Five-star quarterbacks are hit or miss when it comes to college football and NFL success.
The 2019 class features two five-star quarterbacks in Auburn commit Bo Nix (Pinson, Ala.) and Oklahoma commit Spencer Rattler (Phoenix, Ariz.).
They will join a list of active college five-star quarterbacks that includes Clemson's Trevor Lawrence, USC's JT Daniels and Georgia's Justin Fields from the class of 2018.
The 2017 class includes Stanford's Davis Mills, Northwestern’s Hunter Johnson, Georgia's Jake Fromm and Texas A&M's Kellen Mond. The last two five-star quarterbacks from the class of 2016 — Washington’s Jacob Eason and Michigan’s Shea Patterson, round out that group still waiting for the next level.
Sporting News ranked those Rivals.com five-star quarterbacks based on their combined college and NFL success. Which quarterbacks turned out to be the biggest studs? Duds?
Here's a closer look:
1. Cam Newton, Florida/Auburn (2007)
High school: Westlake (Atlanta)
College: Newton was kicked off the team at Florida and played a year Blinn College. Auburn gave Newton a second chance, and he answered with 4,327 total yards and 50 TDs while leading the Tigers to the national championship in 2010.
Pro: The Panthers drafted Newton with the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He broke the rookie record with 4,051 passing yards in 2011. Newton led the Panthers to Super Bowl 50 and earned MVP honors. He's emerged as one of the best QBs in the NFL.
2. Matthew Stafford, Georgia (2006)
High school: Highland Park (Dallas)
College: Stafford led Georgia to a 30-8 record from 2006-08, and he totaled 51 TDs and 33 interceptions in that stretch. He also led the Bulldogs to three straight bowl wins, including the 2008 Sugar Bowl.
Pro: The Lions took Stafford with the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, and he's 60-65 as a starter. He led Detroit to the playoffs in 2011, 2014 and 2016.
3. Deshaun Watson, Clemson (2014)
High school: Gainesville (Gainesville, Ga.)
College: Watson enjoyed a banner at Clemson that included back-to-back runs to the College Football Playoff championship game in 2015 and 2016. He threw the game-winning TD pass to Hunter Renfrow for a 35-31 victory in 2016; the program's first national title since 1981. He finished his college career with 116 total TDs.
Pro: The Texans took Watson with the No. 12 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and he started to show that promise with a 402-yard, four-TD game against Seattle on Oct. 29, 2017. Watson bounced back from a torn ACL and has the Texans in the playoff hunt.
4. Tim Tebow, Florida (2006)
High school: Nease (Ponte Vedra, Fla.)
College: Tebow was part of a dream recruiting class that finished 44-9 and won two national championships for the Gators. Tebow won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and totaled and finished with 145 total touchdowns for his career.
Pro: Tebow's four-year NFL career offered social media bursts, including the win against Pittsburgh in the 2011 AFC wild card game, but he never stuck as a NFL starter. Tebow now works for ESPN as a college football analyst and is playing in the minor leagues for the New York Mets.
5. Jameis Winston, Florida State (2012)
High school: Hueytown (Bessemer, Ala.)
College: Winston led Florida State to the 2013 BCS national championship. He finished with 4,057 yards and 40 passing TDs en route to winning the Heisman Trophy. He didn't have the same numbers last season (3,907 yards, 28 TDs), but he still led the Seminoles to the first College Football Playoff. He finished his college career with a 27-1 record as a starter.
Pro: Winston was the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, and he's had an up-and-down three seasons in Tampa Bay. He's had an up-and-down career with the Buccaneers through four seasons.
6. Mark Sanchez, USC (2005)
High school: Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, Calif.)
College: Sanchez struggled with injuries until his junior year, in which he broke out with 3,207 passing yards, 34 TDs and 10 interceptions in leading to a 12-1 record and Rose Bowl win against Penn State.
Pro: Sanchez led the New York Jets to the AFC championship game in 2009 and 2010. He's bounced around Philadelphia, Denver, Dallas and Chicago since. Sanchez resurfaced as the Redskins' starting quarterback this season after Alex Smith was injured.
7. Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech (2007)
High school: Hampton (Hampton, Va.)
College: Taylor fit in well at Virginia Tech, especially in his final two seasons. He led the Hokies to three Orange Bowls, but he finished 1-5 against Top 10 teams through his college career.
Pro: Taylor served as a backup in Baltimore before signing with Buffalo in 2015, where he's put together a nice stretch the last three seasons. He led the Bills to the AFC playoffs in 2017-18. Taylor is a backup quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.
8. Josh Rosen, UCLA (2015)
High School: St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)
College: Rosen totaled 59 TDs and 26 interceptions over three seasons with the Bruins, but UCLA compiled an 18-22 record in those three seasons. Rosen, however, clearly has the tools to be a successful NFL quarterback.
Pro: Rosen was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals with the No. 10 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft and has taken over the starting job as a rookie.
9. Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State (2008)
High school: Jeannette (Jeannette, Pa.)
College: Pryor finished 31-4 as a starter at Ohio State, and he led the Buckeyes to wins in the 2010 Rose Bowl and 2011 Sugar Bowl and finished with 74 total TDs. Pryor, however, was part of the TattooGate scandal, and he opted to skip as suspension to start his senior season for the NFL supplemental draft.
