B(u)y the numbers: QB recruiting

Three-star Hayden Rettig (Cathedral/Los Angeles) committed to LSU on Tuesday morning, the latest domino to fall in a fast and fascinating month of quarterback recruitment.

Florida is one of the next prominent shoes to drop in QB recruiting, with Jackson (Miss.)'s Ryan Buchanan among the likeliest candidates.

Within the last week alone, 12 quarterbacks have gone off the board to BCS programs.

One of the most compelling trends this spring evaluation period has been the focus on building one’s early commitment class around the quarterback. That, and/or getting one’s targeted quarterback in the fold before he chooses elsewhere.

The recruiting cycle has been expedited for all prospects, but none more so than the signal-callers – as evidenced in this week’s installment of “B(u)y the Numbers.”:

10.5

Percent of BCS conference commitments (including Notre Dame) are from the quarterback position.

In 2012, BCS teams averaged taking one quarterback per class -- 0.99, to be exact.

Signing classes average 23-25 members per, depending on the conference. So quarterback recruiting accounts for between 4 and 5 percent of each class.

Alas, the quarterback position is filling up much faster than other spots in teams’ classes.

Oregon, Nebraska, Ole Miss and Mississippi State are still after Marietta (Ga.)'s Anthony Jennings.

23

Of the 42 quarterbacks committed, who have pledged during the spring evaluation period.

The vogue recruiting tactic this year was for schools to tell a handful of prospects it had offered, but would only take a commitment once one of its coaches had watched the prospective target throw during the spring. That way, the school hadn’t lost traction to its competitors for a prospect, but hadn’t necessarily pushed for him, either.

The data suggests, among other things, that teams still want to scout a quarterback in-person before pulling the trigger on a real, committable offer.

It also intimates that the decision-makers on the field tend to be the most decisive in the recruiting process, too.

To that end …

88.5

Percent of 247Sports’ four- and five-star quarterback prospects have committed.

Only three of the 26 remain on the market: Narbonne (Calif.)’s Troy Williams is viewed as a Washington-Arizona battle; Winter Park (Fla.)’s Asiantii Woulard had been committed to South Florida and is now exploring his options, including this weekend’s visit to Florida; and Santa Margarita (Calif.)’s Johnny Stanton is presently seen by many colleges as more athlete than quarterback.

Fifteen of 247Sports’ top 16 pro-style quarterbacks have committed, as have nine of the top 10 dual-threats.

52.9

Percent of BCS programs which have already snared a quarterback commitment (37 of 70).

That figure, of course, doesn’t take into context teams (Clemson, for example) which do not intend to take a 2013 quarterback.

This cycle appears to boast a deep class of quality three-star talent. So that means that a number of value prospects – Valor Christian (Colo.)’s Luke Del Rio, Marietta (Ga.)’s Anthony Jennings, Skyline (Texas)’s Devante Kincade and Butler (N.C.)’s Riley Ferguson among them – face the possibility of being squeezed to a program below the expectation tagged with their aggregate offer list.

For example, guys still hoping to net a spot in the SEC are facing slim pickings. Nine of the 14 programs have taken a quarterback, with Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Mississippi still among the buyers, so to speak.

Eight of the 12 schools in the Big Ten have also corralled quarterbacks.

On the flip side, less than half of the schools in the ACC (five) and Pac-12 (five) have secured a quarterback.

Now, we don’t know in which conferences some of these schools will be down the road. But there’s already a clear picture for which quarterbacks will have been given the chance to matriculate up the depth chart and into relevant playing time by the time those schools and a proposed playoff are settled.