| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Mt. Carmel High School |
| Conference | Palomar League |
| Record | 25–19 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1987-07-02)July 2, 1987 (age 38) Newport Beach, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2005–2006 | Tulsa |
| 2007 | Southwestern (CA) |
| 2008–2009 | San Diego State |
| Position | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2010–2012 | Aliso Niguel HS (CA) (OC) |
| 2013 | Southwestern (CA) (QB) |
| 2014 | Chula Vista HS (CA) |
| 2015 | Aliso Niguel HS (CA) (assistant) |
| 2016–2019 | Hilltop HS (CA) |
| 2020 (spring) | Eastlake HS (CA) |
| 2021–present | Mt. Carmel HS (CA) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| Second-team all-Foothill Conference (2007) | |
Drew Westling (born July 2, 1987) is an Americanfootball coach and former player. He is the head football coach forMt. Carmel High School, a position he has held since 2021. Westling was the head football coach forChula Vista High School in 2014 andHilltop High School from 2016 to 2019. He also coached forAliso Niguel High School andSouthwestern College inChula Vista, California. Westling playedcollege football forTulsa, Southwestern College, andSan Diego State as aquarterback.
Westling was born on July 2, 1987, inNewport Beach, California.[1] The son of a football coach, he played as alineman for much of his youth due to his size, switching to thequarterback position as a high schoolfreshman.[2] Westling attendedAliso Niguel High School inAliso Viejo, California, where he was a three-yearletterwinner in football under his father, who wasoffensive coordinator at the time.[2][3] He suffered a broken leg ahead of hisjunior season and returned in time for the playoffs, albeit with diminished mobility.[2] In the first game of hissenior year, Westling passed for a school-record 482 yards and five touchdowns againstEl Toro High School.[2] As a senior, he completed 216-of-350 passes for 2,988 yards and 28 touchdowns with nine interceptions,[4] and rushed for 124 yards and seven touchdowns, to lead the county in passing (overMark Sanchez) and winSea View League MVP honors. Westling guided the Wolverines to a 10–2 record and an appearance in the CIF quarterfinals.[5] However, he was under-recruited after missing his junior season due to injury.[6][7] On February 15, 2005, Westling signed aNational Letter of Intent to playcollege football atTulsa,[5] which he chose overIdaho.[8]
As afreshman at Tulsa in2005, Westling took aredshirt season. He appeared in three games in2006 and completed his only pass attempt for 37 yards,[7] ascreen pass to Dexter Taylor in a win overStephen F. Austin.[9][10] After seeing limited playing time with the Golden Hurricane, Westling transferred toSouthwestern College inChula Vista, California.[11] In his lone season with theJaguars in 2007, he completed 173-of-325 passes for 2,087 yards and 14 touchdowns with 12 interceptions,[7] earning second-team all-Foothill Conference honors.[12] Westling played under the guidance of head coachEd Carberry, who was both a high school teammate and a coaching rival of his father's.[7]
In November 2007, Westling committed toSan Diego State.[13][14] Ahead of the2008 season, he completed 14-of-26 passing attempts for 260 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in the Red & Blackspring game.[15] However, Westling was beaten out by redshirt freshmanRyan Lindley for the starting job.[16] He replaced an injured Lindley in a road defeat atTCU in early October, completing six-of-17 attempts for 61 yards.[17] With Lindley sidelined, Westling earned the start the following week and completed 18-of-35 passes for 128 yards with two interceptions in a 35–10 loss toAir Force.[1][18] He also scored a one-yard rushing touchdown, becoming the first Aztec quarterback since1997 to rush for a touchdown in his first career start.[19] As asenior in2009, Westling again substituted an injured Lindley and threw his first passing touchdown, an eight-yard toss toRoberto Wallace, in a 34–20 loss atIdaho.[20] In two seasons with the Aztecs, he played in seven games and made one start, completing 32-of-65 passing attempts for 270 yards and one touchdown.[21]
After college, Westling returned to his alma mater, Aliso Niguel High School, and served asoffensive coordinator from 2010 to 2012 under his father, head coach Kurt Westling.[21][22] In 2013, he served asquarterbacks coach atSouthwestern College inChula Vista, California, while doing hisstudent teaching at a nearby high school.[21] In March 2014, Westling was hired as head football coach atChula Vista High School.[23] He secured his first-ever win as a head coach in a 36–27 victory against rivalsHilltop High School, claiming the Kiwanis Trophy.[24] However, Westling resigned from the position after finishing the season with a 2–8 record, citing "philosophical differences" with the school's administration.[23] "They have great kids and great people at Chula Vista, and I was fortunate to get that job," he later said. "But it just wasn’t the right fit."[25] Westling spent the 2015 season at Aliso Niguel High as an assistant coach under his father.[25]
In 2016, Westling was hired as head football coach at Hilltop High School.[25] His coaching staff included former Aztec teammateDeMarco Sampson.[26] In four seasons at Hilltop, Westling compiled a record of 28–18 and led the Lancers to three straightMetro-South Bay League titles.[27] They also made four straight appearances in theCIF San Diego Section (CIF-SDS) Division III playoffs,[28] including a semifinal run in 2017 despite having to play all of their home games on the road due to stadium renovations.[29] In early 2020, Westling was hired as head football coach atEastlake High School, where he was previously a student teacher.[27] However, he resigned just a few weeks after accepting the role due to disagreements with the school's administration.[30] After sitting out for the 2020 season, Westling was hired as head football coach atMt. Carmel High School in 2021.[31] In his first season at the helm, he led the Sundevils to a 10–2 record, a share of thePalomar League title, and an appearance in the CIF-SDS Division III semifinals.[32][33]
His father, Kurt, served as the head football coach at Aliso Niguel High School from 2010 to 2019, though he was offensive coordinator when Drew played.[34]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chula Vista Spartans(Metro-Mesa League)(2014) | |||||||||
| 2014 | Chula Vista | 2–8 | 0–4 | ||||||
| Chula Vista: | 2–8 | 0–4 | |||||||
| Hilltop Lancers(Metro-South Bay League)(2016–2019) | |||||||||
| 2016 | Hilltop | 7–5 | 2–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 2017 | Hilltop | 7–5 | 3–0 | 1st | |||||
| 2018 | Hilltop | 5–6 | 4–0 | 1st | |||||
| 2019 | Hilltop | 9–2 | 3–0 | 1st | |||||
| Hilltop: | 28–18 | 12–1 | |||||||
| Mt. Carmel Sundevils(Palomar League)(2021–present) | |||||||||
| 2021 | Mt. Carmel | 10–2 | 4–1 | T–1st | |||||
| 2022 | Mt. Carmel | 6–5 | 2–3 | 4th | |||||
| 2023 | Mt. Carmel | 3–7 | 0–5 | 6th | |||||
| 2024 | Mt. Carmel | 6–5 | 2–3 | 4th | |||||
| Mt. Carmel: | 25–19 | 8–12 | |||||||
| Total: | 55–45 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
