Recruiting: The QB Class of '06

It is the dead of winter in East Brady, Penn. The calendar is about to flip to 1979 and Joe Paterno is sitting in your living room. He says something to the effect of "We love you kid. Here is a scholarship. Come to Penn State and we will make you a star linebacker!" A chance to play the position at Linebacker U? Who wouldn’t jump at that opportunity?

There is only one issue: Jim Kelly is a quarterback. So after a brief conversation with his brother Pat — who was playing in the NFL at the time — Kelly decided to accept a scholarship to play quarterback for the Miami Hurricanes. In his first career start, Kelly led the Canes to a 26-10 victory over the Nittany Lions on the road in State College. Four Super Bowl appearances, 35,000 yards and one very infamous wide right later, Kelly took his rightful place in Canton.

Back in 1979 and not even 60 miles away in Pittsburgh, another young signal caller was making waves of his own. Dan Marino’s buggy-whip release was causing college scouts everywhere to giggle like schoolgirls. As a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh, Marino led the Panthers to victory over rival West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl. Two years later, a touchdown pass to John Brown with less than a minute to play — arguably the greatest play in Pitt sports history — capped the comeback against Georgia in the 1982 Sugar Bowl. The honors, records and statistics of his NFL career got Marino enshrined in the Hall Of Fame as well.

Back to ’79, and this time over 3,000 miles away, a quarterback was garnering unprecedented coverage as a high school athlete. John Elway played two seasons at Granada Hills High School (Granada Hills, Calif.) and was easily the No. 1 recruit in the nation. Widely considered the best athlete ever assembled, Elway received at least 60 scholarships that year. He signed with Stanford to play baseball and football, winning multiple Pac-10 Player of the Year awards and was a major part of ‘The Game’ with rival Cal in 1982. Two Super Bowl championships later, he too, sits in Canton.

The college and NFL resumes of the Hall of Fame class of ’78 are remarkable and will likely never be repeated by a single class. Although, the class of 2000 has proven to be a strong one. The Eli Manning-Phillip Rivers tandem already has one Super Bowl ring and while Rivers has not won his title yet, he has already begun to set Chargers’ franchise records.

Historically, the 1978 high school class of quarterbacks stands alone and is clearly the best of all time. Things are a bit different these days. Quarterbacks transfer at an alarming rate and head to the NFL early. Kids are exposed to the media throngs and fan bases at a much earlier age. Recruiting services now rank thousands of prospects in an effort to predict the future. I am almost positive that Marino was not watching internet video of Elway in 1978.

So in the modern era of football recruiting, which quarterback class is the best? To this, the answer is authoritatively 2006. One only needs to look as far as last season’s national championship game.

Tim Tebow got the better of Sam Bradford in Miami to win his second national championship (to go along with his '07 Heisman Trophy). Tebow was the dual-threat recruit in ‘06 and he has gone on to be one of the most successful college quarterbacks of all time. He owns a share of the single season mark for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 22 scores in ’07. He enters 2009 only 10 touchdowns away from breaking Kevin Faulk’s SEC record of 53 career scores — as a quarterback!

Bradford, a much lower rated prospect coming out of high school, also has a Heisman Trophy on his resume and also returns for what should be his final seasons in college. With a strong year, Bradford should set himself up to be the No. 1 quarterback taken in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was the No. 12 rated pro-style quarterback in the ’06 class. The list of potential Oklahoma school records expected to fall in Bradford's wake is incredible for a player entering only his third year as a starter.

The only quarterback Tebow trailed in the recruiting rankings in ’06 was Matt Stafford. The Georgia gunslinger was 27-7 as a starter and went 3-0 in bowl games. He also could be the first pick in this April’s upcoming NFL Draft. Not a bad trio.

Kansas State’s Josh Freeman, while not possessing an elite resume, could also be a first round pick this year. The enormous signal caller (6-foot-6, 248 pounds) is likely to be the third passer off the board as he finished with over 8,000 yards passing and a total of 64 touchdowns (20 rushing) as an amateur. Freeman was the No. 4 pro-style quarterback in the ’06 class.

Staying in the Jayhawk State, Todd Reesing enters his senior season as one of the most productive quarterbacks in Kansas history. He is the only Jayhawk to lead his team to a BCS bowl game (and win). He has thrown for 7,578 yards and 68 touchdowns in two full seasons as a starter. His 20-6 record includes a 76-point blowout of Nebraska and a 2-0 mark against in-state rival Kansas State — and Josh Freeman. While the pro potential for Reesing is much lower than the four names above, his success in college is no less impressive. Reesing was the No. 16 dual-threat quarterback in the class of ’06.

Another player who took his program to unprecedented heights was Ball State’s Nate Davis. The Bellaire (Ohio) native led his Cardinals to back-to-back bowl appearances. One has to keep this accomplishment in perspective. In 82 years of playing football, Ball State had been to a total of three bowl games (’65, ’89, ’93) and Davis led them to two. Davis will get drafted this month as well after bolting for the NFL after his junior season.

