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At the quarterback position, something always has to give.
So it was with the Friday pledge of 2022 Southlake Carroll quarterback Quinn Ewers to the Texas Longhorns — the nation’s No. 1 prospect in that class committing to Texas prompted the Monday decommitment of Katy Tompkins quarterback Jalen Milroe and flip to the Alabama Crimson Tide.
— JMIL⚔️ (@JalenMilroe) August 18, 2020
The 6’1.5, 192-pounder picked up his offer from the Longhorns last June after performing well at a camp and only needed a matter of weeks to make his decision over offers from programs like Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, Oregon, and Texas A&M.
Milroe’s commitment came after a breakout sophomore season that saw him throw for more than 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns, while adding another 600 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. As a junior, the consensus four-star prospect continued to grow as a passer — he didn’t rush for nearly as many yards, but he completed 62 percent of his passes in throwing for 2,689 yards and 29 touchdowns, though his interception rate did jump from 1.7 percent to 3.8 percent.
As a result, Milroe was largely able to maintain his ranking — over the last 13 months, he’s dropped from the No. 74 prospect overall to the No. 82 prospect overall, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Texas now has a decision to make at the position, as the Longhorns have only offered five quarterbacks in the 2021 class, including Milroe, and the other four prospects are all committed to other programs. Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich might try to double back on Lubbock Coronado passer Sawyer Robertson, who is currently committed to Mississippi State, but most likely Texas will send out an offer or two to 2021 quarterbacks in the coming days since going a cycle without a single signee at the position is a significant risk.
Since quarterbacks tend to commit early, that means that the highest-ranked uncommitted quarterback in the state of Texas is Frisco Independence’s Braylon Braxton at No. 89.