Pro: Pryor played three seasons in Oakland, where he compiled a 3-7 record as a starter before being traded to Seattle. Pryor found new NFL life as a receiver with the Browns and Redskins. He enjoyed an 1,007-yard season with Cleveland in 2016.
10. Matt Barkley, USC (2009)
High school: Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
College: Barkley had an underrated college career in which he helped USC thrive despite NCAA probation. He finished 116 TDs and 48 interceptions. USC went 10-2 during Barkley's junior year but fell to 7-6 the following season while he dealt with a shoulder injury.
Pro: The Eagles drafted Barkley in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, but he's had five stops through a journey-man career. Barkley started one game for the Bills in 2018.
11. Blaine Gabbert, Missouri (2008)
High school: Parkway West (Ballwin, Mo.)
College: Gabbert led Missouri to an 18-8 record with 40 TDs and 18 interceptions from 2009-10. He closed his college career with 434 passing yards in a loss to Iowa.
Pro: Jacksonville took Gabbert with the No. 11 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, and he struggled as the starter for three seasons before being traded to San Francisco.
12. Ryan Mallett, Michigan/Arkansas (2007)
High school: Texarkana (Texarkana, Texas)
College: Mallett played in 11 games a freshman at Michigan, but he transferred to Arkansas when Rich Rodriguez was hired after the 2007 season. He threw 62 TD passes for the Razorbacks from 2009-10 and led the team to the 2011 Sugar Bowl.
Pro: Mallett has bounced around as backup with stops at New England, Houston and Baltimore since 2012. He's 3-5 as a starter with 1,835 passing yards, nine TDs and 10 interceptions.
13. Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame (2007)
High school: Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.)
College: Clausen put up statistics in college, but he had just a 16-18 record as a starter for the Irish from 2007-09. He did finish with 28 TDs and just four interceptions in 2009. He skipped his senior season to enter the NFL Draft.
Pro: The Panthers took Clausen in the second round, but he finished 1-10 as a starter, the last start coming with the Chicago Bears in 2014. He hasn't played in the NFL since a stint with Baltimore in 2015.
14. Christian Hackenberg, Penn State (2013)
High school: Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy
College: Hackeberg was a three-year starter at Penn State. He had an up-and-down career that totaled 48 TDs and 31 interceptions, but he did help the program emerge from NCAA sanctions into a better spot.
Pro: Hackenberg was a second-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, but he did not break through with the New York Jets. Hackenberg was drafted by the Memphis Express in the newly-formed Alliance of American Football.
15. Garrett Gilbert, Texas/SMU (2009)
High school: Lake Travis (Austin, Texas)
College: Gilbert was pressed into service in the 2010 BCS championship loss against Alabama, and he had 10 TDs and 17 interceptions the next season. Gilbert transferred to SMU, where he enjoyed success in 2013 (21 TDs, 7 INTs).
Pro: Gilbert has bounced around practice squads, but he did get a Super Bowl 49 ring with the Patriots. He played for the Carolina Panthers in 2017.
16. Kyle Allen, Texas A&M/Houston (2014)
High school: Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
College: Allen played two years at Texas A&M before transferring to Houston, where he played in four games in 2017. He finished his college career with 4,283 yards, 37 TDs and 18 interceptions.
Pro: Allen is on the Panthers' practice squad.
17. Gunner Kiel, Notre Dame/Cincinnati (2012)
High school: East (Columbus, Ind.)
College: Kiel transferred from Notre Dame after the 2012 season, and he opened his career for the Bearcats with six TDs against Toledo. Kiel finished with 31 TDs and 13 interceptions in 2014 but struggled over the next two seasons with inconsistency and injuries and eventually lost the starting job.
Pro: Kiel went undrafted in 2017.
18. Max Browne, USC/Pitt (2013)
High school: Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.)
College: Browne played sparingly at USC before transferring to Pitt, where he threw for 997 yards and five TDs before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.
Pro: Browne went undrafted in 2018.
19. Mitch Mustain, Arkansas/USC (2006)
High school: Springdale (Springdale, Ark.)
College: Mustain compiled an 8-0 record as a starter his freshman year, but he was replaced by Casey Dick midseason. Mustain transferred to USC, where he played only in mop-up duty from 2008-10.
Pro: Mustain has played in the CFL and Arena Football League since college, the last stop with the San Antonio Talons in 2014.
20. Ryan Perrilloux, LSU (2005)
High school: East St. John (Reserve, La.)
College: Perrilloux's claim to fame is filling in for an injured Matt Flynn in the 2007 SEC Championship Game, but the rest of his tenure in Baton Rouge didn't go so well. He was suspended twice and ended up at Jacksonville State in 2008.
Pro: Perrilloux played one season with the New York Giants in 2011. He's played in the UFL, CFL and Arena Football League, including a stint with the New Orleans Voodoo.
21. Dayne Crist, Notre Dame/Kansas (2008)
High school: Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)
College: Crist played well as a sophomore in 2010 but lost the starting job to Tommy Rees in the season opener. Crist transferred to Kansas, but he never recaptured the magic with Charlie Weis.
Pro: Crist played on Baltimore's practice squad in 2013.
