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Quarterbacks Chase Daniel, Todd Reesing and Matthew Stafford have a lot in common. All three have been very successful at the collegiate level, with Daniel leading Missouri to a Big 12 North title, Reesing leading Kansas to a BCS bowl game victory and Stafford leading Georgia to a Sugar Bowl win and a preseason No. 1 ranking this season.
The trio dominating the collegiate football landscape has another thing in common that may be a painful realization for Longhorn fans: All three hail from the state of Texas, and all three could have been Longhorns. Their reasons for attending out-of-state schools all differ, and fans can take comfort in the fact that Texas was not the only school in the state to miss out on these guys.
Chase Daniel
Imagine Heisman trophy contender Chase Daniel wearing burnt orange. Pretty picture, isn't it?
According to Geoff Ketchum, a recruiting expert, radio host and the owner and publisher of Orangebloods.com, Texas never offered a scholarship to Chase Daniel, despite the fact that Daniel had always wanted to play for Texas. Daniel came out of high school the same year as Colt McCoy.
"In hindsight, now that he's a Heisman contender, it's easy to say they messed up, but that gets overplayed," Ketchum said. "If you look back on it, they got the guy they wanted that year, and that was Colt McCoy. Daniel had a lot of question marks because he is built more like a linebacker, is somewhat short for a quarterback, doesn't have the strongest arm in the world and came out of a system where quarterbacks put up big numbers year after year, and it's hard to judge their talent."
With a 31-1 record as a two-year starter at Carroll High School in Southlake, senior Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel already has a Texas-sized resume filled with football feats. In addition to throwing more than 8,000 yards and 90 touchdowns in his two seasons as quarterback, Daniel also led his team to a national No. 1 ranking after winning the 5A state championship, tagging on EA Sports National Player of the Year honors, too.
Daniel played sparingly as a freshman at Missouri, but in the following two seasons he's put both his name and the Tigers in the national spotlight. Last season, Daniel finished fourth in Heisman voting, leading Missouri to its best record in team history. This year, the Tigers start the season ranked seventh in the nation and hope to build on last year's successful season.
Todd Reesing
Todd Reesing, a former standout at local Lake Travis High School, wasn't a big name for most until he took the starting quarterback spot at Kansas his sophomore season. Even with more than 3,300 yards and 40 touchdown passes his senior season, the 5-foot-10-inch former Austinite was too short for most recruiters coming out of high school.
But after beating out fellow teammate Kerry Meier for the starting spot last year, Reesing led Kansas to a team best 11-1 regular season record, capping it off with a 24-21 victory in the Orange Bowl over Virginia Tech. The Jayhawks start this season ranked 13th in the USA Today Coaches Preseason Top 25 Poll, as they look to get back to a BCS Bowl game this year.
Ketchum saw ahead of the curve; he ranked Reesing as a top-50 prospect in the state of Texas his senior year.
"He had a cannon arm, but most teams wouldn't touch him with a 10-foot pole because he is only 5-foot-10 on a good day," Ketchum said. "It had to be a team like Kansas that took a chance on him, primarily because they had no choice. They would not have won a BCS game if it wasn't for Reesing."
Matthew Stafford
Entering this season with arguably the most hype and pressure will be junior Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford, who attended the football famous Highland Park High School in Dallas, will have big expectations as the Bulldogs start the season ranked first in the country. After an illustrious high school career, marked by a 15-0 senior season with 4,018 yards, 38 touchdowns and only six interceptions, the five-star recruit, Stafford, decided to play for Georgia instead of staying in state and playing for the Longhorns.
Ketchum said the Longhorns were Stafford's second choice.
"He had a lot of connections with Texas, but his relationship with Mark Richt was the key thing for him choosing Georgia," Ketchum said. "There was some talk that there was a girlfriend going to Georgia he wanted to follow, but I think in the end it was the comfort level with the coach as well as playing for a big-time football program in a very competitive conference."
Jevan Snead is a Stephenville product that originally committed to Florida, then switched and signed with Texas before losing the quarterback battle to Colt McCoy and transferring to Ole Miss. He is expected to be the Rebels' starter at quarterback this year.
"He's a small-town country boy that is best suited to play in a smaller college town," Ketchum said. "They are viewing him as a savior down there. The reason he went there was because of the atmosphere and the open depth chart."
The triumph of the out-of-state quarterbacks along with the success of two guys who stayed in state, Graham Harrell at Texas Tech and Colt McCoy at Texas, also show a trend of Texas becoming a state producing a dominating generation of quarterbacks. Previously, the state was known as more of a hotbed for running backs and defensive prospects.
The amount of talent coming from the state could be the biggest reason so many leave.
"When you look at it, there are 30 division-one-caliber quarterbacks in the state and only 10 schools to choose from," Ketchum said. "So realistically, two-thirds of them have to go out of state."
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