Texas adds another Five-Star Plus+ quarterback to the equation
On3 has deemed a select number of prospects since the class of 2015 on to be labeled as a Five-Star Plus+, meaning every major recruiting service puts five stars by their name in their rankings. Only six quarterbacks to this point have been Five-Star Plus+ prospects, and Texas can now claim two of them.
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Quinn Ewers was a Five-Star Plus+ prospect in the 2021 class. Though his career started out with the Ohio State Buckeyes, he eventually entered the transfer portal and chose Texas again after committing to the program during his Southlake Carroll High School days. On Thursday, Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Arch Manning, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2023 class according to the On3 Consensus, gave a pledge to Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns.
The other quarterbacks who join Manning and Ewers (so far) in the Five-Star Plus+ category are Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields in 2018, Bryce Young in 2020, and Malachi Nelson in 2023. Two of those players, Lawrence and Fields, are in the NFL and were top draft picks. Young won the Heisman Trophy last season and helped Alabama reach the College Football Playoff championship game after winning the SEC title. Nelson is one of the most respected passers to come from the West Coast.
Ewers, Manning, and Nelson have yet to make a name for themselves in college, but their impact on recruiting cannot be understated. Prospects who Texas was after in the transfer portal and in the 2022 class knew they would more than likely be catching passes from Ewers were they to pick Texas. Isaiah Neyor, Agiye Hall, and Tarique Milton thought enough of Ewers within Sarkisian’s offense to choose the burnt orange. 2021 Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison considered the Longhorns as well.
Now, a similar effect on the 2023 class is likely with Manning having the descriptor of “Texas commit” by his name along with Five-Star Plus+. Top offensive recruits, and even some on the defensive side of the ball, were waiting to see where Manning elected to attend college. These aren’t just any prospects, considering Manning’s other finalists of Georgia and Alabama. These are difference makers, like Johntay Cook and Cedric Baxter.
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For good measure, both Cook and Baxter are predicted to commit to Texas according on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM). It’s a reflection of players believing in the talent of Manning and wanting to be on his side, as well as their affinity for the Longhorn program.
That belief is also illustrated in the Five-Star Plus+ descriptor. It takes a five-star rating from On3 and the three other major recruiting services to earn the title of Five-Star Plus+.
Only six quarterbacks have ever had that attribute. Texas, and Sarkisian specifically, can now lay claim to two of them.
