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Top QB prospects from the state of Mississippi since 2009
By Ethan Levine
Published:
The state of Mississippi is known for the football talent it’s produced over the years, especially from its prominent junior college league.
However, the state also produces its fair share of high school football talent, as evidenced by the recent rise in roster talent at schools like Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Mississippi may not put out top-flight quarterbacks at the same rate as other states, but that’s not to say there haven’t been any touted signal callers to hail from the Magnolia State in recent years.
Anthony Alford had the chance to be one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation, but chose to pursue a career in professional baseball instead. Still, that deviation away from football only enhances the argument that he might have been a national sensation had he stayed at Southern Miss or Ole Miss, where he’d have a chance to start this season.
Tyler Russell is another top quarterback to come from the state, and he stayed close to home and broke a number of passing records as the starter at Mississippi State (Dak Prescott is a near-lock to break most of those records this fall).
Ryan Buchanan is similar to Russell, a pro-style passer who stayed in-state, and he’ll have a chance to follow in Russell as an elite Mississippi-bred passers as he competes for the starting job at Ole Miss.
The remaining quarterbacks on the list all either flopped in comparison to their high school expectations or signed too recently to warrant a judgement of their career. Only six of the 10 stayed in-state, and that number dropped as players began to transfer after their first destinations proved to be bad fits.
Take a look at the careers of Mississippi’s 10 highest-rated quarterbacks of the last seven recruiting cycles, based on their rating in the 247Sports industry composite rankings:
| Player | Team | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Alford | So. Miss | .9482 | Former Mississippi Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball. Signed with Southern Miss, transferred to Ole Miss. Gave up football to play minor league baseball. |
| Tyler Russell | Miss. St. | .9107 | 22 starts at Mississippi State, first player to throw for 40 career touchdown passes. |
| Ryan Buchanan | Ole Miss | .9005 | Redshirted in 2013, backed up Bo Wallace in 2014, now competing for vacant starting job. |
| Chris Garrett | LSU | .8620 | Transferred to Northwestern State, appeared in three games in 2010. Transferred to Ole Miss, never started for the Rebels. |
| Maikhail Miller | Ole Miss | .8475 | Played in two games as a sophomore in 2012, transferred to Murray State, named to All-Ohio Valley Conference team. |
| J’Mar Smith | La. Tech | .8463 | Signed out of the Class of 2015. Will arrive on campus this summer. |
| Brady Davis | Memphis | .8451 | Signed out of the Class of 2015. Will arrive on campus this summer. |
| Dominique Sullivan | So. Miss | .8303 | Moved to wide receiver, logged 77 catches over four seasons in addition to eight career touchdowns. |
| Aerion Williams | Ark. St. | .7994 | Never attempted a pass at Arkansas State after signing out of the Class of 2010. |
| Dylan Favre | Miss. St. | .7882 | Redshirted in 2010, attempted 26 passes in 2011, transferred to junior college then to UT Martin, shared starting role at UTM last two years. Named to All-OVC newcomer team in 2013. |
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
