The bragging rights of Texas and California continue to mount this
weekend with the NFL playoffs. The two states boast three native quarterbacks each as four games will determine the finalists for the NFC and AFC
championship games.
The two states have traditionally featured the game's top players in the sport's premier position.
Entering the 2021 season, 13 of the 30 NFL teams started quarterbacks who prepped in either Texas (seven) or California (six).
If rating this weekend's California-Texas quarterbacks as high school players/college prospects, it would go like this:
1. Stafford: A 2006 graduate, the then-6-foot-3, 210-pounder was a five-star recruit and the No. 1 rated pro-style quarterback in the country. Despite missing three games with a knee injury, he completed 209 of 322 his senior season for 4,108 yards and 38 touchdowns leading Highland Park to a 15-0 record and 4A-1 state title. At the time, Mel Kiper Jr. predicted Stafford would someday be a No. 1 pick overall in a NFL Draft, which he was in 2009.
2. Mahomes: The MaxPreps 2013-14 Male Athlete of the Year was a three-sport star at Whitehouse, where he might have been better known in baseball and basketball. He did have a remarkable senior football season, accounting for more than 5,500 yards and 65 touchdowns for the 12-1 Wildcats, earning him 4A Texas State Player of the Year
honors by the Associated Press. He was ranked the No. 398 recruit overall nationally by 247Sports and No. 29-rated QB. Mahomes had three college offers and picked Texas Tech.
3. Brady: Now considered the G.O.A.T, Brady was barely recruited as a quarterback out of Serra. Instead the left-hand hitting catcher was known as a top baseball prospect. He didn't play a down of tackle football until his freshman season and even then he was a
backup on a winless team. But his big right arm eventually caught the attention of some. He threw for 3,514 yards and 33 touchdowns as a two-year varsity starter but neither squad made the playoffs. He did garner enough attention to secure a scholarship at Michigan.
4. Tannehill: Known more as an all-around athlete, Tannehill
actually was a defensive back as a sophomore at Big Spring, before
displaying moderate success as a dual-threat starting quarterback his
final two seasons. He threw for 2,510 and rushed for 922 as a junior and
1,258 and 617 during an injury-plagued senior campaign. Also a
basketball and track and field standout, Tannehill was rated a
three-star football recruit, the No. 80 rated player overall in Texas
and accepted his only Division I offer to Texas A&M.
5. Rodgers: At an unimposing 5-10, 165 pounds, Rodgers got no Division I offers as a senior despite starting two years and throwing for more than 4,440 yards. He set several school records including single-game marks of 440 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns. He could have walked on at Illinois, but instead made big impressions at Butte College in Northern California before transferring to Cal.
6. Allen: Also a three-sport standout at Firebaugh, Allen had no football recruiting rankings coming out of high school despite throwing for more than 5,200 career yards in three varsity seasons and 59 touchdowns. He was the team's leading scorer on the basketball team and at 6-3, 180-pounds at the time, could throw a baseball 90 mph. He was offered to walk on at San Diego State but instead opted to play quarterback at Reedley College, a JUCO, for one season before moving on to Wyoming.
