Coming out of HS. Who were the guys we rated higher and what were their careers like? He was rated a 2 star, probably after committing and his only P5 offers were IL Wake and IN. We did not even take a QB that year as we were likely suffering from the Thorson effect. And after he went to IN he did something called development (which he was able to do by playing) which he likely would not have been able to do at NU because he would have been behind Thorson. We didn't miss him coming out of HS. We allowed him to go to a farm team and then brought him up when he was ready
Well, PR was rated a 3* by both 247 and the composite.
Aside from IU, he had offers from BC, Cincinnati, Illinois and Wake.
For that class, the Cats had offered Deuce Wallace (remember him?) who bailed for Vandy, and then got a commitment from Aidan Smith.
Think it's safe to say that PR has had the better collegiate career.
The Cats also had offers out on 2 other QBs - one who who ended up at BC (transferred to Oregon) and the other at VT.
Develop?
In his first year of action in 2017, PR had a
65.4% completion rate and a RTG of
127.9 (both higher than any year for Thorson).
Thorson, in his 1st year, had a
51.6% completion rate and a RTG of
99.7.
Plus, the Cats were desperate for a viable back-up behind Thorson, and if the Cats had PR in the wings, the 2019 season would have turned out differently.
May be talking about back-to-back-to-back B1G W crowns.
The reason why the Cats have brought in a transfer QB for the 3rd year in a row is because they have missed too many times in the QB room.