In this edition of the Three-Point Stance, Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney has thoughts on five 2025 quarterbacks to watch, transfer quarterbacks in the NFL Draft and five players in 2025 who could make an argument this offseason for a five-star ranking.
FIVE 2025 QUARTERBACKS TO WATCH
Fresh off a return visit to USC, the five-star’s commitment remains firm as the family loved their time with coach Lincoln Riley, his vision for how the offense will fit around Lewis’ strengths and they’re happy with the defensive development under new staff members. Georgia won’t give up. Alabama seems to be appealing and then early playing time at Auburn and Colorado could make things interesting.
There has been significant Auburn chatter coming from the four-star quarterback and while that might be a smokescreen since he’s been so heavily interested in Texas A&M for so long, maybe not. The idea of playing in coach Hugh Freeze’s offense with him in charge could be really appealing as the Tigers make a serious run at him. The Corona (Calif.) Centennial standout commits April 14.
Florida and South Carolina have been the two frontrunners for a while but now that Georgia missed on Matt Zollers and is still unsure whether it can flip five-star Julian Lewis, it will be interesting to see if the Bulldogs ramp up with Montgomery even more. The attention paid by the Gators and the Gamecocks (and the feeling that he’s a top priority at both places) is important to him but turning down Georgia for any player is going to be tough.
Time and again, the four-star quarterback from Duncanville, Texas has proven to be one of the better players at his position and now his recruitment is starting to get more interesting. Russell committed to SMU in September and that’s certainly a great spot since the Mustangs throw the ball so much but Texas A&M has been heavily courting him and turning down SEC ball could be tough.
He’s not Nico, he doesn’t try to be Nico, he wants to be himself while showing his older five-star brother love. But Iamaleava is developing into an elite quarterback in the 2025 class with great decision-making, great leadership and now two programs have emerged as the front-runners. It feels like UCLA leads for the Downey (Calif.) Warren standout and it would be a splash commitment for coach DeShaun Foster and his staff. Nebraska is battling right there as well and while many teams took early QB commitments, some might regret not going on Iamaleava first.
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TRANSFER QUARTERBACKS BIG IN NFL DRAFT
There was a string of years where transfer quarterbacks were not among the top players taken in the NFL Draft.
Last draft, three of the top four picks – Bryce Young, CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson – were not transfers. In the draft before that, the only first-rounder was Pitt’s Kenny Pickett, not a transfer. In 2021, there were five first-round QBs taken – Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones – and only Fields (from Georgia to Ohio State) was a transfer.
This upcoming draft will be different and harkens back to the 2020, 2019 and 2018 drafts where the first quarterback taken – Joe Burrow, Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield, respectively – were all transfers.
It’s widely accepted that the first pick will be Caleb Williams, who shined at Oklahoma before shining even more at USC.
After Williams there could be some debate on picks but LSU’s Jayden Daniels, who started his career at Arizona State, before excelling in Baton Rouge, could go as high as No. 2. Washington QB Michael Penix Jr., especially after his outstanding pro day, is moving up fast after his career stalled out early at Indiana and then Oregon’s Bo Nix, who totally revitalized his career after things went south at Auburn, could be a first-rounder as well.
There used to be such a stigma about quarterback transfers. Times have changed in a massive way.
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3. FIVE PROSPECTS TO WATCH FOR FIVE-STARS
With only 18 five-stars so far in the 2025 class, there is still a significant amount of additions coming on before signing day. Here is a look at five who could add that precious fifth-star with a big offseason:
There are only two five-star quarterbacks in the 2025 class and with a group this talented that seems low. Lacey has had a very strong offseason and even if he’s a tick below No. 1 overall Julian Lewis, that’s still pretty heady company. The Texas commit will continue to be discussed throughout this recruiting cycle.
The high four-star receiver doesn’t do many national events and one wonders about the competition at Ackerman (Miss.) Choctaw County but there’s no question about his athleticism and playmaking ability. Cunningham has some highlight-reel dunks during basketball season and that does translate well to the football field.
MacIntyre has to be considered for numerous reasons. One, he comes from a family of coaches. Two, he has excellent size and underrated athleticism (he is also a standout basketball player). And third, he’s going to a pass-happy offense at Tennessee where his skills will be exploited. For those reasons and more, the Brentwood (Tenn.) Brentwood Academy standout should be under discussion.
This is an argument over measurables and projection. Gibson has a longer wingspan than former five-star DE Jadeveon Clowney. He has a longer wingspan than probable first-round draft pick Dallas Turner. At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds and those elite measurables that NFL teams will drool over, do we make the move now and make him a five-star?
Again, this is more a question of measurables and projection especially after the four-star defensive back ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the Atlanta Under Armour Camp. What makes that time even more special is that other fast players on the same track ran surprisingly slower times so the Cedartown, Ga., might even post a faster time later. He’s excellent playing centerfield and stepping in front of the ball, he’s physical and NFL teams love fast defenders who can make plays. Is the Rivals250 member ranked way too low?
