3. Brian Maurer, Pro-Style QB
Star Rating: 3-star
Overall: 482nd
Position: 19th
Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 199 pounds
There may not have been another player in Tennessee’s class who showed more improvement from his junior year of high school to his senior year than Brian Maurer. Yet for all that improvement, he never could earn his fourth star for whatever reason.
Maurer entered the summer of 2018 as a relatively unknown quarterback prospect outside of the state of Florida. The Ocala signal-caller went to a lot of different camps over the summer, and he started grabbing the attention of scouts and teams both. He picked up offers from multiple schools, including Ohio State and Tennessee.
Not only did he impress teams on the camp circuit, but he was a standout at Nike’s The Opening as well. He placed fifth out of 12 quarterbacks at the elite recruiting event, and he finished ahead of several four-star quarterbacks at the event.
Yet despite that quality display, Maurer never moved higher than the 400s in terms of overall rankings.
Maurer entered his senior season ready to show that his summer was no fluke. A year after completing 57.5 percent of his passes for 2,512 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, Maurer ended up setting several single-game, single-season, and career passing records for West Port High School.
His team may have only won a handful of games (mostly because of poor defense and a bad offensive line), but Maurer shined. He completed 65.4 percent of his 428 pass attempts for 3,572 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He also ran for 466 yards and six scores on just 80 carries.
It’s not all about the numbers, though. Maurer can sling it, and he has really good mobility and pocket awareness. He can throw on the run, can complete deep passes, and can make a variety of throws.
Maurer should be able to redshirt in 2019, and depending on what Jarrett Guarantano does for 2020, he may be able to use that year as a learning and development year as well. But Maurer will be a fierce competitor once he adjusts to the college game, and getting him enrolled early will give him a leg up.
