Tennessee has been shopping around for quarterbacks in the 2019 recruiting cycle, and they finally picked up a commitment from one of the hottest names at the position in this class.
Brian Maurer visited Tennessee’s campus last week and performed in front UT’s coaches. He thoroughly enjoyed his visit, and he came away with a scholarship offer from the Vols while there. And on Wednesday, he announced his commitment to Tennessee.
C O M M I T T E D ❗ #GBO ? pic.twitter.com/e4iTWLq9Bl
— Brian Maurer (@maurerera_2) June 27, 2018
Maurer’s recruitment has exploded this summer as he’s performed at several summer camps. He picked up an offer from Texas A&M during the first week of June, camped at Florida, and then picked up an offer from Ohio State this past weekend after attending a camp on their campus.
The promising pro-style quarterback went from barely being known to suddenly vaulting into the spotlight. He also held offers from West Virginia, Boston College, UCF, Cincinnati, and others.
The 247Sports Composite rankings list Maurer as the No. 492 overall player and No. 18 pro-style quarterback in the 2019 class right now. But with his performances in various summer camps so far, he’s bound to rise up those rankings. He performed exceptionally well at the Elite 11 Finals and was one of just 12 quarterbacks to be invited to Nike’s The Opening Finals. The finals will be held from June 30th through July 3rd over in Frisco, Texas.
And now Maurer will be representing the Vols at The Opening Finals.
Maurer’s summer has helped him become more well known by bigger schools, but his highlight film shows that he’s always had raw talent and just needed a stage to show it off.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Maurer has an extremely strong arm and great vision. He has great zip on his throws, and his deep passes have beautiful arcs on them. He can make a number of throws to various parts of the field, and he has the mobility needed to escape incoming defenders. He’s listed as a pro-style quarterback, but he’s surprisingly agile too. When he tucks the ball and runs, he’s fairly dangerous on the ground. He needs to work on his accuracy and how to lead receivers better, but he certainly has the arm talent and athleticism to build upon. He has a unique delivery too, and he has a bit of a windup with it. But he makes it work for him for the most part.
As a junior, Maurer completed 57.5 percent of his 388 pass attempts for 2,512 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions according to MaxPreps. He also ran for 259 yards and six scores on just 51 carries, giving him an average of 5.1 yards per carry.
The 2019 class isn’t the strongest in terms of overall quarterback talent, and that’s helped Maurer grab attention over the summer. If he can build off this momentum for his senior season of high school, expect Tennessee to have to fight off other Power Five schools to keep his pledge.
It’s unlikely Maurer — should he stay committed and sign with Tennessee — will come in and immediately compete for the Vols’ starting quarterback job in 2019. He has plenty of talent, but he likely needs some development first, especially with his mechanics. But 2020 and 2021 should be Maurer’s time to compete.
Tennessee now has 12 commitments in their 2019 class. Maurer is the only quarterback to commit to the Vols in this cycle, but it’s still very likely Tennessee tries to add a second signal caller in their class.
