With all the amazement generated by OSU starting a 3rd string QB and winning games, I started to wonder ... how many QB's who started in D1 this season were 3rd string when they were a sophomore?

 

If I had to guess, I would say more than half the starting QB's this season were 3rd string as a sophomore. And I would also guess most of them were not as highly recruited nor as talented as Cardale Jones.

 

So is it really all that amazing that OSU can win a football game starting a 3rd string QB?

I actually would bet that very few QBs (maybe 25%, at the most) were third on the depth chart at the school in which they currently start for. Most schools only have two QBs that have prospects to play, the starter and the backup. Normally, if you drop to third on the depth chart as a QB, you transfer to a school that would give you an opportunity or you never see the field, I bet.

 

With OSU, Jones was actually number 2 after the Spring, according to Urban. He got beat out by JT over the summer. If Braxton never gets hurt, I imagine that OSU would have had a QB battle this coming off season and the loser would have transferred due to both players being so close in age (JT is a freshman and Cardale is a Sophmore according to the OSU website) and OSU's ability to recruit other highly rated QBs.

Not many schools have a 3rd string like Cardale. He was a 4 star recruit if I remeber

Heck, OSU's 4th string qb was in the Elite 11!

With all the amazement generated by OSU starting a 3rd string QB and winning games, I started to wonder ... how many QB's who started in D1 this season were 3rd string when they were a sophomore?

 

If I had to guess, I would say more than half the starting QB's this season were 3rd string as a sophomore. And I would also guess most of them were not as highly recruited nor as talented as Cardale Jones.

 

So is it really all that amazing that OSU can win a football game starting a 3rd string QB?

 

A much better question would be how many backup qbs, or 3rd string, entered in the season in which they were 3rd string and led their team to a conference champ victory, much less an opportunity to win a Nat Champ. I may be wrong, but in my mind I'm thinking Matt Flynn started the season LSU beat OSU as a backup to Jamarcus Russel? Or was that the first year w/out Russell?

It's very impressive to me a 3 star recruit beating Nick Saban in his second career start.

Towells was 3rd string! But he redshirted sophmore year so I guess that doesn't count.

It's very impressive to me a 3 star recruit beating Nick Saban in his second career start.

I agree