PaliHi QB Mensik Impresses in Offseason

Palisades High quarterback Taylor Mensik has impressed scouts at a number of passing camps, including the Nike Football Camp in Los Angeles, Steve Clarkson Field Generals Invitational in Phoenix and Rivals Camp in Phoenix. As a result of those performances, Mensik was also invited to ESPN’s prestigious Elite 11 QB Camp, which will be held at the Washington Redskins practice facility in Virginia on April 20.

Mensik, who stands at 6’1”, 190 pounds, was used primarily as a running quarterback last season under former head coach Perry Jones. This year, he will utilize his passing skills much more frequently under new head coach Tim Hyde, who looks to build on last year’s 6-5 season.

“We’re very excited about him for his senior year and what could possibly happen,” Hyde said. “He’s a leader. He always has a smile, but he’s an unbelievable competitor, and that’s something that’s going to permeate throughout the whole team, that leadership and competitive edge.”

For Mensik, who was raised in the Palisades and attended Marquez Elementary and Paul Revere, the change in coaches means making adjustments, something quarterbacks constantly do. The PaliHi program made significant strides under Jones, and Mensik is hoping to lead the Dolphins even further under Hyde. As a junior, Mensik shared the quarterback position with senior Kevin Acosta. But as his role in the offense grows, so too does the burden placed upon him.

“I don’t feel more pressure, but I feel more responsibility,” Mensik said. “We have a lot of juniors coming up who have not played varsity. I have to keep them focused on a whole new level of play and keep them working.

“But I think it’s a good transition [in coaches] because coach Hyde is similar to coach Jones because he’s all about discipline and listening.”

Another element of coaching in Mensik’s development as a quarterback is Steve Clarkson, a Los Angeles native who briefly played in the NFL and who is known in football circles as the “Dreammaker.”

Clarkson has trained a number of NFL players, including Ben Roethlisberger and Josh Freeman. Mensik has been working with Clarkson for nearly three years, and will continue to train with him over the summer intermittently with summer workouts at PaliHi.

Mensik has not yet committed to a college, but has been in contact with a number of schools, including Texas Christian, Virginia and Boston College.

There is no denying Mensik’s commitment to the game of football. As a youth, Mensik played flag football at the Palisades Recreation Center, and in fifth grade he played for the Santa Monica Vikings.

He enjoyed other sports as well, primarily soccer, playing with AYSO All-Stars and then club soccer for Santa Monica United. Naturally, Mensik played center/midfielder, where he was the “quarterback” of the offense.

Still, Mensik’s passion for football ultimately won out, and by high school it was his sole athletic focus. Mensik says he was essentially trained as a running quarterback, but this season he will be more of a “passing quarterback with the ability to run.”