By Lenny Moon
The opportunity for Blacks to play the quarterback position in the National Football League has been a gradual process that came equipped with an innate resistance for the slot referred to as the “field general”. The quarterback is unquestionably the leader of their offense and in most instances the entire team. Blacks have always played the position and excelled as the signal-caller even during the era when a quarterback called their own plays (but not in the NFL). In a society that often doesn’t subscribe to equity (especially in leadership roles), the Black attempting to play the quarterback position constantly collided with the ironclad wall designed to keep them on the outside of it. Fast forward the clock to the third decade of the 21st Century and there were a record 15 of the 32 NFL franchises were led by a Black quarterback on opening day of the 2024 campaign. Collectively five of this contingent has three years of experience or less, with Washington’s Jaden Daniels and Chicago’s Caleb Williams check in as rookies. There are four Heisman Trophy winners in this grouping and two other Finalist. This edition will focus on Part I of the two segment NFC Black Opening Day-starters with Part II-NFC (along with Part III-AFC and Part IV-AFC of the series) will follow on future presentations. These NFC quarterbacks presented below are in alphabetical order.
This mercurial multi-talented athlete first came to my attention while toiling as a freshman starting quarterback at Arizona State, then coached by former NFL coach Herm Edwards. At that stage of his development, the Fontana, Ca native was quite capable of doing spectacular feats on the gridiron but his performances were erratic while making the transition to Power 5 football as a teenager. He wrapped his inaugural campaign with the Sun Devils by passing for nearly 3,000 yds and 17 TDs vs only 2 Int and rushed for 355 yds and 3 more TDs, including snaring MVP honors in 2019 Sun Bowl vs Florida State. Daniels would play two more seasons at Arizona State (including the abbreviated 2020 CoVid shortened season) before transferring to the Southeastern Conference and LSU.
With two years of eligibility remaining and now in the vaunted SEC, Daniels put the collegiate football world on notice by leading the Tigers to a 10-4 record, passing for 2,913 yds with 17 TDs vs only 3 Int and rushing for 885 yards with 11 more TDs. His senior season was one for the ages, passing for 3,812 yards, a whopping 40 TDs vs only 4 Int (72% completion) and get this, 1,134 yds rushing and 10 more TDs. The multi-skilled dual threat quarterback won the Heisman Trophy as a parting gift as he prepared for the next level. The Washington Commanders selected Daniels with the 2nd pick of the 1st round of the 2024 NFL Draft and at this stage of the season, the mobile signal-caller was named the starter coming out of training camp and has not missed a beat.
It seems that Houston, Tx native Jalen Hurts has been on our TV screen for an eternity, leading the Alabama Crimson Tide to a College Football Playoff National Championship appearance as a true-freshman quarterback, losing his job to Tua Tagovailoa then transferring to Oklahoma. Since he had completed his B.A. in Communications and Information, Jalen was eligible to play immediately as a Graduate Transfer. Once settled in at Lorman, Ok, Hurts became a total beast. throwing for 3,851 yds, 32 TDs passing, 1,298 yds rushing with 20 more TDs on the ground. That’s 52 total TDs he was responsible for producing, finishing 2nd in the Heisman Trophy balloting to LSU’s Joe Burrow. While a graduate student as a Sooner, he completed his M.A. in Human Relations before being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2nd round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Being a winner his entire playing career, Hurts had catapulted into the Eagles starting position late in his rookie campaign. By the time that his 3rd season rolled around and 2nd as the training camp starter the multi-talented signal caller really began to assert himself as one of the top talents in the league at his position. The son of a high school football coach threw for 3,701 yds with 22 TDs passing, while rushing for 760 yds and 13 more TDs leading Philadelphia to an appearance in Super Bowl LVII vs Kansas City. Although his Eagles came up on the short end of a dramatic 38-35 score, Hurts threw for 304 yds and a TD and rushed for a Super Bowl record by a QB with 70 yds and 3 TDs. And to think that he’s still only 26 yrs of age.
Although not a widely known player coming from the collegiate ranks, Jordan Alexander Love has always seemed to be the personality-type that moves at his own pace. Evolving as a two-star prep recruit from Bakersfield, Ca, Utah State would become the only Division I- FBS scholarship offer that came his way which he accepted. While performing for the Mountain West Conference football program, he amassed passing totals that include 8,600 yards, 60 TDs vs 29 int, to go along with 403 rushing yds and 9 TDs. Referencing back to the “moves at his own pace” observation, the 6-4, 220 lb quarterback grew 9 inches and added 80 pounds to his anatomy between his freshman year of high school and his first year of college. This is the same guy that future hall of fame signal caller Aaron Rodgers openly showed his disdain when his-then Green Bay Packers chose to invest their 1st round pick (26th) in the 2020 NFL Draft. Well Rodgers is no longer in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin having moved on t the East Coast with the Jets, and after biding his time holding clipboards for his first three seasons, Love took over the reigns in 2023. If last season is any indication, then Love apparently waited until the right time to put the league on notice. His first season as the opening day starter saw him post 4,159 yds passing with 32 TDs vs 11 int (64% completion), 247 rushing yds and 4 TDs. In his playoff debut, Love led the Packers to a stunning 48-32 victory over the heavily favored Dallas Cowboys. The ever-evolving field general passed for 272 yds and 3 TDs in the victory against the 2nd seeded Cowboys.
If ever an athlete established a portfolio of a “can’t miss” prospect, certainly included within that category has to be Kyler Cole Murray. Where does one begin when breaking down the massive background of accomplishments amassed by the Allen, Tx native (20 miles north of Dallas). A good place to begin is biology. Kyler’s father Kevin Murray was one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of Texas A&M University, earning Southwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors in 1986. While competing in Texas, the most potent state in the union for high school football talent, Kyler accrued legendary success as the leader of Allen High. Being one of the largest suburban schools in the nation, Murray’s team was classified as 6-A (highest designation). With that serving as the foundation, Kyler led his team to three consecutive state titles, winning 43 games in a row. If that wasn’t enough to chew on, Murray was a top MLB prospect that had the option of foregoing football for the professional baseball diamond. He initially selected his father’s alma mater at Texas A&M, would eventually land with the Oklahoma Sooners where he led them an 11-2 record, losing to Alabama in the 2018 Orange Bowl. That would serve as Murray’s final collegiate contest but not before posting 4,361 yds passing and 42 TDs vs 7 int, 1,001 rushing yds and 12 more TDs winning the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s top talent.
Murray was the 1st player selected in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals and became the team’s starting quarterback from day one. Although his team has only made one playoff appearance during his tenure, Murray has actually been quite productive as a NFL quarterback. A quick glance indicates that his name is next to sixteen Cardinals records by a quarterback, NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2019) and a two-time NFL Pro Bowl selection (2020 and 2021).
We’ll present NFC-Part II of the Evolution of the Black Quarterback in the NFL in the next edition. Featured will be Dak Prescott (Dallas), Geno Smith (Seattle), Caleb Williams (Chicago) and Bryce Young (Carolina).