Illinois’ Juice Williams, Ole Miss’ Jevan Snead, Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick and Washington’s Jake Locker are all members of the class of 2006 as well. Williams has taken the Illini to a Rose Bowl birth and is looking to add to his 8,455 yards of total offense. Williams was the No. 3 rated pro-style passer in the ’06 quarterback rankings.

Snead took a roundabout way of getting to Oxford, Miss., but has flourished in his brief time there. The strong-armed passer has brought his proud program back into prominence in only a single season as the starter. The Rebels mustered only 14 total wins in the four seasons prior to Snead and only three SEC victories in the three pre-Snead years. Under Snead, the Rebels won four SEC games last season including a road win over the national champion Gators. Many are picking the Rebels to win the West in 2009. He too could be a high draft pick with a good season.

Kaepernick burst onto the scene two seasons ago in the highest scoring game in NCAA history: A 69-67 loss to Boise State. The lanky scrambler rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns in that game. He added 243 yards passing and three more scores through the air. In his first full season as a starter last year, ‘Crazy Legs’ Kaepernick posted 2,849 passing yards, 1,130 rushing yards and 39 touchdowns (17 rushing). He enters his junior season (redshirt) with over 6,747 yards of total offense.

Locker’s career in Seattle has unfortunately been plagued by coaching turnover and injuries. After a very promising freshman season — 2,062 passing yards and 986 rushing yards — Locker missed most of last season with a thumb injury. With a new quarterback friendly head coach, a healthy Locker is poised for another big season in the Great Northwest. Locker was the No. 4 rated dual-threat quarterback in the class of ’06.

The list of stars from the '06 class is not limited to just the superpowers of college football. Duke’s Thaddeus Lewis is the ACC’s leading returning passer in yards (6,735) and touchdowns (47). Lewis enters the season with a chance to become the all-time Duke leader in both categories. He is currently fourth. Lewis was the No. 10 rated dual-threat prospect in 2006.

Minnesota’s Adam Weber enters his third season as a starter. He ushers in a new era of Gopher football as Minnesota will play outdoors for the first time in decades. Christian Ponder led the Seminoles to a bowl win over Wisconsin and has Florida State fans excited about the offense for the first time since Chris Weinke. Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi has forced the much higher rated Jake Christiensen to transfer and will lead one of the Big Ten contenders onto the field in ’09. Colorado’s Cody Hawkins has met with mixed reviews but enters his third year as the starter. There are no doubts it will be his best. Iowa State’s Austen Arnaud was the lone bright spot on a bad Cyclone squad last season finishing the year with 766 yards and five touchdowns in his final two games. Arnaud is a popular fantasy sleeper in '09.

And then there are the names we have yet to really learn. USC’s Mitch Mustain has loads of pro potential but needs to hold off a hard charging Aaron Corp and Matt Barkley in order to earn the starting gig in SoCal. He was the No. 2 rated pro-style passing prospect in 2006. Taylor Potts should throw for thousands of yards and lots of touchdowns in his new role as Texas Tech’s starting quarterback. Alabama may be the favorite to win the SEC West next season but much of it hinges on Greg McElroy’s performance as new starting quarterback. He will need to hold off the athletic Star Jackson. Cal has a chance to win the Pac-10 title this season and if they do, it will be because of starter Kevin Riley — ranked as the No. 6 pro-style quarterback in ’06.

Other ’06 Notables

Andy Dalton, TCU: 19-7 as a starter.
Zack Frazer, UConn: Should start after transferring from Cincinnati.
Justin Burke, Louisville: Could be the starter after transferring from N.C. State.
Brian Anderson, Marshall: Is leader for starting job ahead of Mark Cann.
Demetrius Jones, Cincinnati: Former Notre Damer is now playing linebacker.

The Best of the Rest

2003
Chris Leak, Florida
Andre Woodson, Kentucky
Dennis Dixon, Oregon
Brady Quinn, Notre Dame
Matt Ryan, Boston College
Kevin Kolb, Houston
Matt Flynn, LSU
Paul Smith, Tulsa
Joe Flacco, Pitt/Delaware
JaMarcus Russell, LSU
Drew Tate, Iowa
Todd Boeckman, Ohio State
Bret Meyer, Iowa State

2002
Vince Young, Texas
Troy Smith, Ohio State
Trent Edwards, Stanford
Drew Stanton, Michigan State
John Stocco, Wisconsin
Tyler Palko, Pitt
Omar Jacobs, Bowling Green
Jordan Palmer, UTEP

2004
Graham Harrell, Texas Tech
Chad Henne, Michigan
Brian Brohm, Louisville
Daryll Clark, Penn State
Erik Ainge, Tennessee
Max Hall, BYU
Curtis Painter, Purdue
Rudy Carpenter, Arizona State
C.J. Bacher, Northwestern
Stephen McGee, Texas A&M

2005
Colt McCoy, Texas
Chase Daniel, Missouri
Mark Sanchez, USC
Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State
Willie Tuitama, Arizona
Matt Grothe, USF
Tim Hiller, Western Michigan

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