Matt Cassel is the type of athlete who could be good at anything he picked up, especially a baseball bat. He was a Little League star who played on the Northridge, Calif., team that made it to the 1994 Little League World Series final. He led Chatsworth to a Los Angeles city baseball championship, batting .390 as a first and third baseman, and was later drafted by the Oakland A's in the 36th round in 2004.
On the football field, Cassel wasn't satisfied with just being the star quarterback. "For us, it was hard to get him off the field," said former Chatsworth football coach Bill Coan. "He started on offense, free safety and wanted to be on special teams, wanted to block kicks and be the long snapper."
The Cassel family is known in Southern California for its athletic genes. Cassel's older brother Jack is a pitcher for the Houston Astros who happened to come on in relief for an injured Wandy Rodriguez on the same day that Cassel did the same for Brady. Cassel's younger brother Justin is one of the White Sox's top pitching prospects. Cassel's younger sister, Amanda, ran track before giving it up in college.
Matt Cassel's most recent start at quarterback came in a City Invitational quarterfinal game at Palisades High in November 1999, when he doubled as a defensive back. Clarkson was on the opposing sideline, working as Palisades' offensive coordinator.Chatsworth hardly threw in that game -- Cassel completed three of 11 passes for 46 yards -- and its star was running back Samuel Wesley, who ran for 290 yards and four touchdowns.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/football/nfl/la-sp-cassel11-2008sep11,0,134677.story
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