Quarterback recruiting is a funky thing. It also can be the most important aspect of building a successful recruiting class on offense. Landing a talented signal-caller early on in the process has become nearly imperative as the nation's elite passers typically come off the board well before many other positions. Couple that with the fact that signing a lone player at the position is fairly commonplace and it's easy to see why it's a different kind of recruiting dynamic.
Many schools land their future quarterback early on and can then practically shut down their efforts at the position all the while relying on the player to switch roles from recruit to recruiter. Of course, they also have to keep that warm and fuzzy feeling going or be at risk to lose said player to another program. The Buckeyes have benefitted from this lately as Danny Clark has been committed since December of 2013 and has been an integral part of Ohio State's recruiting efforts ever since. The ripple effect is very real here.
Clark has been recruiting for the Buckeyes for over two years now.
With Clark in the fold, Tim Beck and Urban Meyer are continuing to focus on bringing in another talented quarterback for the 2017 class. Such a strategy is relatively uncommon for Ohio State, who – like many other programs – traditionally looks to bring in a lone signee at the position.
The Buckeyes have seen five signing days come and go since Urban Meyer took over in November of 2011. Within that time period, a total of six quarterbacks signed with the Buckeyes. In 2015, the duo of Joe Burrow and Torrance Gibson both elected to play under the tutelage of Meyer and Co., but the writing was on the wall for one of the two to ultimately end up elsewhere. That move has since come to fruition for the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Gibson who hauled in six passes for 50 yards and a pair of scores in last month's spring game.
| QUARTERBACK | CLASS |
|---|---|
| CARDALE JONES | 2012 |
| J.T. Barrett | 2013 |
| Stephen Collier | 2014 |
| Joe Burrow | 2015 |
| *Torrance Gibson | 2015 |
| Dwayne Haskins | 2016 |
Outside of the 2015 class, it's about what you would expect to see on signing day – one signal-caller per class, which is a common theme throughout the country.
Looking at the top 25 quarterbacks in the 2016 class, one will notice that only one school – South Carolina – signed more than one player within the top 25 at the position. And even that outlier isn't as simple as it would appear.
The Gamecocks signed four-star Brandon McIlWain in December and he proceeded to enroll early in January. This past March, four-star 2017 quarterback Jake Bentley also elected to pledge to Will Muschamp's Gamecocks. A few weeks after the commitment, Bentley announced that he would be reclassifying to 2016, allowing him to enroll way ahead of schedule. So yes, two quarterbacks in one class, but it took some finagling.
With the arrival of Dwayne Haskins this summer, the Buckeyes will arguably have some of the better quarterback depth in the nation. Meyer has raved about the four-star signee from Potomac, Maryland who is expected to battle Joe Burrow for the backup role.
“The fundamentals that Dwayne Haskins possesses right now is as good as I’ve ever seen in a young quarterback. He's an impact recruit,” Meyer said.
Speaking of Burrow, the redshirt freshman gave Buckeye fans a glimpse of what is to come at the 2016 spring game. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns while also adding 31 yards with his legs.
"What I got out of it is I know I can play here now," Burrow said. "And I know what I need to get to be the starting quarterback and what I need to do to be the backup this season."
With Stephen Collier out for the 2016 season, Burrow and Haskins could be relied upon heavily in relief of J.T. Barrett.
| Quarterback | Class |
|---|---|
| Troy Smith | 2002 |
| Justin Zwick | 2002 |
| Todd Boeckman | 2003 |
| Rob Schoenhoft | 2005 |
| Antonio Henton | 2006 |
| Terrelle Pryor | 2008 |
| Kenny Guiton | 2009 |
| Taylor Graham | 2010 |
| Braxton Miller | 2011 |
Dating back a bit further, it was a similar story when Jim Tressel was at the helm. Ten recruiting classes that featured a total of nine quarterback signees.
The 2002 class is certainly one of the more famous instances of a two-quarterback class at Ohio State. Justin Zwick and Troy Smith were two entirely different quarterbacks with one being a pocket passer and the other a dual-threat who found himself returning kicks early on in his career in Columbus. Zwick got the nod early on but Smith was given the opportunity to start midway through the 2004 season. An opportunity that he took and ran away with.
Terrell Pryor was the top-rated prospect in America and in hindsight it's actually rather mystifying that he elected to take his running ability to what was at the time more of a pro system. Alas, he was the lone quarterback brought in during the 2008 cycle and was a joy to watch in Columbus.
Braxton Miller was the lone signee in 2011 and he was named as the starting quarterback entering week four of his freshman season. His impact on the offense was almost purely as a runner early on, but as his passing skills improved, he was able to bring home two Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year awards in 2012 and 2013.
Obviously comparing Jim Tressel's tailback-focused offense with Urban Meyer's system that requires the quarterback to do a lot more is a bit silly. However, it's reasonable to think that Meyer's stockpiling of quarterbacks also has a lot to do with how heavily they are involved in the running game. Combine that with his success using Chris Leak and Tim Tebow at Florida and the latter portion of the 2014 season at Ohio State and it's fairly simple to see why so much emphasis is put on recruiting the position.
For the remainder of the 2017 cycle, quarterback recruiting could be a focal point for the Buckeyes. J.T. Barrett could be gone after this season and Stephen Collier's knee injury also throws a bit of wrench into things. Burrow has impressed thus far this spring and big things are expected out of Dwayne Haskins, but the 2017 class – which is expected to be rather small due to a limited number of scholarships – looks like it's going to be more quarterback-heavy than normal.
Birm broke down the remaining targets for the class a little earlier today, and it's looking like the second quarterback in the class should be a bit of a better fit than Danny Clark, whose game is more of a pro style one. Clark is the nation's 21st-ranked quarterback for the 2017 class. Tate Martell checks in at No. 3 while Baylor commit Kellen Mond is No. 8.
Looking ahead even further to 2018, Phil Jurkovec is the nation's second-ranked passer while the recently offered Emory Jones is No. 5. It's not too far-fetched to think that Ohio State could have its 2018 signal-caller in the fold before the end of the summer.
2017 looks like it should end up being one of the rare classes that sees a pair of quarterbacks sign with the Buckeyes. Regardless of numbers, the position appears to be in great hands for the foreseeable future.
