Wednesday marks the beginning of the three-day early signing period for high school and junior college recruits, and it’s already resulted in the signing of the highest-rated quarterback the Gophers have attracted since Tim Brewster was still the head coach.
Jacob Clark, a 6-foot-5 pro-style quarterback from Rockwall, Texas, made good on his June verbal commitment by signing on Wednesday morning.
According to 247 Sports, the California Golden Bears were among the favorites to land Clark. California is the same college that produced Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and more recently, Rams quarterback Jared Goff.
247 Sports rates Clark as a three-star QB and the 19th best pro-style quarterback in the country in the Class of 2019. He chose Minnesota over offers from Cal, Iowa, TCU, Purdue, Washington State and Vanderbilt, among others.
Clark also got a three-star rating from ESPN, but Rivals has him listed as a four-star QB.
He’s the highest-rated QB recruit the Gophers have landed since Moses Alipate of Bloomington Jefferson High School signed in 2009.
Here’s a look at some of his highlights from this past season.
It’s unclear what the plan with Clark will be considering the Gophers already have two young quarterbacks in Tanner Morgan and Zack Annexstad. Clark will be enrolling at the University of Minnesota in January, which will give him extra time to prepare for spring practices and his first full season.
A bunch of other recruits are signing today as well. Get the full list here, including a look at Minnesota’s Mr. Football, Jason Williamson, from Owatonna.
Williamson was a superstar in leading Owatonna to a second straight Class 5A state championship this season. rushing for a stunning 3,012 yards and 46 touchdowns.
The recruiting class also includes two, four-star defensive tackles: Rashad Cheney Jr. from Georgia, and Kristian Williams from Tennessee, although Williams is not among the early signees.
You can check out highlights from all of the early signees on the Gophers YouTube channel.
