SAN RAMON – When’s the last time you saw an Indian-American quarterback starting in college?
The answer, quite possibly, is never.
But one East Bay quarterback is seeking to change that.
Arjun Banerjee isn’t following a path laid out by generations before him. As far as he knows, he might be a trailblazer.
“Ever since I was young, I noticed there weren’t other people like me playing the sport,” said Banerjee, California High’s starting quarterback.
Banerjee, a senior at the San Ramon school, is the leader of the 7-3 Grizzlies who will open the North Coast Section playoffs on Friday at American Canyon.
He is a four-year varsity player and two-year starter who seeks to extend his playing career to the collegiate level.
If he does, he’ll have a chance to fulfill his self-professed goal of being “the first Indian-American QB1 in college football.” Even if he isn’t the first — and it’s not completely clear that he would be — there’s a lot of history that he’s already made in high school.
Banerjee’s love for the game comes from his father, Abhishek, an Indian immigrant who first embraced football while attending Cal and watching the conquests of Aaron Rodgers during his time with the Bears.
“My dad moved here at 18 to go to college,” Banerjee said. “He went to Berkeley. He didn’t know anything about America, about football, about anything. But he started watching a game. He ended up loving it.
“When I was young, he wanted me to play football. I tried other sports. I tried soccer, tried tennis, basketball, but I didn’t like any of them. I found every other sport super boring. I started playing football, I just loved it.”
After showing promise in flag football and a strong throwing arm, Banerjee’s passion ignited as he joined the San Ramon Bears, the Pop Warner feeder program to Cal High, at age 8. But it wasn’t always clear he would be the one under center.
“I started playing tackle,” Banerjee said. “And then I played receiver, lineman, everything. Until sixth grade, when I started playing quarterback. They threw me in there, and I loved it.”
These days, he’s a pretty darn good QB for Cal, which enters the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in a stacked Division II playoff bracket. Though the Grizzlies have struggled down the stretch, losing their final three games, Banerjee is one player they haven’t had to worry about.
In his most recent game against Amador Valley, he threw five touchdown passes. He has 21 this year against four interceptions and has completed 65.3% of his passes.
“He’s just a constant leader,” California coach Danny Calcagno said. “I’ve really enjoyed coaching him these last three years and seeing him grow mentally off the field, on the field. He’s a good leader. He’s going to be a great young man.”
Calcagno started Banerjee as a freshman in the NCS playoffs against Clayton Valley after noticing his “lightning bolt for an arm,” and Banerjee acquitted himself well, throwing for 173 yards and a score in a loss.
Since then, he’s stepped up his game with improved accuracy and decision-making skills. He’s now getting serious looks from smaller colleges, with more interest potentially on the way.
Calcagno noted that Banerjee “watches more film than me.” His diligence stems from a family philosophy that opportunities are available to those who put in the effort.
“This is the only country on planet Earth which gives everyone an equal opportunity to be unequal,” Abhishek Banerjee said. “Don’t worry about what naysayers say. If you have a passion, you chase it with all you got and leave everything on the field.”
As he nears the end of his high school football career, Banerjee is set up for success in college. Where his opportunity will come is up in the air.
The 5-foot-11 Banerjee is hoping to play at the highest level, and his recruitment is fully open.
But things are different in college. Banerjee said he has communicated with multiple Division II and Division III schools about joining their team next fall.
“At the next level, Division I, they are purely looking at the metrics,” Calcagno said. “How tall are you, how fast you run, what is your arm span, all that stuff. So he’s got an uphill battle with the Division I thing.
“But he’s such a smart kid. He’s got some opportunities to play Division III and get his school paid for. So I’m really hoping that he takes that route, because I think he’d do really well there.”
Calcagno also noted, with disdain, that coaches may be skeptical of being the first at their school to sign an Indian-American quarterback when they haven’t seen a player like Banerjee succeed before.
Banerjee is hopeful that the world is changing. It’s no longer uncommon to see Asian-American players in college football or even the NFL.
Rutgers kicker Jai Patel, who also played at Stanford, is an Indian-American excelling in the Big Ten. And at the pro level, Hines Ward, Tedy Bruschi, Younghoe Koo, Taylor Rapp, Patrick Chung and Kyler Murray are among the Asian-Americans who have made a name for themselves.
“It’s not impossible to do,” Banerjee said. “In today’s world, you see a lot of diversity.”
There has been at least one Indian-American quarterback who played Division I football – though not exactly a QB1, Banerjee’s stated goal.
Dylan Mehrotra, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, committed to UAB out of high school but did not see action. He transferred to Southern, where he appeared in one game, throwing an incomplete pass and rushing for four yards on one attempt. He later transferred to UNLV, where he also did not enter a game.
Indian-American players have more precedent at other positions.
Receiver Sanjay Beach had a nine-year NFL career and spent at least part of the 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1995 seasons with the 49ers. Linebacker Brandon Chillar played for the St. Louis Rams and Packers from 2004-10.
Barnerjee has done his best to set himself up for success on the field, training with former Cal Berkeley quarterback Mike Pawlawski and even Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who played at Cal for three years before transferring to the current No. 2 team in the country.
Off the field, Banerjee has a 3.8 GPA, which should qualify for any school interested in recruiting him.
In today’s college football, a player is one good season away from being able to move up to a higher level via the transfer portal.
“If you grind, you can be whatever you want to be,” Banerjee said. “You’ve just got to be willing to put in the work. I found this sport. I love it.”