Ohio State quarterback recruiting by the numbers

Since 1988 when John Cooper became head coach and brought a more pass-friendly offense to Ohio State, the school has signed 40 players who were listed as quarterbacks out of high school.

Here are some numbers that group has produced:

  • 24 of the 40 signees have been from out of state, including the last eight
  • States to produce Ohio State quarterback recruits: Ohio (16), Arizona (3), Utah, Texas (4), Pennsylvania (2), California (5), Nevada, Maryland, Florida (2), Georgia (2), Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey and West Virginia.
  • Cincinnati and Cleveland both produced a pair of Ohio State quarterback signees while St. Henry (pop. 2,500) is the only city or town to produce three: brothers Bobby and Tom Hoying and Todd Boeckman.
  • Since 2000, Ohio State has signed 22 quarterbacks with 15 coming from out of state.
  • The last Ohio State quarterback signee from Ohio is Joe Burrow, who starred at Athens High School and graduated in 2015. Before that, it was Braxton Miller and Cardale Jones in 2011 (Jones was a gray-shirt and did not enroll until 2012).
  • Since 2002 and the beginning of the common era of recruiting rankings, Ohio State has signed 21 quarterbacks. That includes four who were five-stars (Quinn Ewers, Kyle McCord, Braxton Miller and Terrelle Pryor) and 13 who were four-stars. The last three-star quarterback signee at Ohio State was Stephen Collier of Leesburg, Ga., in 2014.
  • None of these lists includes Troy Smith, who was a four-star “athlete” prospect in the class of 2002, when Ohio State also signed much more ballyhooed Justin Zwick of Massillon Washington.
  • Also excluded: Justin Fields, who transferred from Georgia in 2019. He had been a five-star recruit coming out of high school in the Peach State a year earlier.
  • 12 of the 40 QB signees became full-time starters while two (Jones and Zwick) were part-time starters.
  • 4 became Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, which was first given out in 2011.
  • 15 have transferred, including six since 2015.
  • 10 have been drafted, including three who were taken at a different position (Miller, Steve Bellisari and Preston Harrison).

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