NFL rookie QBs in the 2023 season have started at a historic rate: How were they as college football recruits?

A whopping nine rookie quarterbacks have started at least one game in the NFL this season, and the number could grow to a record-setting 10 this weekend.

College football fans who pivot to the NFL on Sundays have seen plenty of familiar faces this fall, as a whopping nine rookie quarterbacks have started games so far during the 2023 season. That number could reach a record-breaking 10 rookie starters this weekend if New York Giants undrafted free-agent quarterback Tommy DeVito steps in for the injured Daniel Jones.

Some of the rookie starters this season weren’t surprises. Long gone are the days when rookies such as Carson Palmer sat for a full season. Instead, first-round picks such as Bryce Young typically are expected to win the starting job right away.

Go further down the list, however, and it becomes obvious that this is an unusually prolific year for rookie quarterbacks in the NFL. A large handful of late-round picks are playing a whole lot, largely due to injuries. Some of these rookies have helped keep winning teams afloat, while others have crashed and burned on losing teams that don’t have much hope without their starter.

So how did these starters compare as recruits back in the day? Here’s a look:

College: Alabama

Recruiting: 5-star recruit, No. 1 overall player in 2020 class

Young is the relatively rare player who essentially started and finished the pre-NFL process as his class’ No. 1 player. After choosing Alabama over USC and redshirting in 2020, Young won the Heisman Trophy in 2021 and put together another strong season in 2022 before going No. 1 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Things haven’t gone as smoothly for Young at the NFL level, as he’s surrounded by a struggling supporting cast. At the same time, Young hasn’t played all that well either. Young has completed 63.9% of his passes for 1,375 yards and eight touchdowns against seven interceptions through seven games; Carolina is 1-6.

College: Ohio State

Recruiting: 5-star recruit, No. 29 player, No. 2 pro-style QB in 2020 class

The top two quarterbacks in this draft class both came out of the Los Angeles area and enrolled at blue-blood programs, but they never faced each other in college. Like Young, Stroud redshirted as a freshman in 2020 and then took over as the starter at Ohio State and established himself as one of college football’s top players regardless of position.

Stroud joined a previously dysfunctional organization in Houston and has helped turn things around already. The Texans are a surprising 4-4, and Stroud is putting up huge numbers. He has completed 62% of his passes for 2,270 yards and 14 touchdowns with just one interception — those numbers will earn him Pro Bowl honors if he keeps it up.

ANTHONY RICHARDSON, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

College: Florida

Recruiting: 4-star recruit, No. 245 player, No. 9 dual-threat QB in 2020 class

Despite Richardson’s overwhelming physical tools, he ranked quite a bit lower than Young and Stroud due to a relative lack of polish as a passer. The former Gainesville (Fla.) Eastside standout stayed home to play for the Gators, and he never put up particularly impressive stats while at Florida.

In limited action this season, Richardson showed promise. Richardson completed 59.5% of his passes for 577 yards and three touchdowns against one interception while also rushing for 136 yards and four more scores. That propensity to run, however, got Richardson in trouble when he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury on a rushing attempt against the Tennessee Titans last month.

WILL LEVIS, TENNESSEE TITANS

College: Kentucky

Recruiting: 3-star recruit, No. 23 pro-style QB in 2018 class

Here’s the first under-the-radar recruit out of this group, relatively speaking. Levis started his career at Penn State, transferred to Kentucky and broke out as a potential early-round NFL Draft pick as a redshirt junior in 2021. Levis’ final season of college didn’t go well due to a combination of injury and coaching — UK fired former offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello after that campaign — which likely contributed to his drop to the second round.

Tennessee traded up to select Levis, who entered the season as the third-stringer. The Titans gave Levis a chance two weeks ago after starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill suffered an ankle injury, and Levis took advantage with two big games — including a four-touchdown performance in his debut. This week, Titans coach Mike Vrabel officially named Levis as the team’s starter moving forward.

AIDAN O’CONNELL, LAS VEGAS RAIDERS

College: Purdue

Recruiting: Unranked

One of multiple players in this group with a particularly interesting story, O’Connell arrived at Purdue as a walk-on in 2017 and did not play for the Boilermakers until 2019. O’Connell took over as the full-time starter in 2020, suffered a season-ending injury, and then came back with a big season in 2021: 3,712 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Las Vegas selected O’Connell in the fourth round of the 2023 draft, and he initially served as the backup to Jimmy Garoppolo this season. The Raiders finally pivoted to O’Connell as their starter last week amid a brutal season for Garoppolo, and O’Connell led them to a 30-6 win over the Giants.

CLAYTON TUNE, ARIZONA CARDINALS

College: Houston

Recruiting: 3-star recruit, No. 38 pro-style QB in 2018 class

Tune reported just six FBS offers as a recruit, taking official visits to Houston and Ole Miss before ending up with the Cougars. At Houston, Tune put up monster numbers over his last two seasons with a combined 7,618 yards and 70 touchdowns against 20 interceptions.

Arizona, looking to add quality depth behind Kyler Murray as he recovers from his torn ACL, picked up Tune in the fifth round this year. Murray has yet to return to the lineup as he works his way back, so Tune got his first start last week after Arizona traded Josh Dobbs to the Minnesota Vikings. It didn’t go well, as Tune completed 11 of 20 passes for 58 yards with two interceptions in a 27-0 loss to the Cleveland Browns.