Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports
No matter at Ohio State or Florida, Urban has a great track record at identifying elite quarterback talent.
Urban Meyer has recruited and coached an incredible lineup of quarterbacks during his tenure at Florida and Ohio State. After inheriting Chris Leak at Gainesville, his very first quarterback commit in the 2006 recruiting class was future Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.
His newest quarterback commit, 2017’s Tate Martell, is currently the top dual-threat quarterback in the 2017 class and further extended Ohio State’s lead as the best recruiting class in the country according to 247 Sports Composite Team Rankings. He’ll join 2016’s Dwayne Haskins, who Urban Meyer called “the best QB recruit he’s ever seen.”
So how does Martell compare to the best quarterbacks that Meyer has recruited?
| Year | School | Player | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Ohio State | Tate Martell | 0.9831 |
| 2017 | Ohio State | Danny Clark | 0.8958 |
| 2016 | Ohio State | Dwayne Haskins | 0.9550 |
| 2014 | Ohio State | Stephen Collier | 0.8588 |
| 2013 | Ohio State | J.T. Barrett | 0.9348 |
| 2012 | Ohio State | Cardale Jones | 0.8704 |
| 2011 | Florida | Jeff Driskel | 0.9915 |
| 2011 | Florida | Jacoby Brissett | 0.9405 |
| 2010 | Florida | Tyler Murphy | 0.8176 |
| 2007 | Florida | John Brantley | 0.9837 |
| 2007 | Florida | Cam Newton | 0.9554 |
| 2007 | Florida | Bryan Waggener | 0.8889 |
| 2006 | Florida | Tim Tebow | 0.9989 |
If you organize that list by rating, Martell is Meyer’s fourth-highest rated quarterback recruit and best at Ohio State.
Besides Tebow, Jeff Driskel and John Brantley — who were the second- and third-highest rated quarterbacks to commit to Urban Meyer — can be considered disappointments based on their college careers. Driskel never actually played for Meyer, as he resigned at Florida before Driskel got on campus. Forced in to multiple offensive schemes that never maximized his abilities, he eventually transferred again to Louisiana Tech, where he found enough success to be drafted by San Francisco. John Brantley, a Florida legacy, was a poor fit for Urban Meyer’s scheme.
Dwayne Haskins, who holds the title of highest-rated quarterback at Ohio State currently, will lose that distinction in just a year, though the two will battle to replace J.T. Barrett.
Though Urban Meyer’s track record includes a number of high-profile transfers, he really only has one miss in Brantley. Besides that poor scheme fit, all of his blue-chip quarterbacks had impressive college careers: Tebow, Newton at Auburn, Brissett at NC State, Driskell at Louisiana Tech, and Barrett currently.