Top-tier quarterbacks have rarely come to play for the Texas Longhorns after Mack Brown left and before the arrival of Steve Sarkisian.
Since recruiting rankings began in 2000, the Longhorns have added Chance Mock, who was highly regarded but never panned out. Then you had Vince Young, who had a perfect recruiting ranking and led Texas to the 2005-06 BCS national championship.
His successor, Colt McCoy, was a three-star quarterback that didn’t even crack the top 300. However, with his consistency, McCoy was one of the best to ever suit up for the Burnt Orange. Garrett Gilbert was another five-star quarterback like Mock, who never did much for Texas. Gilbert ended up transferring out of the program.
After Mack Brown left the program for a brief retirement, the Longhorns went through two head coaches over the next seven seasons before landing Sark. They didn’t see near the success Texas is currently enjoying regarding quarterback recruiting. The best quarterback in the Charlie Strong to Tom Herman era was Sam Ehlinger, who sits No. 2 in Texas history behind McCoy with 11,436 yards.
With the recent commitment from composite five-star quarterback Dia Bell, we look back at each quarterback recruiting class from McCoy to Bell.
Texas football quarterback recruiting by cycle
| Class | Quarterback | Stars | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Colt McCoy | 3 | All-time leading passer |
| 2006 | Sherrod Harris | 3 | Played sparingly for Texas |
| 2006 | Jevan Snead | 4 | Transferred to Ole Miss |
| 2007 | G.J. Kinne | 3 | Transferred to Tulsa |
| 2007 | John Chiles | 5 | Switched to WR |
| 2009 | Garrett Gilbert | 5 | Transferred to SMU |
| 2010 | Case McCoy | 3 | Played entire career at UT |
| 2010 | Connor Wood | 4 | Transferred to Colorado |
| 2011 | David Ash | 3 | Played entire career at UT |
| 2012 | Connor Brewer | 4 | Transferred to Arizona |
| 2013 | Tyrone Swoopes | 4 | Played entire career at UT |
| 2014 | Jerrod Heard | 4 | Switched to WR |
| 2015 | Kai Locksley | 3 | Transferred to JuCo |
| 2016 | Shane Buechele | 4 | Transferred to SMU |
| 2017 | Sam Ehlinger | 4 | Played entire career at UT |
| 2018 | Casey Thompson | 4 | Transferred to Nebraska |
| 2018 | Cam Rising | 4 | Transferred to Utah |
| 2019 | Roschon Johnson | 4 | Switched to RB |
| 2020 | Hudson Card | 4 | Transferred to Purdue |
| 2020 | Ja’Quinden Jackson | 4 | Transferred to Utah |
| 2021 | Charles Wright | 3 | Transferred to Appalachian State |
| 2022 | Maalik Murphy | 4 | Transferred to Duke |
| 2022 | Quinn Ewers | 5 | Transferred from Ohio State |
| 2023 | Arch Manning | 5 | Current backup quarterback |
| 2024 | Trey Owens | 4 | Current backup quarterback |
| 2025 | K.J. Lacey | 4 | Elite 11 QB, committed |
| 2026 | Dia Bell | 5 | No. 2 QB, committed |