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WATCH: Mater Dei coach says that this current NFL wide receiver is the best player he coached in HS
In a recent interview with SBLive’s Tarek Fattal, Mater Dei High School’s new head football coach Raul Lara made a bold statement. Lara said JuJu Smith-Schuster, the current Kansas City Chiefs' wide receiver, is the most exceptional player he has ever coached at the high school level.
Lara previously coached Smith-Schuster at Long Beach Poly starting in 2010 and led Long Beach Poly to five CIF titles over 13 years. He spoke fondly of Smith-Schuster, reflecting on the athlete’s remarkable talent and personality, saying:
"Juju Smith, character-wise, personality, is the most enjoyable kid I ever had. I tell people this all the time there's many of them each guy is kind of different. I mean, Deshawn was great, Mercedes Lewis was great, Hershel Dennis was great, but I tell people the guy that I probably had the most fun and I'm gonna back a story up on this sure is JuJu Smith."
Lara also shared that he once told Kansas City Chiefs personnel about JuJu’s unique abilities, leaving them equally impressed.
"Kansas City Chiefs when he had JuJu. He asked me that same question. I told him, you know, there's many guys, but JuJu was special in a sense of how he, and he goes, coach, you're giving me goosebumps because I'm gonna tell you this right now, that kid is the best kid I ever."
Smith-Schuster, known for his electric performances, earned second-team All-American honors in 2015 while playing for USC. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft. Over his career, Smith-Schuster became the youngest player to reach 2,500 receiving yards and recorded two offensive touchdowns of over 97 yards.
On March 17, 2023, Smith-Schuster signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the Patriots. After one season, he was released in August this year, later rejoining the Kansas City Chiefs on a one-year deal on Aug. 26.
Raul Lara reflects on his journey to becoming Mater Dei's coach
Raul Lara, renowned for leading dominant Long Beach Poly teams in the early 2000s, is now the head coach of Mater Dei High School’s football program.
After most recently coaching at Long Beach St. Anthony, he expressed his deep respect for the Mater Dei football program during an interview on season 2 of the "CIF Southern Section Sitdown" with SBLive’s Tarek Fattal.
“When (Bruce) Rollinson stepped down, who I have tremendous respect for, I applied for the position,” Lara said.
Rollinson, who was Mater Dei's coach for 34 years, retired at the end of the 2022 season. Though the school initially chose longtime assistant Frank McManus, who went on to win a national title, they dismissed him in April 2023. Lara recalled his involvement in the initial interview process:
"I went through the interview process. I was one of the last candidates, but obviously they went with Frank."
When the job became available again, Lara saw it as a second chance.
"I'm a firm believer in the man upstairs, Jesus Christ. To me, it's a blessing and honor to be the head coach at Mater Dei," Lara said.
Lara’s coaching experience also includes a stint as an assistant at Servite during the 2021 COVID-19 season, alongside his career as a Dean and Deputy Probation Officer in Los Angeles County
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