the best I can be at the start of my freshman year, and I think this is definitely a great way to try to pick up an offense real brief, create some chemistry with these guys and try to win some games in the time being."

Rubley said his dad, former Davenport West star T.J. Rubley, was considering a job opportunity with a friend in Iowa even before Colorado announced it was postponing high school football to the spring. So, when it was clear football in Colorado wasn't an option, the Rubleys decided to pull the trigger on the move.

That move gives Valley arguably the best quarterback in the state.

"The talent is undeniable," Valley head coach Gary Swenson said.

But the move also puts Swenson in a tough position. Why? Because he's got other quarterbacks who have spent years in the Tigers program, only to be edged out by a high-profile transfer who moved to town a few weeks before the season.

Swenson said that he didn't recruit Rubley, and he didn't give any guarantees on starting or playing time. Even though Rubley is probably the favorite to start, Swenson said Valley's quarterback competition is open.

"Right now, we’ve got other good quarterbacks, too, who are going to compete with him. Nobody just said, 'OK, I’ll step aside,'" Swenson said. "If he’s competing and can play, he’s got to come in and clearly be the guy.

"It’s a hard situation because the guys here and the parents here would expect that you’re going to give their kids the same chance they would have had otherwise. So it can be an emotional situation. We’re trying to navigate through that so everybody feels like they’re treated fairly and we still give our team the best chance to win."

Swenson also said that this year more than ever, all teams in Iowa will want to have more than one starting-caliber quarterback on the roster.

"We don’t think, this year, we can live in the one-quarterback world, because what if he’s quarantined? What if the other guy is quarantined?" he said. "We can’t just put all of our eggs in anybody’s basket at any position, especially the quarterback spot. They’re all going to get reps. Ultimately, you have to have a guy and that’ll play itself out."

Matthew Bain covers recruiting and pretty much anything else under the sports sun for the Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Network.  Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.

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