NFL quarterback Matt Barkley starred at Mater Dei (Calif.) High School, becoming the first junior to be named the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year.
One of Barkley’s favorite wide receiver targets in high school was Carlo Valdes, who is now a favorite to make the 2018 U.S. Olympic bobsled team.
Read the NBCOlympics.com profile on Barkley and Valdes.
Valdes helped Steven Holcomb finish top-three in the World Cup standings for both two-man and four-man during the 2016-17 season, before Holcomb’s untimely death at age 37 in May 2017.
Barkley and the San Francisco 49ers will take on the Minnesota Vikings in NFL preseason action on NBC’s Sunday Night Football this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
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MORE: Steven Holcomb’s Olympic gold-medal teammate has moving tribute
USA! USA! USA! Let’s go @CarloValdes_USA! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸(We’ve also been friends since pre-school) https://t.co/5Q472b0ptU
— Matt Barkley (@MattBarkley) August 25, 2017