A Brief History of Top Rated Quarterbacks

Longhorns fans are over the moon with the commitment of an already-famous quarterback to Texas. Of course we are talking about Arch Manning who has not even finished high school yet. Hopes and expectations for the nephew of two Super Bowl champs have soared into the stratosphere. However, being the number one ranked quarterback has not often worked out too well.

According to the Composite rankings of quarterback by 247sports since the recruiting class of 2013, college football has seen only one of those prospects take home the Heisman and few making it big in the NFL.

2013 Max Browne, Southern Cal - After three seasons as a back-up in South Central L.A., Browne transferred to Pitt where he was injured in Game 6 and did not return to the field. He would go undrafted and never signed a professional football contract at any level.

2014 Kyle Allen, Texas A&M - He started here and there over two season but saw the handwriting on the wall with the emergence of Kyler Murry. He transferred to Houston and redshirted Year 3. In his fourth season he was benched in favor of some guy named Kyle Postma. Although going undrafted in 2018, he has somehow managed to keep a steady job as a clipboard carrier. He is currently a Houston Texans back-up.

2015 Josh Rosen, UCLA - The Cardinals foolishly drafted him in 2018 using a precious No. 10 overall pick. He has played on five NFL teams in four seasons and is currently a free agent.

2016 Shea Patterson, Ole Miss - This former top-ranked QB was having a decent sophomore season until he tore up his knee in Game 7. Due to the Hugh Freeze scandal and impending probation, Patterson transferred to Michigan where he had two more decent if yet unremarkable seasons. However, the NFL did not like his game and he went undrafted. He played very limited downs in Canada, and then went to the USFL as a back-up.

2017 Davis Mills, Stanford - This previous number one started two seasons for the Cardinal and was drafted in the third round by the Texans in 2021. Thanks to Deshaun Watson’s perverted ways and an injury to Tyrod Taylor, Mills was pressed into service and went 2-9 as a starter.

2018 Trevor Lawrence, Clemson - After three years of being gushed over in college, the miserable Jaguars made him the top pick of the 2021 Draft. He started all 17 games (3-14) and threw only 12 touchdowns to go with 17 interceptions. He is well on his way to a 12 year career as a clipboard carrier.

2019 Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma - For some odd reason, he began the 2021 season as the Heisman favorite (except around these parts who knew he was substandard). Benched and flamed out in Norman, he transferred to South Carolina.

2020 Bryce Young, Alabama - Merely won the Heisman as a true sophomore.

2021 Quinn Ewers, Ohio State - He played all of two snaps at the end of the game in the Buckeyes’ win over Michigan State on November 20, 2021. He has transferred to Texas.

2022 Cade Klubnik, Committed to Clemson - Projected as back-up to DJ Uiagalelei.

2023 Arch Manning, Committed to Texas - Reading the reactions from Longhorns fans, they have wrapped up the next four National Championships with Ewers and Arch.