CFB Future 100: Top 9 Quarterback Recruits in Class of 2017
After thorough study using specific scoring criteria, Bleacher Report National Recruiting Analysts Damon Sayles, Sanjay Kirpalani and Tyler Donohue have graded the top 100 players in the 247Sports composite rankings and provided in-depth analysis on each young athlete. Bleacher Report will run a position-by-position breakdown series of the best college football recruits in the 2017 class. Here, we present the Top Quarterbacks.
The quarterback position is a point of emphasis early in every recruiting cycle, as coaching staffs fully understand the importance of stabilizing future plans behind center. High-profile passers can also act as leaders as the cycle progresses, encouraging other prospects to join a class.
While they're only three-quarters of the way through their high school careers, several quarterbacks have emerged as coveted collegiate targets, and some elected to commit more than a year before national signing day. Here's a breakdown of each passer listed among the top 100 overall recruits in 247Sports' 2017 composite rankings, including B/R's assessment based on accuracy, arm strength, pocket presence, mobility, in-game intelligence and overall mechanics.
9. 4-Star Davis Mills
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Height/Weight: 6'3”, 192 lbs
High School: Greater Atlanta Christian School (Norcross, Georgia)
247Sports Ranking: No. 6 pro-style quarterback, No. 97 overall
Bleacher Report Score: 86/100
Recruitment Status
Davis Mills is uncommitted for now. He managed to command interest from every region of the college football landscape by the start of his junior campaign, receiving offers from Arizona State, Michigan, UCLA and Rutgers, among others. Those opportunities continued to expand last fall, as Michigan State, Ole Miss and Wisconsin joined the chase.
Bleacher Report Analysis
Mills' mechanics (11/15) are an emphasis for improvement, particularly when it comes to establishing a more consistent base with his lower body before following through upon pass release. Those issues certainly don't damage his ability to launch the football with authority (20/20 arm strength), but he could sharpen his precision on passes beyond mid-range.
Mills compiled 5,088 yards and 51 touchdowns through the air during the past two seasons, and he shows above-average mobility (8/10) when forced to improvise under pressure or when it's time to attack defensive fronts in short-yardage situations. He rushed for 577 yards and 14 scores as a junior.
8. 4-Star Jake Bentley
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Height/Weight: 6'4”, 215 lbs
High School: Opelika High School (Opelika, Alabama)
247Sports Ranking: No. 5 pro-style quarterback, No. 81 overall
Bleacher Report Score: 89/100
Recruitment Status
Jake Bentley bagged offers from Auburn, Miami and Vanderbilt as an underclassman, and he's spent significant time visiting the in-state Tigers. Georgia, Louisville, North Carolina State and South Carolina have extended scholarships since the start of his junior season.
Bleacher Report Analysis
Bentley displays plenty of poise in the pocket (9/10), standing tall and surveying downfield developments even as the pocket collapses around him. There are times when his legs become a bit too stationary, which directly impacts his footwork (12/15 mechanics).
He can scoot when necessary, and that mobility (8/10) enables him to evade defenders and extend plays that would otherwise end in a sack. Bentley completed 58.1 percent of his pass attempts in 2015, per MaxPreps, tallying 2,834 yards and 28 touchdowns through the air.
7. 4-Star Shawn Robinson
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Height/Weight: 6'3", 207 lbs
High School: Guyer High School (Denton, Texas)
247Sports Ranking: No. 3 dual-threat quarterback, No. 70 overall
Bleacher Report Score: 89/100
Recruitment Status
Shawn Robinson provided TCU with an early splash on the 2017 recruiting trail, choosing the Horned Frogs in June over Alabama, Baylor, Michigan, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and several other schools. He received an offer from the Texas Longhorns shortly after his freshman year.
Bleacher Report Analysis
Given his physical stature and several clutch performances in the Lone Star State, Robinson may offer more potential than any player on this list. However, he just isn't there yet, and a big factor is his lack of consistent precision (14/20 accuracy).
