FOR USE AS DESIRED
NFL-42 9/5/97
GOOD YOUNG QUARTERBACKS ABOUND -- IN THE NFL, COLLEGE & HIGH SCHOOLS
It’s great to be young and a quarterback. Wherever you are -- in the NFL, in college or in high school.
And from professional personnel men to those who follow high school football, this seems to be an era of "good, young quarterbacks."
Take the NFL. On its opening-game rosters, there were 88 quarterbacks. Fifty-eight -- 66 percent -- were under 30, and half of those -- 29 -- were 25 or under.
Of the 13 quarterbacks with a passer rating of more than 80.0 in Week 1, nine were under 30. One, ROB JOHNSON of the Jacksonville Jaguars, had an 83.3 completion percentage -- the highest such mark for any quarterback in his first career game since 1970.
The nine NFL under-30 quarterbacks with 80.0-plus ratings in the season’s first game:
| NFL WEEK 1 RANK | QUARTERBACK/TEAM | PASSER RATING | |
| 2 | Rob Johnson, Jacksonville | 145.5 |
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| 4 | Drew Bledsoe, New England | 128.2 |
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| 5 | Brett Favre, Green Bay | 113.1 |
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| 6 | Tony Banks, St. Louis | 110.4 |
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| 7 | Jeff George, Oakland | 110.0 |
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| 9 | Trent Dilfer, Tampa Bay | 92.5 |
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| 11 | Brad Johnson, Minnesota | 87.9 |
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| 12 | Jeff Blake, Cincinnati | 86.8 |
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| 13 | Dave Brown, NY Giants | 84.3 |
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The colleges? Everyone knows PEYTON MANNING, the Heisman Trophy candidate from Tennessee, son of former New Orleans Saints quarterback ARCHIE MANNING. Peyton threw for 310 yards and a Volunteer record-tying five touchdowns against Texas Tech in his first outing of the season.
But there are less heralded quarterbacks in college and high school who also possess lots of talent.
LEE CORSO, former college coach and now a TV analyst, thinks that junior RYAN LEAF of Washington State may end up putting up Manning-like numbers.
Then there’s Kentucky sophomore TIM COUCH, Parade’s high school football player of the year in 1995. Last week, he came within one touchdown of tying BABE PARILLI’s 47-year old single-game school record for TDs in a game when he threw four in an upset of Louisville. Couch set Wildcat single-game records for completions (36 in 50 attempts) and yards (398).
High schools? Two men who know them best think this is a great quarterback era.
"I’ve been doing this since 1979, and this is the best year I’ve seen for quarterbacks," says TOM LEMMING, editor of Prep Football Report.
Lemming and DAVE KRIDER, who picks the All-USA high school teams for USA Today, agree that RONALD CURRY of Hampton (Va.) High School may be the best high school quarterback in America today. Curry last year became the first junior ever to make USA Today’s All-USA first team.
Krider identifies five seniors likely to enjoy impressive college careers:
· RONALD CURRY -- Hampton (Va.) High School -- "He’s the leader among them all. He’s got a great arm, and he’s terrific on defense."
· JASON THOMAS -- Dominguez (Compton, Calif.) High School -- "A real powerful runner who plays quarterback."
· DREW HENSON -- Brighton (Mich.) High School -- "A pure passer. A drop-back type kid."
· TYLER WATTS -- Pelham (Ala.) High School -- "Supposed to be the best quarterback in Alabama since Richard Todd."
· JARED JONES -- Walla Walla (Wash.) High School -- "He’s 6-5, over 200 pounds. A pure passer."