This Miami high school’s fingerprints are all over the College Football Playoff title game

By Dana O’Neil, CNN

Miami (CNN) — Back in 2023, Jase Richardson sought a more rigorous athletic and academic high school program for his senior year. His younger brother, Jaxon, was attending a Team USA Under 16 training camp out, competing alongside Cameron and Cayden Boozer.

They suggested their spot: Christopher Columbus High School.

Together, they’d already led Columbus to one 7A state title. Selfishly, they knew Jase would help his team, but they also thought Columbus would help Jase.

He did some quick Googling. He screwed up his nose at first when he saw that it was an all-boys school but did a little more searching anyway. He liked what he saw, so Jase and his family relocated from Las Vegas to Miami. On the first day of school, Jase sat down in his honors calculus class and introduced himself to the kid sitting next to him.

Alberto Mendoza said hello. The two became friends, Alberto filling in Jase on what a great spot Columbus had been for him as well as his big brother, Fernando.

And now a pause to recap the players involved. Jase Richardson, who spent just one year at Michigan State, was selected in the first round of the NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. Cayden Boozer averages 6.4 points and 3.2 assists for No. 6 Duke and is on more than a few NBA draft boards. His twin brother, Cam, leads the Blue Devils in scoring and rebounding and, come this June, will be a first-round pick and possibly the top overall player elected.

And Alberto Mendoza is the backup quarterback for Indiana, which will play for the national championship against Miami on Monday. His big brother, Fernando won the Heisman and more than likely will be the top draft pick in the NFL draft.

One high school, two sports, four draft picks in two years. And we’re only getting started. Denver Broncos All-Pro quarterback Brian Griese went to Columbus and so did Alonzo Highsmith, the third overall NFL pick in 1987. Baseball star Alex Rodriguez spent a year there and University of Miami football coach Mario Cristobal is an alum.

“I think year in and year out, what you see come out of Columbus High School is not only elite talent but elite human beings that are driven, hungry, humble, and understand the importance of impacting others in a positive way,’’ said the Hurricanes head coach.

He graduated from Columbus in 1988.

So did his big brother, Lou. And Mendoza’s father, Fernando Sr. and Miami defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald and offensive lineman Ryan Rodriguez and backup quarterback Vinny Gonzalez. In an added twist, Mendoza’s father went to the school that is now trying to keep his son from winning a national title and played alongside Mario Cristobal.

It’s an absurdity of riches that is hardly news to people who live in the city.

“It’s been this way since the very beginning,’’ says John Lynskey, the school’s ambassador of alumni relations. “It becomes part of your DNA and I think that is passed on from generation to generation.’’

Started in 1958 by the Diocese of Miami and run since 1959 by the Marist Brothers, a religious order that was founded for education, Columbus was established as the secondary education continuation for kids at St. Theresa in nearby Coral Gables.

That’s how the Cristobals ended up there. Lou needed a little structure, so his parents yanked him from public school and put him in St. Theresa. When he finished there, he naturally matriculated to Columbus and little brother Mario followed the same path.

Mendoza didn’t immediately follow in his father’s footsteps. He first went to Miami Belen Jesuit but transferred to Columbus seeking, like Jase Richardson, the football competition. Alberto followed Fernando and just last week little brother, Max, learned he’d been accepted, too.

“Columbus took a chance with me as a quarterback,’’ Mendoza said. “The development I got football-wise from Dave Dunn and all the other fantastic coaching and also the kind of tough personality coaching that I got from (the teachers) really helped me grow into the man I am today.”

There is no secret to Columbus’ success – even if Lynskey jokes that there might be something in the water. The school is built on the backbones of academic rigor and commitment. Its average Advanced Placement score is five times higher than the national average and, in order to graduate, students have to complete 100 hours of community service.

Academics are every bit as competitive as athletics. Jase remembers watching students at the end of the semester comparing GPAs just like he and his pals looked at the win-loss column.

“Kids studying abroad, Merit scholars, everyone has something at Columbus,’’ Jase told CNN Sports. “It’s very competitive, but it’s also a brotherhood. No one big times anyone. Everyone gets along. Honestly, it felt like summer camp.’’

A summer camp that produces only champions – at least one state champion sport every year since 2018, 24 since 1987 and significantly, two in 2024. The first came in the fall, when Alberto threw for 1,950 yards and 22 touchdowns to lead Columbus to the championship. Then in the spring, his calc buddy and the Boozers finished 27-4 and won their state crown.

They wound up in rival Big Ten schools – Jase with the Spartans directly from Columbus, Alberto to Indiana after one season at Kennesaw State – but there is no divided loyalty when it comes to the title game.

“You gotta show love for the Big Ten team, of course,’’ Jase says. “But Alberto and Fernando, they’re part of the brotherhood.’’

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