The 2015 football recruiting class could go down as one of the best ever for quarterbacks. The class produced a trio of Heisman winners, five top 10 picks, back-to-back No. 1 picks in the NFL Draft, and an NFL MVP.
Joe Burrow is the latest quarterback in that class to break into the impressive group. He’s joined by fellow to pick Kyler Murray, a trio of other top 10 guys in Daniel Jones, Sam Darnold, and Josh Rosen, and of course, Lamar Jackson, last year’s Most Valuable Player. Jackson was the last pick of the first round in the 2018 NFL Draft.
This group, and the class overall, also shows the inexact science that is recruiting, especially at the quarterback position. Murray and Burrow were both transfers who thrived at their second schools. Lamar Jackson was a three-star player, and Daniel Jones was a two-star, only the second highest-ranked Duke commit of that cycle at the position, and the No. 144 quarterback in the class.
This also reveals how spread out things can get within one class. The group that Bruce Feldman lists went over the course of three different NFL Draft classes. It should also be noted that Jackson is almost a full month younger than Burrow.
Joe Burrow just became the 6th QB from the 2015 QB recruiting class to become a first rounder and the fifth to go Top 10 (Burrow, Kyler, Daniel Jones, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen).. Lamar was the sixth first-rounder. That’s a ridiculously deep group.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) April 24, 2020
The top 10 from the 2015 class is pretty fascinating. Josh Rosen is the No. 1 player, followed by Blake Barnett, who started ahead of Jalen Hurts for a game at Alabama before losing the job. He transferred to Arizona State, and then finished his career at USF. Kyler Murray was No. 3. They’re the only 247 composite five-stars in the group.
4. Jarrett Stidham – Baylor, transferred to Auburn. Projected to start for the New England Patriots.
5. Brandon Wimbush – Notre Dame, transferred to UCF.
6. Deondre Francois – Florida State, dismissed in 2019.
7. Brady White – Arizona State, transferred to Memphis.
8. Jake Browning – Washington. Now on the Minnesota Vikings practice squad.
9. Ricky Town – USC, transferred to Pitt.
10. Drew Lock – Missouri. Now the starter for the Denver Broncos.
Burrow ranked 19th in this group. Other notable quarterbacks in the class include Boise State’s Brett Rypien (No. 17), Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke (No. 26), Clemson/Mizzou’s Kelly Bryant (No. 29), recent New York Jets draftee out of FIU James Morgan (No. 32), 2020 New Orleans Saints draftee Tommy Stevens (No. 46), and Jacksonville Jaguars sensation Gardner Minshew (No. 116).