Standing side by side, Arizona quarterback Nick Foles and New Orleans Saints stud Drew Brees don’t have much in common.
Foles is a 6-foot-5, 245-pounder, while Brees checks in at 6-foot, 209 pounds.
Brees also owns four pro bowl appearances, a Comeback Player of the Year award, an Offensive Player of the Year award and a Super Bowl MVP, while Foles is a mere junior in college.
But the two have far more similarities than meets the eye.
Both Brees and Foles grew up in Austin, Tex., and attended Westlake High School. Brees left the Chaparrals as the all-time single-season leader in passing yards and passing TDs. But Foles eclipsed the All-Pro quarterback, throwing for 5,658 yards and 56 touchdowns to grab hold of those records.
While Foles still has a Valero Alamo Bowl appearance and a senior season ahead of him, he can come one step closer to following in Brees’ footsteps on Wednesday night against Oklahoma State.
With a big-time performance and a victory against the Cowboys, Foles can become the second Westlake product to earn Alamo Bowl MVP honors.
Brees did it in 1998 when he led his unranked Purdue Boilermakers to a 37-34 win over the No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks.
The Wildcats are also the clear underdog against the No. 16 Cowboys, furthering the eerie parallels between Foles and Brees that have existed since they were prep stars.
It remains to be seen how Foles’ NFL career will turn out, but if he can somehow tear apart the Oklahoma State defense and lead Arizona to an upset, he’ll officially be blazing a path similar to one of the league’s best.
In last year’s Holiday Bowl Foles choked, going 6-for-20 for 28 yards, including an interception in a 33-0 embarrassment at the hands of Nebraska.
But he’s in familiar territory this time around.
“To me it’s just home,” Foles said of playing in Texas. “I was hoping we would end up at the Alamo Bowl and that’s where I wanted to play.”
Foles has played in the Alamodome four times before, and with an entourage of friends and family in the stands, against a pass defense that ranks 115th in the country, Foles is poised to take one step closer toward following in Brees’ footsteps toward NFL stardom.