Players like Jake Delhomme and Tony Romo have overcome high school obscurity to become stars in the NFL.
By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
Each week MaxPreps charts the progress of the nation’s best quarterbacks, including Matt Barkley of Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), Garrett Gilbert of Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) and Aaron Murray of Plant (Tampa, Fla.). While the talented trio will likely rake in their fare share of awards at season’s end, it is interesting to note that national honors and tremendous success at the high school level doesn’t always equal NFL stardom.
This is not to say that Barkley, Gilbert and Murray will not succeed at the next level and are not capable of reaching the NFL; however, quarterbacks who have earned All-American honors over the past 25 years have a poor track record of NFL success.
While choosing the nation’s best quarterback is most certainly a difficult task, it is perhaps ironic that only one quarterback chosen by USA Today as a first-team All-American appears headed toward a possible Hall of Fame career – and it’s not even in the sport of football. Joe Mauer was the publication’s first team quarterback in 2000, but he gave up the gridiron to concentrate on baseball, where he has emerged as one of the Major League’s top catchers.
Of the last 26 players chosen first-team All-American by USA Today, none are current starters in the NFL (four are still in college) and only one, Jeff George, can be considered to have a successful, albeit controversial, NFL career.
With that said, here’s a look at the top 10 quarterbacks who have had the most unlikely rise to the position of NFL starting quarterback.
10. Jake Delhomme, Carolina Panthers
Although he threw for over 3,300 yards and 32 touchdowns his senior year at Teurlings Catholic High School in Lafayette, La., Delhomme was not an All-State quarterback. Instead he earned All-State honors on defense at defensive back. He went on to play at University of Southwestern Louisiana and finished his college career 22nd all-time in passing yardage in NCAA history. After playing in NFL Europe, Delhomme had a brief stint with the New Orleans Saints before hooking up with the Carolina Panthers in 2003. Delhomme led the Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII where they lost to the New England Patriots.
9. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Ryan did not earn All-State honors during his three years as a starter at William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, but he was All-City first team as a senior in 2002. Ryan went to Boston College, where he started his final two seasons. He gained some Heisman Trophy consideration his final season and was the third overall pick in the 2008 draft.
8. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
Flacco was not an All-State choice while attending Audobon High School in New Jersey, but he did manage to receive a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh. There, he was a backup his first two seasons, prompting him to transfer to University of Delaware, where he earned third team All-American honors his senior year. He was selected in the first round of the 2008 draft by the Ravens and became Baltimore’s opening-day starter as a rookie.
7. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals
Warner’s rise from grocery store clerk to two-time NFL MVP has been well-chronicled. He started out as quarterback for Regis High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and led his team to the 3A title. He earned All-State honors by the Des Moines Register, but was mired at third on the depth chart until his senior year at the University of Northern Iowa. He earned the Gateway Conference’s MVP award his senior year, but was not drafted by the NFL. After stints in NFL Europe and Arena Football, Warner eventually signed with the St. Louis Rams and led them to Super Bowl XXXIV where he was named the game’s MVP. He currently is the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals.
6. Brett Favre, New York Jets
Although Favre played for his father at Hancock North Central High School in Kiln, Miss., Favre rarely passed in his father’s run-oriented offense. As a result, he received scholarship offers to play defensive back, according to his Wikipedia entry. Favre eventually worked his way up from seventh on the depth chart at Southern Mississippi. A second round draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons, Favre was traded to Green Bay in 1992 and has gone on to have one of the all-time great careers in NFL history. He is a three-time MVP and owns nearly ever career passing mark, including yards, touchdowns, completions and attempts. He was traded during the offseason to the New York Jets.
5. Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Brady was not an All-State player while playing at Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif. Although he received a scholarship to Michigan, he did not start until his junior year and earned honorable mention All-Big 10 honors his senior year. The 199th pick in the 2000 NFL draft, Brady became a starter in 2001 and has led the Patriots to four Super Bowl appearances and three NFL crowns.
4. Matt Cassell, New England Patriots
Have to include Cassell on this list even though he won’t be the starter once Brady returns from a knee injury next season. Cassell was All-City at Chatsworth High School in the Los Angeles area but never started a game in college. He was the backup to both Carson Palmer and Matt Leinert at USC before being drafted by the Patriots. Until Brady was injured in the first game of the 2008 season, Cassell had never started a game in his four-year NFL career.
3. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
Romo played on losing teams at high school in Burlington, Wis., but managed to earn a spot on the all-county team. He went on to a sterling career at Eastern Illinois University and was the three-time Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, but was not drafted by the NFL. He joined the Dallas Cowboys as a free agent in 2003 and worked his way up the depth chart before finally taking over in 2006. He has twice earned Pro Bowl honors.
2. J.T. O’Sullivan, San Francisco 49ers
O’Sullivan earned All-Metro honors by the Sacramento Bee while leading Jesuit High School to a Sac-Joaquin Section crown in 1995. Although he did not receive any Division I scholarship offers, he attended California-Davis and threw for 10,745 yards during his three-year career with the Aggies. He was drafted in the sixth round by the New Orleans Saints in 2002 and has played in NFL Europe and with eight NFL teams before landing a starting role with the San Francisco 49ers in 2008.
1. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Rodgers received just one Division I offer while setting school records and earning All-Northern Section honors at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, Calif. He turned down the offer to play junior college football at nearby Butte College, making Rodgers the only player on this list to play at the JC level before making it to Division I. California coach Jeff Tedford saw Rodgers on a recruiting trip to watch another Butte College player and signed Rodgers to a scholarship. He went on to three years as a starter with the Bears, earning All-Pac-10 honors in 2004. Drafted in the first round by the Green Bay Packers in 2005, he was the backup to Favre for three season before being handed the starting role this year.
