By Mark Tennis, Deputy Editor

For two of the last three years, the consensus No. 1 high school football player in the nation has been a California quarterback.

Jimmy Clausen, now at Notre Dame, filled that role coming into the 2006 season at Oaks Christian High School of Westlake Village. This year, it's Matt Barkley from Mater Dei of Santa Ana that tops the ESPNU 150.

Both Clausen and Barkley have a lot of climbing to do, however, if they ever want to be considered on a list of the best quarterbacks to ever come from the Golden State.

	John Glynn, CalHiSports.com
	Unlike some of the NFL QB's from California high schools, John Elway was dominant at the prep and college level.

While Pennsylvania often lays claim to being the state with the best group of all-time quarterbacks, counting on its list such NFL legends as Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Dan Marino, Joe Namath, George Blanda and many more, California's claim is perhaps just as impressive. The state might not match Pennsylvania for a top 10, but the deeper you go the more California starts to win out.

Based on a criteria of NFL success first, then college and then high school, here is a ranking of the top 20 quarterbacks to have played as high schoolers in California:

1. John Elway (Granada Hills) -- Possibly the most physically-gifted QB in football history, Elway has it all on his resume: the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Super Bowl wins and career statistics. That puts him clearly on top of this list. At Granada Hills High, the football field is named in his honor.

2. Warren Moon (Hamilton, Los Angeles) -- Not a standout in high school, Moon is the ultimate late bloomer. He passed for nearly 50,000 yards in 17 NFL seasons and that doesn't even include six seasons in Canada. Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame.

3. Dan Fouts (St. Ignatius, San Francisco) -- Ranks in the top 10 of the NFL all-time in career yards and is in the top 15 for career touchdown passes. Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame.

4. Tom Brady (Serra, San Mateo) -- With one more Super Bowl ring for the Patriots, Brady would move up on this list at least one spot, possibly two. With two more, maybe he goes even ahead of Elway. He's from the same high school as Lynn Swann, one of the best wide receivers to ever come from California.

5. Jim Plunkett (James Lick, San Jose) -- After winning the Heisman Trophy at Stanford, Plunkett went on to win a pair of Super Bowls for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. He was equally outstanding as a high school athlete in wrestling.

6. Randall Cunningham (Santa Barbara) -- One of the best quarterbacks on the run in NFL history, Cunningham was MVP three times for two different teams (Eagles, Vikings). He threw for 207 career TDs as well, which begs the question why he has not yet been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Randall's older brother, Sam, was more notable as a high school athlete and in college, but Randall had a clearly superior NFL career.

7. Norm Van Brocklin (Acalanes, Lafayette) -- He passed for 173 touchdowns in the NFL, earned an MVP honor for 1960 and in 1971 was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

8. Bob Waterfield (Van Nuys) -- Another Pro Football Hall of Famer, Waterfield was MVP for the Los Angeles Rams in 1945.

9. John Brodie (Technical, Oakland) -- He is not the most famous person to ever play football at Oakland Tech that would be actor Clint Eastwood but Brodie is still the best. He was an MVP in 1970, threw for 217 career TDs in the NFL and ranks in the top 30 all-time for career yards.

10. Mark Brunell (St. Joseph, Santa Maria) -- He just signed with the New Orleans Saints to play his 15th season in the NFL. When he was with Jacksonville in the late 1990s, Brunell was one of the best QBs in the game. He has 182 career TDs and more than 30,000 career yards.

11. Daryle Lamonica (Clovis) -- Known as the Mad Bomber for the Oakland Raiders in the late 1960s, Lamonica is still a revered figure in the Central Valley of California. The field at Clovis High that bears his name also happens to be one of the best places to watch a game on a Friday night in the state. Lamonica was a two-time MVP of the old American Football League.

12. Billy Kilmer (Citrus, Azusa) -- Still regarded as one of the best three-sport athletes in Southern California history while in high school in 1956-57, Kilmer went on to throw for 20,000 yards and 152 career TDs in the NFL. He led Washington Redskins to Super Bowl appearance in 1972.

13. Craig Morton (Campbell) -- Morton's claim to fame is being the only QB in NFL history to start in the Super Bowl for two different teams (Cowboys, Broncos). He also is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame due to his exploits as the University of California.

14. Steve DeBerg (Savanna, Anaheim) -- You wouldn't think of DeBerg being this high on a list like this, but he wound up with a 17-year career in the NFL. He threw for more than 34,000 yards and 196 TDs and is perhaps best known for being the San Francisco 49ers' QB for three seasons before Joe Montana arrived.

15. Carson Palmer (Santa Margarita, Rancho SM) -- A Heisman Trophy winner and a No. 1 pick in the draft, Palmer is on track to have an NFL career with the Cincinnati Bengals that would move him up much higher on this list in the years to come. Palmer led his high school team to 14-0 record in his senior year and started on CIF state championship basketball team.

16. Steve Bartkowski (Buchser, Santa Clara) -- He was the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft in 1975 and was the QB of the Atlanta Falcons for 10 years. He led the Falcons to the playoffs three times.

17. Joe Kapp (Hart, Newhall) -- He's still in the NFL record books for throwing seven TD passes in one game. Kapp also quarterbacked teams in the Rose Bowl, Grey Cup and Super Bowl. His former high school is now well-known for producing quarterbacks, including Kyle Boller (Ravens) and Matt Moore (Panthers).

18. Brian Sipe (Grossmont, La Mesa) -- Sipe's 10-year NFL career was highlighted by his selection in 1980 as MVP while playing in Cleveland. Sipe is currently the head coach at Santa Fe Christian High School in Solana Beach, Calif., which has been one of the state's top small school programs since he started coaching there in 2001.

19. Jim Harbaugh (Palo Alto) -- Currently the head coach at Stanford, which is across the street from where he played his high school games, Harbaugh played 15 seasons in the NFL and had 129 career TD passes with more than 26,000 yards. His best years were in Indianapolis from 1994 to 1997 where he was known as Captain Comeback and got the Colts within one dropped Hail Mary pass of going to a Super Bowl.

20. Jeff Garcia (Gilroy) -- Another late-bloomer who improved tremendously after high school and kept getting better after college, Garcia first became a star in the NFL while with the San Francisco 49ers. He later started in Cleveland, then led the Eagles on a deep playoff run as a backup and then started last year for Tampa Bay.

Next 15 (listed in alphabetical order):

Frankie Albert (Glendale)
Gary Beban (Sequoia, Redwood City)
Steve Beuerlein (Servite, Anaheim)
David Carr (Stockdale, Bakersfield)
Trent Dilfer (Aptos)
Pat Haden (Bishop Amat, La Puente)
John Huarte (Mater Dei, Santa Ana)
Rob Johnson (El Toro)
Jack Kemp (Fairfax, Los Angeles)
Eddie LeBaron (Oakdale)
Matt Leinart (Mater Dei, Santa Ana)
Ken O'Brien (Jesuit, Carmichael)
Dan Pastorini (Bellarmine Prep, San Jose)
Alex Smith (Helix, La Mesa)
Gino Torretta (Pinole Valley, Pinole)

Beban, Leinart and Torretta won the Heisman Trophy. Carr and Smith were No. 1 overall picks in the NFL Draft. Dilfer was quarterback of team that won a Super Bowl. And it's true that Aaron Rodgers (Pleasant Valley, Chico) hasn't done enough yet in the NFL to be on this list. Packers' fans are sure hoping that changes, but not yet.

Mark Tennis is starting his 30th year of covering California high school sports this fall. He is a co-founder of CalHiSports.com and will be voting this fall on the ESPN RISE FAB 50 national football rankings.