[DC 86]

Anyway, if "more true freshmen" are your desire, I'm not sure why "more true freshmen QBs" are the best citation for your example. True freshman QBs nearly always stink -- while everyone's singing the praises of Jalen Hurts, and justly so, it's a classic example of inflating a rare event into a common one. Jalen Hurts is super rare; you might as well base your stargazing strategies around finding Haley's Comet as your offensive strategies around finding Jalen Hurts.

More common is Jacob Eason. Eason was the #5 .. player in the entire country. And how good was he? 6.6 YPA, 55.1% completion percentage -- pretty mediocre.

Of the five true freshmen that I cited it's unfair to choose the one with the worst statistics to support your premise.

Deshaun Watson: 68% completions, 10.7 YPA, 14 TD / 2 int as a true freshman.
Jake Browning: 63% completions, 8.0 YPA, 16 TD / 10 int as a true freshman.
Josh Rosen: 60% completions, 7.5 YPA, 20 TD / 9 int as a true freshman.

Hurts is not the only recent true freshman to post above average statistics.

I actually agree with your overall point, and the lack of early enrollment at Stanford makes it less likely for a true freshman to start at quarterback. But Hurts is not quite the unicorn that you make him out to be.

[DC 86]

Anyway, if "more true freshmen" are your desire, I'm not sure why "more true freshmen QBs" are the best citation for your example. True freshman QBs nearly always stink -- while everyone's singing the praises of Jalen Hurts, and justly so, it's a classic example of inflating a rare event into a common one. Jalen Hurts is super rare; you might as well base your stargazing strategies around finding Haley's Comet as your offensive strategies around finding Jalen Hurts.

More common is Jacob Eason. Eason was the #5 .. player in the entire country. And how good was he? 6.6 YPA, 55.1% completion percentage -- pretty mediocre.

Of the five true freshmen that I cited it's unfair to choose the one with the worst statistics to support your premise.

Deshaun Watson: 68% completions, 10.7 YPA, 14 TD / 2 int as a true freshman.
Jake Browning: 63% completions, 8.0 YPA, 16 TD / 10 int as a true freshman.
Josh Rosen: 60% completions, 7.5 YPA, 20 TD / 9 int as a true freshman.

Hurts is not the only recent true freshman to post above average statistics.

I actually agree with your overall point, and the lack of early enrollment at Stanford makes it less likely for a true freshman to start at quarterback. But Hurts is not quite the unicorn that you make him out to be.