Quarterback Dominoes Shaping CFB Recruiting Class of 2022

Elite junior quarterbacks wasting no time claiming spots at top Power 5 programs

Monday kicked off with the college football recruiting world focused on National Signing Day Wednesday, but it's hard for it to ignore the elite junior talent coming off the board seemingly every day. 

The quarterback position leads this charge as the search for the future face of the program is a constant pursuit by the nation's top coaches and coordinators. 

There are already a dozen Power 5 programs with top signal callers locked into a class of 2022 commitment list. 

Even new Auburn head coach Byran Harsin has hit the ground running, reeling in his first QB recruit in Georgia's Holden Geriner Monday. The Savannah native, re-offered just a week ago by AU, wrapped up 2020 with a stunning 25 to 3 touchdown to interception ratio while completing 67% of his pass attempts.

COMMITTED #WarEagle @CoachHarsin @CoachMikeBobo pic.twitter.com/2DgWXi2jQn

— Holden Geriner™️ (@holdengeriner) February 1, 2021

"I grew up watching the SEC and it’s always been a dream of mine to play in the SEC," Geriner told SI All-American. "So to have the opportunity to at such an incredible school, academically and athletically, and to play for two former quarterbacks in Coach Harsin and Coach (Mike) Bobo was extremely appealing to me.

"I’ve talked with Coach Bobo and Coach Harsin a lot about what they plan on doing and it is very similar to my style of play, which is perfect."

Another Peach State star in Gunner Stockton recently created movement in making his decision, for in-state Georgia, last week. It wrapped up one of the more high profile recruiting battles in the country as the Bulldogs keep him within state lines over a once-surging Auburn following its addition of Bobo as offensive coordinator. The physical prospect was a longtime South Carolina commitment to Bobo before the administration made its coaching change. 

Another elite who changed his mind at the position came via Quinn Ewers, the Southlake (Texas) Carroll star who backed off of a longtime Texas football commitment to play in the Big Ten for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Most consider the junior to be the state, and perhaps the nation's, top passing prospect for next cycle.

On Sunday afternoon, Arizona prep passer Nicco Marchiol announced his intentions to play at Florida State once his Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton High School career comes to a close. Florida, Arizona State and Rutgers were also in the mix. 

Aligning with the theme of Geriner and Marchiol popping in a 24-hour span, recent history illustrates just how busy the class of 2022 has been at the game's most important position. The QB recruit is the table-setter for any recruiting class, both in perception as well as in peer recruiting, an area more important now than in modern memory given pandemic-era recruiting restrictions. 

The next group is claiming its collective spot with a speedy pace. USC, LSU, Penn State, Purdue, Utah, Washington State, Cal and Boston College join Florida State, Georgia, Auburn and Ohio State among those with the class headliner already on board.   

More commitment news is coming soon, too, with Ty Simpson on the verge of making the call to end his contested recruitment. 

I will be making my college decision February 19th at 2:00pm(cst) at Westview High School. Everyone is welcome to come.

— Ty Simpson (@ty_simpson06) January 31, 2021

The Martin (Tenn.) Westview standout has more than three dozen scholarship offers to his name, but appears to be down to blue bloods like Clemson, Alabama, Texas A&M and Notre Dame. Simpson is of course considering Tennessee, but the coaching change relative to a decision some three weeks later doesn't have the feel of a prospect ready to represent the home state program despite 'love' for the Josh Heupel offense.

Among the most dynamic talents at the position inside the pocket or out, Maalik Murphy may become the most coveted passer target out West. This may have been true even before the departure of California native AJ Duffy for IMG Academy in Florida. New Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff just re-offered Murphy to reiterate his positioning on the board in the 2022 cycle. UCLA, Oregon, Michigan and others are also involved. Duffy's group of options are relatively similar, though he doesn't appear close to making the final call.

In looking beyond the programs in the mix for Simpson and Murphy, there is crossover in several top programs coveting the same prospect as the QB dominoes continue to fall. Jacurri Brown (video, top of story), of Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes, is heavily targeted by Florida and was by Auburn's former staff. Should the Gators gain an advantage moving forward, the rest of the region's dominoes may become clearer. 

Several uncommitted passers with a bevy of options lie within the Southern footprint. Joining Simpson and Brown are fellow Peach Staters Sam Horn  and MJ Morris, along with Kentucky's Gavin Wimsatt and Alabama's Tanner Bailey, each with SEC and ACC programs at the forefront of the process to date. Of course Texas and California are well represented at the position, even among the uncommitted, too. 

Perhaps the hottest QB name following the 2020 season is Lone Star state champion Cade Klubnik, who led Austin (Texas) Westlake to a second-straight title run, scoring 50 touchdowns (35 passing) in the condensed campaign. The Longhorns reaffirmed their position and charge to keep him in town and Penn State offered over the weekend to follow up a Florida tender in late January. Texas may have the widest net cast in search of Sarkisian's first QB recruit as the head man.

Things could accelerate at a faster clip in February, thanks to an NCAA ruling just in over the last several days that has just gone into effect.

Beginning February 1, programs are allowed to initiate phone calls with prospects in this class of 2022. It's a pandemic-related recruiting response to compensate for a lack of in-person evaluation and contact over the last calendar each year. 

One would expect the added layer of pressure to create more movement with the prospects at the game's most important position. 

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