Back-to-back 5-star QBs: Clemson in rare company in Rivals era

The commitment of 2018 five-star quarterback Trevor Lawrence to Clemson on Thursday marked a rare accomplishment in the Rivals era. For just the third time, a school managed to have pulled off the near impossible — land five-star QBs in back-to-back recruiting classes. Unlike any other position, quarterbacks often don’t wait long before looking elsewhere if they don’t get a shot on the field. Here is a look back at the schools that have pulled it off and how it panned out and also a look forward to how things might shake out at Clemson. National recruiting director Mike Farrell gives his thoughts on the QB combos.

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How it played out: It’s crazy to think that the Gators had both of these superstars on the team at the same time, let alone signed them in back-to-back recruiting classes. During the 2007 season, Tebow was the full-time starter, and went on to win the Heisman Trophy while Newton served as his backup as a true freshman. In 2008, Newton suffered an injury that caused him to miss the season — which ended with Tebow leading the Gators to the national championship. Newton transferred to junior college for the 2009 season before signing with Auburn in 2010, where he won the Heisman Trophy and national championship. Both players went on to be first-round NFL Draft picks.

Farrell's take: “Tebow was obviously a huge deal and an epic recruiting battle between Alabama pre-Nick Saban and Urban Meyer and Florida. We all knew he was going to become a Gator, but yet the drama never ended. Newton was a four-star kid until our final evaluation at the Offense-Defense Bowl that year and we saw something special. As often happens when there are two five-star quarterbacks in back-to-back years, one flourishes and the other transfers but for Newton it wasn’t because of talent. He ran into some off-the-field issues. But this is a heckuva 1-2 punch and clearly Newton landed on his feet.”

How it played out: Clausen’s commitment announcement at the College Football Hall of Fame will go down as one of the most outlandish ever, but it didn’t scare away fellow five-star Crist from signing with Irish just a year late. Clausen was the established starter for three years with Irish under coach Charlie Weis, but never lead the team to better than a 7-6 record before leaving early after his junior year. Crist meanwhile redshirted in 2008, and backed up Clausen in 2009. In 2010, he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 9 after leading ND to a 4-5 record and was replaced by Tommy Rees. Crist could not beat out Rees in 2011 and spent the season as a backup before transferring to Kansas to finish his career in 2012. Rees started and led the Jayhawks to a 1-11 season under the leadership of Weis. Clausen was a second-round draft pick in 2010, but is now out of the league. Crist spent time in training camp with the Baltimore Ravens but never made an active roster.

Farrell's take: “Clausen was called the “Lebron of high school football” by one quarterback guru, which was ridiculous but he was a super talented kid and our No. 1 player overall for many reasons. His career at Notre Dame, to me, was a good one but he had a horrendous offensive line. I remember Weis turning down five-star Mitch Mustain the year before because he promised Clausen he would be the only quarterback he wanted, but it wasn’t a shocker when Crist followed. Crist also had a ton of talent but injuries derailed his career in college. This didn’t turn out to be as dynamic as the Tebow-Newton story, but these guys were heavily coveted.”

How it played out: Johnson originally committed to Tennessee before flipping to the Tigers in a surprise move last December. He has remained solid to the Tigers ever since and helped add major pieces to the school’s 2017 class. Lawrence was also initially enamored with Tennessee, but as things went along he seemed bound for Georgia. Clemson inserted itself into the picture and after narrowing his list to the Tigers and the Bulldogs, Lawrence announced his decision on Thursday night. There is still plenty of time between now and Signing Day 2018, when Lawrence would have to sign for the Tigers to officially join this list, but right now it looks like Clemson will become just the third school in the Rivals.com era to add back-to-back five-stars.

Farrell’s take: “The good news is that Clemson recruiting is off the charts at quarterback and you can’t forget Chase Brice as well here even though he’s not a five-star. But the sobering news is that even with back-to-back five-stars or two five-stars in the same class, usually one guys ends up transferring out. So will this happen at Clemson? Time will tell as there is a long way to go before either plays, but right now this is probably even more impressive on paper than either Tebow-Newton (out of high school) or Clausen-Crist."