The top 15 quarterback recruits: Tracking all the hot starts
The On300 for 2022 is littered with blue-chip quarterback prospects heading to some of the top programs in the county.
So, it’s no surprise to see top-ranked quarterback recruit Drew Allar, a Penn State commitment, get off to a great start this season. But he’s not the only one. Clemson pledge Cade Klubnik has put up monster numbers and guided Austin (Texas) Westlake to the No. 1 ranking in Class 6A. Not to be outdone, A&M commitment Conner Weigman has thrown for more than 1,000 yards in three games.
Allar, Klubnik and Weigman’s numbers showcase exactly why they rank as the best quarterback recruits in the country. Here’s a look at the top 15 quarterback recruits in the country and how their seasons have started.
No. 1 Drew Allar – Penn State commit
Background: Medina (Ohio) High
Allar, a four-star prospect, has Medina off to a 4-0 start. He recently impressed Charles Power, On3’s Director of Scouting and Rankings, with an impressive performance in Week 2 of the season. Allar had a number of big-time throws in that game, including a beautiful deep toss between two defenders at the pylon.
No. 2 Cade Klubnik – Clemson commit
Background: Austin (Texas) Westlake
Westlake remains the No. 1 team in the Class 6A Texas prep football rankings largely because of the play of Klubnik. In three games, he has thrown for 923 yards and 10 touchdowns and is averaging 307.7 yards a game. He’s added three rushing scores and been intercepted once in 84 attempts. The early start shows why he was coveted by a number of national programs.
No. 3 Conner Weigman – Texas A&M commit
Background: Cypress (Texas) Bridgeland
Bridgeland is 3-0 and ranked No. 19 in Class 6A thanks to Weigman’s 1,112 yards passing and 11 touchdowns. He is completing 65% of his passes and averaging 370 yards a game. He’s also showing his dual-threat quarterback ability with 96.7 rushing yards a game and two additional touchdown rushes. Video of Weigman’s 468 yards passing last week against The Woodlands has gone viral on social media.
No. 4 Walker Howard – LSU commit
Background: Lafayette (La.) St. Thomas More
St. Thomas More is 0-2, but both losses came in offensive shootouts. In Week 1 against Baton Rouge Madison Prep, Howard threw for 308 yards, three touchdowns and also rushed for a score. He improved his numbers in Week 2 with 422 yards passing and three TD passes. Unfortunately, he has been working with an offensive line that makes mistakes, a struggling receiver corps and a defense that has given up a lot of points.
No. 5 Ty Simpson – Alabama commit
Background: Martin (Tenn.) Westview
Simpson generated praise from Elite 11 quarterback camp organizer Brian Stumpf this past week with his 20-of-26 performance against Fairview (Tenn.) High. Simpson threw for 242 yards and three TDs, and rushed for an additional 76 yards.
No. 6 Devin Brown – USC commit
Background: Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon
Brown, a long-time USC commitment, made headlines off the field after the Trojans fired Clay Helton. Brown said he remains “100% committed” to the Trojans. Still, other schools are going to step up their pursuit of Brown, who shared a thankful social media post after Helton was fired.
No. 7 Henry Belin – Duke commit
Background: Bronx (N.Y.) Cardinal Hayes
Cardinal Hayes is 0-2 after blowout losses to Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic and Washington (D.C.) St. John’s. Even though the team has struggled, Belin, the headliner of the Duke class, has made some impressive throws. Included in those were a difficult pass in the flat after RPO action with a defender in his face.
No. 8 Gunner Stockton – Georgia commit
Background: Tiger (Ga.) Rabun County
He has led Rabun County to a 2-1 start and has 1,176 yards of total offense. Stockton has thrown for 873 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he’s also rushed for 303 yards and three scores. Stockton is averaging 295 passing yards per game and also has two games with more than 100 rushing yards.
No. 9 Nate Johnson – Utah commit
Background: Clovis (Calif.) High
The Clovis Cougars are 4-0, but Johnson has had some ups-and-downs. He has thrown for 634 yards, rushed for 179 and accounted for five touchdowns. But he also has thrown three interceptions. The good news is that he’s completing 66% of his passes in Clovis’ run-focused offense.
No. 10 Nick Evers – Florida commit
Background: Flower Mound (Texas) High
Flower Mound has played a hard schedule and the 1-2 start doesn’t reflect on the job done by Evers. He had a stellar performance in Week 2 in a 28-24 loss to Highland Park, when he was one of the national standout recruits from Week 2 of high school football. He wowed and earned high praise from Power.
“The Florida commit finished 27-of-49 for 312 yards and three touchdowns,” Power wrote. “He also rushed for 94 yards. While good, the stats don’t tell the whole story. Evers had a number of catchable throws that could’ve gone for touchdowns – a number that gets as high as five depending on how generous you want to be. He was on point for the most part, even on incompletions.
“Evers showcased his patented quick release – perhaps the fastest we’ve seen in the 2022 cycle. He gets it out quick and hot, making it tough for defenders to make a play on the ball. There were a number of high-level throws to the sideline, which activated the whole field and stressed the Highland Park defense.”
No. 11 Katin Houser – Michigan State commit
Background: Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco
He has helped national power St. John Bosco to a 4-0 start, including a quality win last week over a loaded East St. Louis (Ill.) High squad. Houser has thrown for almost 500 yards, is completing 58% of his passes, and has thrown for three touchdowns. Keep in mind that Houser splits time with heavily recruited junior Pierce Clarkson, and both are fine splitting time as long the team keeps winning.
No. 12 Conner Harrell – North Carolina commit
Background: Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson
Harrell has guided Thompson, the No. 1-ranked team in Alabama, to a 4-0 start and has some eye-popping numbers. He is averaging 20 yards a completion, and has thrown for 14 touchdowns with only one interception. He’s also averaging 20 yards a rush. Harrell is doing all this despite sitting on the sideline quite a bit because Thompson has outscored its first four opponents 217-3.
No. 13 Garret Rangel – Oklahoma State commit
Background: Frisco (Texas) Lone Star
He was injured two weeks ago in a showdown with Aledo, the top-ranked team in the AP Class 5A Division II state poll. His status for this week’s game is up in the air and the severity of his lower-leg injury is unclear. Through the first two games, Rangel threw for 542 yards and six touchdowns. He also completed 64% of his passes and had one interception.
No. 14 AJ Duffy – Florida State commit
Background: Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy
Leading the most-talented and blue-chip-loaded high school team in the country, Duffy has helped IMG to a 4-0 start. IMG has so many weapons that sometimes it’s easy to overlook Duffy, who is from the Los Angeles area. But when you see passes like this beauty, which went viral on social media, it’s easy to see why FSU fans are excited about Duffy.
No. 15 Justyn Martin – California commit
Background: Inglewood (Calif.) High
Martin has helped the Sentinels to a 3-0 start, including a 52-0 blistering of Compton two weeks ago. That game featured three first-half TD tosses from Martin. Inglewood didn’t have a game this past weekend but returns to action in two weeks against winless Palos Verdes. It should be the perfect opportunity for Martin to put up big numbers again.