Elite 11 Finals 2024: Revisiting last 10 MVP quarterbacks in transition to college, NFL (2024)

Julian Sayinenrolled at Alabama for fewer than two weeks before he hit the transfer portal after the retirement announcement from Nick Saban. The five-star quarterback from Carlsbad (Calif.) quickly moved on to Ohio State where he joined an already crowded room of talented passers. Sayin ranked as the No. 1 quarterback and No. 6 overall recruit in the 2024 high school class. He held a long list of offersthat included Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, USC and many others.

As a senior in high school, Sayin earned Gatorade California Player of the Year honors. He posted a 9-1 record as a starter, throwing for 2,347 yards with 24 touchdowns and just one interception. He played an impressive 74.5% of his passes while also carrying the ball 29 times for 186 yards and four touchdowns.

One of the top overall prospects in the 2023 recruiting class, Jackson Arnold rated as the No. 4 quarterback and No. 10 recruit coming out of Denton (Texas) Guyer. He possessed a 99 grade as a five-star prospect. Arnold signed with Oklahoma with a slew of additional offers from Alabama, Florida, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Tennessee and many others.He enters the 2024 season as QB1 in Norman after flashing during his limited action as a true freshman. Arnold completed 44 of 69 (63.8%) pass attempts for 563 yards and four touchdowns with three interceptions while appearing in six games for the Sooners. He also rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries.

Cade Klubnikskyrocketed up the national rankings during the 2022 recruiting cycle as a star at Austin (Texas) Westlake. He finished his high school career as a five-star prospect with a 98 grade. Klubnik ranked as the No. 2 quarterback and No. 13 overall recruit regardless of position in the class. He signed with Clemson, but held more than 30 known offers as one of the most sought-after passers in the cycle.

Consistency has been a concern for Klubnik, who took over the reins as the starting quarterback at Clemson in 2023 after appearing in 10 games as a true freshman the year prior. He completed 63.9% of his passes for 2,844 yards and 19 touchdowns with nine interceptions. The Tigers are much healthier and talented at receiver in 2024, which could help Klubnik put up more impressive numbers as he enters Year 2 as the starter.

Coming out of Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga in the 2021 recruiting class, Caleb Williams rated as a five-star prospect with a 99 grade. He ranked as the No. 2 quarterback and No. 8 overall recruit nationally in the cycle. Williams committed and later signed with Oklahoma over additional offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Texas A&M, USC and many others.

Williams spent just one season with the Sooners in 2021 before following head coach Lincoln Riley to USC as the top-rated transfer in the class. Williams put up historic numbers with the Trojans, winning the Heisman Trophy and earning unanimous first-team All-America honors during the 2022 campaign. A few of his single-season record numbers at USC include total offense (4,919 yards), most touchdowns scored rushing and passing (52), passing completions (333), passes attempted (500), most passing yards gained (4,537), most touchdown passes thrown (42), most rushing and passing plays (613), lowest rate of interceptions (1%, 5 in 500 attempts) and highest passing efficiency rating (168.5).

The Chicago Bears selected Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Another former five-star prospect, C.J. Stroud held a 98 grade coming out of Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) in the 2020 recruiting class. He ranked as the No. 2 pro-style quarterback and No. 29 overall prospect nationally. Stroud signed with Ohio State over Georgia, Michigan and numerous other Power Five programs.

Stroud spent his first year at Ohio State backing up quarterback Justin Fields as a true freshman. He earned the starting role in 2021 and quickly became one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. Stroud was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, two-time Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Year and two-time Big Ten Quarterback of the Year. He ended his college career with a 21-4 record as the Buckeyes’ starter. Stroud completed 69.3% of his passes at Ohio State, totaling 8,123 yards and 85 passing touchdowns against 12 interceptions. He also added 80 rushes for 136 yards and a touchdown.

Stroud earned NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honorswith the Houston Texans.

Spencer Rattler was the top-ranked pro-style quarterback in the 2019 recruiting class coming out of Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle. The five-star prospect possessed a 99 grade and rated as the No. 9 overall recruit nationally in the cycle. Rattler signed with Oklahoma and former head coach Lincoln Riley over additional offers from Alabama, Miami, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and others.

Rattler spent the first three years of his college career with the Sooners, playing in a total of 23 games with 17 starts. He completed 361 of his 515 pass attempts for 4,595 yards and 40 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. Rattler rushed the ball 127 times for 260 yards and nine additional scores.

After the 2021 season, Rattler entered the transfer portal, eventually landing at South Carolina where he started every game the past two seasons. Rattler surpassed 10,000 career passing yards and finished with 77 touchdown passes at the end of the five-year stint in college. The New Orleans Saints selected Rattler in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, a pick considered to be a potential steal by industry experts.

Justin Fields would have been the top overall prospect in the 2018 recruiting class had it not been for Trevor Lawrence. Fields ranked second behind Lawrence in the cycle, but both were five-star prospects with 101 grades. Fields held more than 40 known offers and signed with Georgia coming out of Kennesaw (Ga.) Harrison.

Fields completed 396 of 579 passes for 5,373 yards and 63 touchdowns against nine interceptions during his pair of seasons at Ohio State. He also rushed for 867 yards and 15 touchdowns on 218 carries.

The Chicago Bears selected Fields with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He spent the past three seasons as the starting quarterback before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in March.Fields completed 60.3% of his throws for 6,674 yards with 40 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. He also rushed for more than 2,200 yards with 14 additional scores on the ground.

Before helping Alabama to a College Football Playoff National Championship as a true freshman in 2017, Tua Tagovailoa rated as a five-star prospect coming out of Honolulu (Hawaii) St. Louis. He ranked as the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback and No. 22 overall prospect nationally in the class.

During his three years with the Tide, Tagovailoa posted a 22-2 record as the starting quarterback. He was a runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 2018, winning the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award that same year as a consensus All-American. He ended his college career with 7,442 yards passing and 87 passing touchdowns against just 11 interceptions.

The Miami Dolphins picked Tagovailoawith the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Infour seasons, heowns a 32-19 record with12,639 passing yards and104 total touchdowns — 81 passing, 23 rushing. Tagovailoa earned his first Pro Bowl selection and led the NFL in passing yards during the 2023 season.

A five-star prospect coming out of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, Shea Patterson ranked as the No. 1 pro-style quarterback in the 2016 class. He was also the No. 3 overall recruit nationally with a 99 grade. Patterson signed with Ole Miss over additional offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC and a handful of others top programs.

Patterson was with the Rebels for two seasons, appearing in 10 games. In 2018, he transferred to Michigan where he became the starter for the next two years. Patterson started in all 26 games he appeared in with the Wolverines. A finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award in 2018, Patterson ended his college career with 8,800 passing yards and 76 total touchdowns.Patterson went undrafted in 2020.

Blake Barnett had quite the journey as a college quarterback, but rated as a five-star prospect coming out of Corona (Calif.) Santiago in the 2015 class. He owned a 98 grade and ranked as the No. 2 pro-style quarterback, as well as the No. 23 overall recruit regardless of position nationally. He signed with Alabama over additional offers from Arizona, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Oregon, UCLA and others.

Barnett was with the Tide for one season in 2015 before transferring to Palomar College in California. In 2017, Barnett transferred to Arizona State where he appeared in four games. He graduated in spring of 2018 before making another move to USF where he spent the final two years of his college career.

Barnett played in a total of 17 games for the Bulls, completing 254 of 427 passes for 3,144 yards and 16 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. He gained 364 yards and scored eight rushing touchdowns on 130 carries.