Clemson has been pretty good at recruiting quarterbacks over the course of the Dabo Swinney era.
MaxPreps has ranked the Top-20 high school quarterbacks over the past 20 years and three Clemson Tigers made the list.
Kyler Murray tops the list, but coming in at No. 2 behind him is outgoing Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, one of three Tigers to crack the Top-10.
“Georgia’s all-time passing leader threw for 13,908 yards and 161 touchdowns during his high school career. He went 52-3 as a starter and led the Hurricanes to a couple of state titles and a 41-game winning streak that stretched from his sophomore to senior year. Lawrence was the No. 1 rated player in the Class of 2018 and was named the MaxPreps Freshman of the Year and Junior of the Year.”
MaxPreps on Lawrence
The second Clemson quarterback on the list came in at No. 4 and no, it isn’t Deshaun Watson. That spot goes to D.J Uiagalelei, who now steps into the starting spot at quarterback heading into next season.
“Finished his high school career on top as the Braves were named national champs by every media outlet in 2019. He was named the MaxPreps Co-Player of the Year with Bryce Young after throwing for 4,225 yards and had 48 touchdowns against two interceptions. He added another 400-plus yards and eight scores on the ground. The five-star recruit was the No. 1 pro style quarterback in the Class of 2020 and ended his career with 10,496 yards passing and 1,103 yards rushing to go with 145 total touchdowns playing against elite competition across the country.”
MaxPreps on Uiagalelei
Watson is the final Clemson quarterback to make the list and comes in at the No. 7 spot. He was named MaxPreps junior of the year after passing for over 4,000 yards with 50 touchdowns and totaling nearly 1,500 rushing yards with 24 more TDs.
“Ranks second all-time in Georgia in passing yards (13,077) and passing touchdowns (155). His 17,124 yards of total offense and 218 total touchdowns rank first all-time in Peach State history. He was named the MaxPreps Junior of the Year after throwing for 4,024 yards and 50 touchdowns to go with 1,441 yards rushing and 24 scores while leading the Red Elephants to their first state title. Watson was the top-rated dual threat quarterback in the Class of 2014 on 247Sports composite rankings.”
MaxPreps on Watson
Many have said that Lawrence had all of the talent and he’s expected to go No. 1 overall in the upcoming NFL Draft, while Watson who went 12th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft had the “it” factor to go along with his talent. Now we get to see if Uiagalelei has what it takes to continue what the other two Tigers on this list have accomplished.
