Oh, the value of a quarterback.
How well you recruit at quarterback carries exceeding value in college football, although the fact that almost half of this year's starting quarterbacks are expected to be transfers changes the connotation on that sentiment.
Yet in seeing Florida State lose Brentwood (Tenn.) Ravenwood high-three star Chris Parson to decommitment this week, we couldn't help but juxtapose the situations at the two flagship ACC programs.
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Parson put the writing on the wall last month for his future parting of ways, and it comes as FSU closes in on a pledge from Memphis (Tenn.) Lausanne four-star Brock Glenn. The 'Noles intended to take two this class, so it's not a case of FSU cutting Parson for someone it now likes more.
We like several of their commitments. But the bottom line has been, FSU has lost quite a few more recruitments than it's won this cycle, and having your year-long quarterback pledge bail just seems to epitomize the 'Noles step-forward, step-backward dance with a rudderless class. They sit at No. 42 in the Rivals.com team recruiting class rankings with 10 pledges..
Meanwhile, Clemson made its move for Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christian four-star Christopher Vizzina last fall, beating Notre Dame and others as the choice this past spring.
Vizzina's star has only risen since, and his camp performances have put him at least in the five-star discussion.
Quarterbacks draw attention and give credibility to one's recruiting class -- see Arch Manning being a trigger for Texas' commitment surge and rapid rise to No. 1 in the network standings.
With Vizzina in the fold, Clemson has advanced to No. 4 this summer, and he has been a contributing presence with its Texas offensive line pursuits as well as courtships of four-star Texas receiver commitment Noble Johnson, Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson four-star defensive tackle commitment Peter Woods and Hewitt (Ala.) Hewitt-Trussville four-star defensive end target Hunter Osborne.
We would also tell you he's been on the front end of Clemson's efforts over the last month with Cambridge (Mass.) Buckingham Browne & Nichols four-star receiver target Ronan Hanafin.
