As the College Football regular season winds to a close, we take a look back at the 2018 quarterback recruiting class, headlined by Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, two quarterbacks who are on top of their NFL class of 2021.
The Elites
Trevor Lawrence
Trevor Lawrence, who was ranked as the best quarterback in the 2018 recruiting class, is one of the few elite quarterbacks in this class. Lawrence was recruited to play for Clemson and was tasked with filling the shoes of Deshaun Watson, another highly touted quarterback who brought Clemson a national championship. Lawrence was labeled as a five-star quarterback and he was ranked first in the entire class, and of course, the best quarterback in the class. During his time at Clemson, he threw for 3000 yards yearly, having his career-high in 2019, when he threw for 3665 yards, 36 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and a quarterback rating of 166.7. Lawrence also contributed to a national championship team, as he led the Clemson Tigers over a talented Nick-Saban led Alabama team in 2018-19. This Alabama team consisted of three NFL quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, and Mac Jones. This Crimson Tide team also had Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy, Damien Harris, Josh Jacobs, Devonta Smith, Irv Smith Jr., Jaylen Waddle, Henry Ruggs III, Xavier McKinney, and Patrick Surtain. Clemson did not quite have the firepower Alabama did, but they did have NFL players, including Travis Etienne Jr., Justyn Ross, Hunter Renfrow, Isaiah Simmons, Tee Higgins, K’Von Wallace, Christian Wilkins, and Clelin Ferell. Trevor Lawrence beat an Alabama team with less talent a big reason why people called him a generational talent and why he is the best quarterback in his 2018 recruiting class.
Justin Fields
Justin Fields is known for his time at Ohio State University, but he originally committed to the University of Ohio Georgia to play quarterback. He entered the transfer portal after his freshman season because he wasn’t seeing much playing time as in 12 games, he saw 39 passing attempts, so he saw an opportunity to play at one of the blue blood in college football and committed to play for Ohio State. Many could say Fields looked better than Lawrence in his last two years at Ohio State than Lawrence did in his last two years at Clemson. Fields threw a career-high 3273 yards, 41 touchdowns, and three interceptions while having an insane 181.4 quarterback rating. Justin Fields led the Buckeyes to the national championship in his last game, but a similar Alabama team that Lawrence beat, defeated Ohio State in 2020-21 by a score of 52-24. Fields and the Buckeyes did defeat Clemson and Trevor Lawrence before losing in the national championship game, and Fields also led Ohio State to being two-time Big Ten Champions.
Michael Penix
Michael Penix was not viewed as an elite quarterback coming out of high school, as he was ranked as the 66th quarterback in the 2018 class, recruited by the Indiana Hoosiers. He was rated as a three-star quarterback and was ranked 247th in his class overall. Penix brought life to Bloomington that with him they were a threat to Ohio State to win the Big Ten, but injuries negatively derailed him and the Hoosiers. He clicked in his sophomore and junior seasons, throwing for 1394 yards in 2019 and 1645 in 2020. None of those were full seasons, as he played a total of 15 games in those two seasons alone. Injuries and Indiana not giving him the supporting cast resulted in Penix transferring, as he went to the West Coast and committed to Washington. He turned Washington’s quarterback problem into a strength, as he is a big part of why the Washington Huskies could be going to the college football playoffs for the first time since 2016, which is their only appearance. Penix is a Heisman favorite in 2023, as he is on pace for 4000 yards, 34 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He also has the Huskies vying for a playoff spot if they can beat Oregon for the second time this year.
The Good
Will Levis
Will Levis, known for his time in Kentucky, was not viewed as a top ten quarterback in this 2018 class, as he was ranked as the number 41 quarterback and was recruited to play at Penn State for James Franklin. Levis transferred because of his lack of playing time, as he only had 102 passing attempts in 15 games. Sean Clifford was the quarterback for Penn State so Levis even seeing the field was a positive sign for him. Levis transferred to Kentucky to play for Mark Stoops and a top-25 team. Levis was viewed as a pocket passer and a quarterback who had a big arm, and Stoops unlocked those traits of his in big-time games. Kentucky never won an SEC championship game or went to the College Football Playoffs, but Kentucky was a top 15 team every year Levis was there, so that speaks to the value of Levis and what he accomplished at Kentucky. Levis had a career-best in his senior year when NFL scouts began to take notice of the quarterback as being a day-one draft pick.
Cameron Rising
Cameron Rising, who was recruited out of high school to play at Texas, was ranked the 22nd-best quarterback in the 2018 class. Rising has established himself as a good quarterback, many may say he is a top ten quarterback in college football, but he has had only one truly great year. Still, Rising beat a USC team led by many believe to be a future phenom in quarterback Caleb Williams. Rising had Utah in the top-ten teams of college football, and he may do it again in the 2024-25 season, as he was sidelined by injury in 2023.
Matt Corral
Matt Corral is one of the few quarterbacks who stayed with the team that he signed with out of high school, the Ole Miss Rebels. Corral had back-to-back great seasons in 2020 and 2021, passing for mid-3000 yards and 20 or more touchdowns. The only disparity from the two seasons from Corral is taking care of the ball, and ball security, as he had nine more interceptions in 2020 and was a big reason why Ole Miss was in a better position in 2021. Corral had a season-ending injury near the end of 2021 and was a big reason why he was not a first-round draft pick in 2022, being drafted 94th in the third round by the Carolina Panthers.
Honorable Mentions
This class is so deep that a lot of quarterbacks were bound to be left off the good and elite levels. Guys like Spencer Sanders, Jordan Travis, Joe Milton, Adrian Martinez, Devin Leary, Sam Hartman, Brock Purdy, Clayton Tune, and Trey Lance deserve to be on the good list, but they did not show enough to be labeled as top ten to twenty level quarterback. The 2018 recruiting class was one for the ages, and you may see more than three franchise quarterbacks in the NFL!
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