Per MaxPreps, Robinson completed just 45 percent of passes as a junior and seemed hesitant at times to pull the trigger on tightly contested attempts, though that doesn't take away from his impressive arm strength (14/15) and strong work in the pocket that specifically stands out when he needs to step up to avoid a rush. He's a dangerous rusher (18/20), using long strides and open-field agility to tally 1,568 yards and 17 touchdowns on the ground in 2015.
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6. 4-Star Tua Tagovailoa
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Height/Weight: 6'1", 190 lbs
High School: St. Louis High School (Honolulu)
247Sports Ranking: No. 2 dual-threat quarterback; No. 67 overall
Bleacher Report Score: 93/100
Recruitment Status
Unlike former St. Louis High School star Marcus Mariota, Tua Tagovailoa hasn't been overlooked by universities on the mainland. He's uncommitted for now, but Arizona State, Oregon State and USC are among the Pac-12 programs in pursuit, while interest also extends to Nebraska, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
Bleacher Report Analysis
Tagovailoa took center stage as Hawaii's next compelling quarterback prospect as a sophomore, when he accrued 2,583 passing yards, 576 rushing yards, 33 touchdown tosses and just three interceptions, per MaxPreps. He's continued to make strides, particularly when it comes to matching elite arm strength (15/15) with improved accuracy (17/20) that's particularly noticeable when locating receivers on crossing routes.
Tagovailoa, another left-handed thrower on this list, fires lasers with a quick release that doesn't require much room to get off. He's not necessarily a game-changer as a runner but is definitely capable of doing damage in the open field (16/20 mobility). He can pick up first downs with his feet when passing plans fail.
5. 4-Star Jake Fromm
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Height/Weight: 6'3", 220 lbs
High School: Houston County High School (Warner Robins, Georgia)
247Sports Ranking: No. 4 pro-style quarterback; No. 65 overall
Bleacher Report Score: 94/100
Recruitment Status
His freshman season was enough to earn Jake Fromm an initial scholarship offer from North Carolina. After securing that opportunity in the summer of 2014, SEC squads began to enter the equation with consistency and he ultimately opted to join Alabama's class midway through last season.
Bleacher Report Analysis
Fromm is efficient in every capacity of the position, lofting expertly placed passes with plenty of air underneath them and the right amount of zip. Excellent mechanics (15/15) augment other elements of his game, especially accuracy (25/25) and pocket presence (9/10).
He isn't nearly as fleet–footed as a few of his highly ranked contemporaries, but Fromm shows off a strong feel for the progression of a play and steps up at the right time, willing to wait for an ideal moment to pull the trigger on a throw. His junior campaign included career-highs in passing yards (4,099) and touchdown tosses (36), and he's now completed 61 percent of pass attempts since 2014.
4. 4-Star Ryan Kelley
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Height/Weight: 6'2 ½”, 170 lbs
High School: Basha High School (Chandler, Arizona)
247Sports Ranking: No. 3 pro-style quarterback, No. 59 overall
Bleacher Report Score: 92/100
Recruitment Status
Ryan Kelley committed to the Oregon Ducks late in his junior campaign, approximately one month after he spent an unofficial visit in Eugene. His offer sheet also includes Cal, Michigan State, Nebraska, UCLA and Washington.
Bleacher Report Analysis
Kelley can rip passes 50-plus yards downfield with a flick of his wrist, exhibiting top-tier arm strength (20/20) that keeps defensive backs on their heels. This asset isn't just seen on deep targets, as he also torches opponents with short fastballs that are well-timed and accurate (22/25) enough to keep the chains moving with modest chunks of yardage.
His improvisational skills set him apart from many contemporaries, as he exhibits a natural ability to not only overcome adversity in the pocket but actually rise up and create a big-time play (9/10 pocket presence). Kelley collected 5,714 passing yards during the past two seasons, per MaxPreps, firing 50 touchdown passes and rushing for another eight scores.
