To add on to this let's not forget he turned to transfers a couple of times to avoid having to play the recruits he couldn't develop. I forgot the original kids name, but Shea Patterson, in two years under this "tutelage" made noticeable regression. I'd, frankly, expect the same with either macnama or mccarthyMcCarthy kind of fell into his lap. The kid was begging for an OSU offer, but the staff chose McCord. His QB recruits since arriving at tsun (247 composite):
- 2015 Zach Gentry, 4*, #174 overall, moved to TE
- 2015 Alex Malzone, 4*, #299 overall, a Hoke commit Harbrau had to re-sell. Never saw the field before transferring to Fredo.
- 2016 Brandon Peters, 4*, #61 overall, received massive amounts of hype going into 2017, but stunk. Transferred to Illinois after 2018 and spent 3 mediocre years there.
- 2017 Dylan McCaffrey, 4*, #123 overall, was actually a 5* when he committed, but slid in the rankings as a HS Sr. Saw the field occasionally in 2018/19, but transferred prior to 2020.
- 2018 Joe Milton, 4*, #203 overall, played sparingly in 2019, received massive (Cam Newton) hype leading into 2020, but stunk. Benched and transferred to Tennessee in 2021.
- 2019 Cade McNamara, 4*, #268 overall, stepped in for Milton in 2020 and was "meh." Won the job this year and turned into a good, if limited, game manager.
- 2020 Dan Villari, 3*, NR overall, Harbrau totally whiffed on the 2020 QB class and had to reach for this unranked 3*. Will never be more than a 3rd string guy.
- 2021 JJ McCarthy, 5*, #25 overall, OSU passed on him for McCord, rotated in occasionally during 2021, looked talented but very raw. Looks to have a high ceiling, but also a low floor.
- 2022 Alex Orji, 3*, #427 overall, I didn't even know they had a qb commit for '22 til i looked. Know nothing of him.
- 2022 Jayden Denegal, 3*, #455 overall, see above
So, entering his 8th class, Harbrau has signed a total of 2 top-100 QBs over that time. Looking at the list, McNamara is BY FAR, the most successful QB he's recruited. Of the 8 that have put on the ttun uniform, only 3 have started a game. Peters sucked, Milton sucked and now McNamara. The other 5 did nothing of note. McCaffrey received a bunch of hype, but was used sparingly and bailed.
McNamara is an okay qb. He's not a superstar/all-american kind of player that everyone was sold they would be pumping out under "the QB Whisperer." That gives him a 1/8 hit rate on QBs he's recruited. They better hope that gets fixed FAST if they're counting on McCarthy to be a torch-bearer because he needs a lot of work. I'd compare where he is as a qb to Joe Milton in 2020. Lots of talent...good arm, mobile/athletic, but he's nowhere near a finished product. He needs a lot of work. Milton bombed. McNamara wasn't asked to do much and was less of a risk taker, so he worked out okay. Don't see McCarthy fitting that mold.
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