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Rankings Rewind: Current NFL and college QBs as recruits
Ahead of another loaded weekend of college and NFL games, take a look at where some of the biggest names in the sport were ranked as high school recruits and whether or not their ranking was a Hit or a Miss.
Beck was originally committed to Florida for baseball but he committed to Alabama for football after earning an offer the summer before his junior year. He still kept his options open though and ended up decommitting a few months later. It looked as though Beck would commit to Florida but he ultimately decided Georgia was the program for him.
Beck didn’t get much playing time until last season when he started every game for the Bulldogs. He threw for 3,949 yards and 24 touchdowns while completing 72 percent of his passes. In the SEC Championship Game against Alabama, Beck and the Bulldogs lost by three points and missed the College Football Playoff.
Just a few games into his second season as a starter, Beck’s resume is far from complete but it appears to be on track to reflect his high school ranking.
Verdict: Incomplete
By signing with Arizona State out of high school, Daniels became the third-highest-ranked player to ever sign with the Sun Devils. Then-head coach Herm Edwards awarded Daniels the starting job as a freshman and he went on to become one of the better quarterbacks in the Pac-12.
After the 2021 season, the NCAA handed down stiff penalties on the ASU program for recruiting violations during the COVID dead period. Daniels ended up transferring to LSU prior to the start of the 2022 season and beat out Garrett Nussmeier to become the starting quarterback. LSU went to the SEC championship game that season.
Daniels returned the following year and had one of the best seasons for a quarterback ever. He threw for 3,811 yards, 40 touchdowns and completed 71 percent of his passes while rushing for 1,250 yards and 10 more touchdowns. Daniels won the Heisman that year and went on to be picked No. 2 overall by the Washington Commanders in the 2024 NFL Draft.
In just his third NFL game, Daniels won NFC Offensive Player of the Week after he completed 91 percent of his passes during a Monday Night Football win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Verdict: Hit
Jackson was far from a finished product as a high school prospect but there was no doubting his ability as an athlete. He committed to Louisville in August prior to his senior season but he still listened to recruiting pitches from other programs. Florida almost got him to flip but he stuck with the Cardinals.
It didn’t take long for Jackson to get his feet under him at Louisville. He won the starting job his freshman year and led Louisville to a bowl game. It was his second college season that earned him a statue in front of the stadium and the Heisman Trophy. Jackson’s 2016 campaign was one of the most dominant in NCAA history. He threw for 3,532 yards and 30 touchdowns but also rushed for 1,888 yards and 21 touchdowns. Jackson scored seven touchdowns in three different games that season.
Jackson entered the NFL Draft after the 2017 season and was picked by the Baltimore Ravens with the No. 32 overall pick. He played in almost every game his rookie season and started eight times. Jackson really hit his stride the following season, winning the 2019 NFL MVP. During his NFL career, Jackson has won two MVP awards, been named first-team All-Pro twice and made three Pro Bowls.
Being ranked as a four-star outside the Rivals250 was the highest in the industry at the time of his signing with Louisville but is still low for a first-round pick and two-time NFL MVP.
Verdict: Miss
Then-head coach David Cutcliffe landed Leonard’s commitment over the likes of Nebraska, Vanderbilt and Syracuse. He started once during his freshman year at Duke but played in a total of seven games. Leonard led the Blue Devils to nine wins in 2022 and started every game, throwing for 2,951 yards and 20 touchdowns, and running for 776 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Expectations for Leonard were high entering the 2023 season and he led Duke to a 4-0 start before losing to Notre Dame by seven points and getting injured on the last play of the game. He would play in just two more games in 2023. After the season was over, Leonard transferred to Notre Dame and has started all four of the games this season for the Fighting Irish, throwing just one touchdown pass.
Verdict: Hit
Texas A&M had the early momentum in Milroe’s recruitment but he committed to Texas in the summer before his junior season. Milroe ended up flipping to Alabama just over a year later (and a few days after Quinn Ewers committed to Texas).
During his first two years in Tuscaloosa, Milroe didn’t see much action but he started every game during the 2023 season and nearly had Alabama in the national title game. Entering the 2024 season, Milroe is one of the most well-known players in all of college football and is considered one of the best quarterbacks in the nation.
This is just his second season as a starter and he’s learning a new offensive system but so far his ranking out of high school looks to be fairly accurate. We’ll see how the rest of the season goes before issuing a verdict.
Verdict: Incomplete
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