Class of 2020 Pac-12 Conference Recruiting Overview with QB Focus
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
The early signing period is upon us and there is a twinge of excitement in the air with the possibility of the unknown happening. For the most part, verbal commitments over the fall months stick to their word and sign early, but there is always an outlier or two that livens up the activity… with so much talent on the west coast, could some Pac-12 programs make moves flipping top recruits from another Power Five Conference program?
In an odd twist, the top half of the Pac-12 appears set to sign a near full class on Wednesday as opposed to the bottom half. Washington leads the 12-team conference with 22 commits consisting of one five-star, nine four-stars, and 11 three-star prospects holding a national ranking at No. 14. Two spots behind the Huskies on the national view are the Oregon Ducks with 22 commits. Oregon also has a five-star recruit, seven four-stars, and 14 three-stars. Stanford is the only other Pac-12 team ranked in the top-25 sliding in at No. 21 with 19 verbals – six four-stars and 12 three-star players.
UCLA with 20, Colorado (22), and Cal (24) are seemingly set with the opportunity to make some noise if a top-rated recruit has an epiphany. Arizona State, ranked 46th overall, has just 14 commits, but has four four-stars and 10 three-stars with room to add to the haul. Oregon State (19) and Washington State (18) follow in the rankings each loaded with all three-star players. There is somewhat of a surprise among the bottom three Pac-12 schools per the total number of commits. Arizona, ranked 66th, has 14 commits followed by USC (10) and Utah (11) at No. 83 and 84 respectively. As great of a year as Utah had making it to the Pac-12 Championship Game, one would guess they would have more momentum heading into the early signing period. In the five-year era under Clay Helton at USC, the Trojans are slow out of the gate but typically finish strong. USC may not make noise in December, but they are a team that could jump into the top-15 when all is said and done.
Focusing on the quarterbacks, per the rankings, Oregon is winning the year with No. 7 overall QB prospect Jay Butterfield. Within the senior pro-style rankings, Butterfield is the third highest-rated gunslinger in the nation. Against D-I California competition, Butterfield lead his Liberty High School (Brentwood) team to a 10-2 record. He filled the stat sheet with 2,582 passing yards posting a 27/6 touchdown to interception ratio. Other Pac-12 programs dodged the proverbial bullet when the top-rated quarterback overall, Mater Dei’s Bryce Young, switched his commitment from USC to Alabama.
Within the individual classes, three programs do not have a quarterback committed; Arizona State, Stanford, and USC. For USC fans, no worries, the team is loaded at quarterback with 2018 five-star JT Daniels and 2019 four-star Kedon Slovis. The same can be said for Arizona State after securing two four-star quarterbacks, Jayden Daniels and Joey Yellen, in the 2019 haul. Stanford did not sign a quarterback in the 2019 group, but did land 2018 four-star Jack West.
Looking for immediate veteran experience in the pocket, Oregon State is the only team to go the junior college route thus far landing a commitment from top-rated JUCO dual-threat Chance Nolan. The Golden Bears are the only team with two quarterbacks committed using the ASU model, one dual-threat and one pro-style. Another curious note, of the 11 committed quarterbacks, nine are pro-style. Cal’s Zach Johnson and Colorado’s Brendon Lewis are the only dual-threats ready to man a Pac-12 offense so far.
Pac-12
Arizona – Will Plummer – Gilbert (AZ) – pro-style No. 33
Arizona State – no QB committed
California – Jaden Casey – Calabasas (CA) – pro-style No. 21
California – Zach Johnson – Hart (CA) – No. 32 dual-threat
Colorado – Brendon Lewis – Melissa (TX) – No. 16 dual-threat
Oregon – Jay Butterfield – Liberty (CA) – pro-style No. 3
Oregon State – Ben Gulbranson – Newbury Park (CA) – pro-style No. 31
Oregon State – Chance Nolan – Saddleback (CA) – pro-style No. 1 JUCO (12-9-2019)
Stanford – no QB committed
UCLA – Parker McQuarrie – St. Paul’s School (NH) – pro-style No. 12
USC – no QB committed
Utah – Katravis Marsh – Miami Central (FL) – pro-style No. 34
Washington – Ethan Garbers – Corona Del Mar (CA) – pro-style No. 6
Washington State – Jayden de Laura – St. Louis (HI) – pro-style No. 22
Recruiting Spotlight – Ethan Garbers
Washington commit Ethan Garbers is the 10th highest-rate gunslinger in the nation per the 24/7 rankings. Garbers was an unstoppable force during his senior season leading his Corona Del Mar team to a 16-0 record winning a California D-III state title. Along the way, the 6-2, 190-pound, talent threw for 5,035 yards with 71 touchdowns against just six interceptions while completing 69.6 percent of his pass attempts.