Four-Star Check Up: Four-star quarterbacks that shined in Week 1
Each week during the college football season we’ll use Tuesday as a chance to look back at four four-star prospects that shined during the previous week’s college football action. Today we will focus on the quarterbacks who helped lead their team to impressive showings in college football’s opening weekend.
As a recruit: Rudolph put up huge numbers as a high school recruit but despite his success, it took him a while to get recognized by both schools and in the rankings. After not receiving offers from either Clemson or South Carolina Rudolph eventually committed to Oklahoma State prior to his senior year in high school. He eventually rose from a three-star to well inside the Rivals250, but was still ranked behind prospects like David Cornwell, Justice Hansen and Michael O’Connor.
What he did this weekend: Rudolph was mentioned by many media outlets as a preseason Heisman contender and he didn’t disappoint in the Cowboys' Week 1 game, throwing for 303 yards and three touchdowns while completing 20-of-24 passes. The performance has become the norm for Rudolph during his time as a starter in Stillwater and he is likely to be one of the top quarterbacks taken in next year’s NFL Draft.
As a recruit: Bryant collected offers from several of college football’s best programs but many coaches thought he might be suited to play tight end at the next level. Eventually Clemson came through with an offer and quickly jumped to the top of Bryant’s list, eventually landing his commitment over Florida.
What he did this weekend: Filling the shoes of one of the best players in Clemson football history isn’t easy, but Bryant did quite a job in his first start in orange. In addition to passing for 236 yards, Bryant also ran for 77 yards and a touchdown. With the injury to Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois, the ACC is wide open and if Bryant can continue to play like he did Saturday, the Tigers will be in contention for another ACC title.
As a recruit: Stidham was ranked in the 2015 Rivals100 and signed with Baylor out of high school over Oregon and Texas Tech, where he was once committed. After an injury forced him into action as a true freshman, he quickly lived up to his pre-college hype, completing 68 percent of his passes in 10 appearances before suffering his own season-ending injury. Following the scandal at Baylor, Stidham elected to transfer, spending a year redshirting at a junior college before landing at Auburn.
What he did this weekend: Stidham wasn’t asked to do much for Auburn in his debut performance, but considering the Tigers were without some key offensive players, leading the team to 40-plus points while passing for two touchdowns and rushing for another is a great start.
As a recruit: Louisville was the main school to show Jackson attention early in the process and nabbed his commitment prior to his senior year. After a remarkable final season in high school, Jackson drew interest from Florida and Auburn but ended up sticking to his commitment to the Cardinals.
What he did this weekend: The reigning Heisman Trophy winner has put up some pretty big stat lines over the past year and Saturday was another excellent performance. Jackson threw for 378 yards and touchdowns while rushing for 107 yards as well. The Cardinals escaped with a closer than expected win over Purdue and it’s clear Jackson will need another huge season to lead the Cardinals to a major bowl game.