3. 5-Star Tate Martell
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Height/Weight: 5'11", 180 lbs
High School: Bishop Gorman High School (Las Vegas)
247Sports Ranking: No. 1 dual-threat quarterback; No. 29 overall
Bleacher Report Score: 95/100
Recruitment Status
Tate Martell commanded headlines when he received collegiate offers before high school and verbally pledged to Washington in eighth grade. He would later reopen his recruitment, considering USC and Alabama during the late stages of a decision-making process that ended with a Texas A&M commitment in August.
Bleacher Report Analysis
The Johnny Manziel comparisons will continue to mount as Martell continues to approach his arrival in College Station, where head coach Kevin Sumlin lost two former 5-star quarterback recruits to transfers this winter (Kyler Murray, Kyle Allen). It's more than his status as an "undersized" talent and is further based on his ability to pull off momentum-swinging improvisational plays at least a few times per game.
Bishop Gorman has arguably been America's best high school program since Martell arrived as a sophomore, as his accuracy (19/20) and power (14/15) have steadily increased to augment sensational mechanics (15/15) that may put him in position to start in the SEC as a true freshman.
Martell extends plays better than any quarterback in this class, but he's a pass-first prospect who picks his spots to run and does so effectively (17/20 mobility). He tallied 6,182 total yards, 86 touchdowns and just eight interceptions during the past two seasons, per MaxPreps.
2. 5-Star Hunter Johnson
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Height/Weight: 6'3", 200 lbs
High School: Brownsburg High School (Brownsburg, Indiana)
247Sports Ranking: No. 2 pro-style quarterback position, No. 26 overall
Bleacher Report Score: 97/100
Recruitment Status
Hunter Johnson joined the Clemson Tigers' class in December just one week after he received an offer from the team. He initially pledged to Tennessee shortly before his junior season but instead became one of two top-tier passers who plan to play for head coach Dabo Swinney, along with 4-star Georgia recruit Chase Brice.
Bleacher Report Analysis
Johnson is a joy to watch if you appreciate quarterbacks who can settle in and find rhythm from the pocket without doing anything over the top in the process. He's a technician (25/25 combined pocket presence and mechanics) who hits receivers in stride even when they're well-covered, thanks to his elite accuracy (24/25) and live arm.
His efforts don't end between the tackles, as Johnson functions well when forced to roll out and can pick up pivotal yards as a hard-nosed runner. Perhaps most importantly, the game seems to come at him naturally at this stage of his development, which is an encouraging sign for early collegiate stardom. He set career highs across the board in 2015, firing 31 touchdown tosses while racking up 2,545 passing yards, per MaxPreps.
All prospects scouted by Bleacher Report National Recruiting Analyst Tyler Donohue. Players ordered by appearance in 247Sports' composite rankings.
1. 4-Star Dylan McCaffrey
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Height/Weight: 6'5", 200 lbs
High School: Valor Christian High School (Littleton, Colorado)
247Sports Ranking: No. 1 pro-style quarterback; No. 17 overall
Bleacher Report Score: 94/100
Recruitment Status
Dylan McCaffrey, the younger brother of 2015 Heisman Trophy finalist Christian McCaffrey, was expected to draw heavy interest from Stanford, where his father, former Denver Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, played. Instead, he'll chart his own course at Michigan following a Feb. 15 commitment to the Wolverines.
Bleacher Report Analysis
McCaffrey has a firm understanding of what's expected from him at Valor Christian and exhibits a polished passing approach (14/15 mechanics). He keeps his shoulders square while moving in the pocket and delivers darts that find receivers on the appropriate shoulder pad (24/25 accuracy) to keep their momentum moving toward the end zone.
He displays confidence in the pocket and doesn't look uncomfortable when forced to search for third or fourth options during a play's progression. McCaffrey completed 65 percent of passes as a junior, resulting in 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns through the air, per MaxPreps.
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