Texas has become a quarterback factory for the NFL. This past weekend, 8 of the 32 teams in the NFL started a quarterback that played their high school football in the state of Texas. Two other teams played quarterbacks with Texas ties. The Cleveland Browns played Case Keenum in relief of the injured Baker Mayfield, and the Las Vegas Raiders started Derek Carr, who played high school football in Texas before moving to California. Over the past decade, over 23% of NFL starting QB’s have been from Texas. California is second with just over 14%, and no other state tops 7%.
Here is a list of the current starting quarterbacks in the NFL from Texas, in no particular order:
Drew Brees: Westlake High School / Austin, Texas
Drew Brees may go down as the best quarterback to ever come out of Texas as his name is now near or at the top of all NFL passing records. Brees was 28-0-1 as the starting QB for Westlake, including 16-0 in 1996 in which they won the state championship over Abilene Cooper, 55-15. In his senior season, he threw for over 3,500 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Patrick Mahomes: White House High School / Whitehouse, Texas
Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL. In high school, he was a standout in football, baseball and basketball. As a Senior, he threw for 4.619 yards and 50 touchdowns and ran for 948 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was named the Max Preps Male Athlete of the Year in high school in 2013-14.
Matthew Stafford: Highland Park Highschool / Dallas, Texas
The 2009 NFL Draft #1 pick is quickly climbing most the all-time passing records. In high school in 2005 despite missing three games due to a knee injury, he led Highland Park to a 15-0 record and the UIL 4A Division 1 State Championship. In that year, he threw for 4,000 yards.
Kyler Murray: Allen High School / Allen, Texas
The #1 pick in the NFL Draft a year ago, Murray may be the greatest high school player, in terms of his high school career, ever in Texas. Murray was 42-0 as the Allen starting QB. He led Allen to three straight UIL State Championships and was the Gatorade Player of the Year his senior season. He finished his high school career with over 10,000 passing yards, over 4,000 rushing yards, and 186 touchdowns.
Andy Dalton: Katy High School / Katy, Texas
The “Red Rifle,” former TCU QB and Cincinnati Bengal is now starting for the Dallas Cowboys. Dalton was the full-time starter for just one year with the Katy Tigers. In 2005, he led Katy to the state title game, in which they lost 34-20 to Southlake Carroll. That year, Dalton threw for 2,877 yards and 42 touchdowns
Ryan Tannehill: Big Spring High School / Big Spring, Texas
Tannehill took over as the starting QB for the Tennessee Titans and led them to the AFC Championship last year. He was an all-around athlete staring in several sports in high school and finished second and third in the state in the 300m hurdles and long jump. His Senior season at Big Spring, despite missing two games, threw for 5,258 yards and ran for 617. He also spent time at wide receiver and was an outstanding kick returner.
Baker Mayfield, Lake Travis High School / Lake Travis, Texas
The #1 Pick a few years ago from the Cleveland Browns and former Heisman Trophy Winner. He led Lake Travis to a 25–2 record in two seasons and won the UIL 2011 4A State Championship. He finished his high school football career with 6,255 passing yards and 67 touchdowns.
Nick Foles: Westlake High School / Austin, Texas
The Super Bowl LII MVP. Nick Foles, like Drew Brees, was a quarterback for Westlake. He started for two years and broke most of Drew Brees high school records. He threw for 5,658 yards and 56 touchdowns. He was also one of the best basketball players in the state, with offers to play basketball for Texas, Georgetown and Baylor.
Other QB's with Texas ties that played this weekend
Case Keenum: Wylie High School / Abilene, Texas
Keenum, a long-time NFL starter, is the backup for the Cleveland Browns this year. He saw some time this weekend with Mayfield being hurt and may start this next week for Cleveland. In 2004 in high school, he led Wylie in a game-winning drive to win the UIL 3A Division 1 State Championship. He had an incredible high school career, with 6.783 passing yards and 48 touchdowns. He also rushed for over 2,000 yards and 41 touchdowns.
Derek Carr: Clements High School / Sugarland, Texas
The Las Vegas Raiders starting QB ended his high school career in California, but he started playing football in Texas. Carr played for Clements High School. Carr started part of his Sophmore year and as a Junior, he threw for 1,622 yards and 17 touchdowns. He led the team to a 13-0 season before losing to the eventual champions in the playoffs, Katy High School. He then moved to California where he led Bakersfield Christian High School to a state championship.
