Rivals QB Week: Top H.S. QBs that excelled at another position

It doesn’t happen often, but there are some exceptional athletes that play quarterback in high school and sometimes also in college, but find success in the NFL at another position. Here are the five most successful players that were ranked as quarterbacks on Rivals.com but switched positions in college or the NFL.

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Review: Before Chancellor was a two-time All-Pro safety for the Seattle Seahawks, he was a quarterback that led Maury to 10 wins in 2005 by throwing for more than 2,000 yards and rushing for about 500 yards. He was named first-team all-district and team MVP his senior year as well. At Virginia Tech, Chancellor was given a chance at quarterback, but got moved to defensive back before his freshman season. The rest, as they say, is history. Chancellor developed into one of the best defensive players to ever come out of Virginia Tech. He recorded more than 200 tackles, six interceptions, four fumble recoveries, and more than 40 combined breakups and passes deflected in 54 games played. The Seahawks selected Chancellor in the fifth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He’s been a major piece to one of the most dominant defenses in recent memory, helping the Seahawks win a Super Bowl, earning four trips to the Pro Bowl, and being named All-Pro twice.

Farrell’s take: Chancellor was a very good athlete. He was a physical kid at the quarterback position. Going to Virginia Tech, they used a lot of dual-threat quarterbacks at the time and guys that could run the ball in a zone-read. He was listed as a quarterback, but was really raw so it didn’t surprise us that he eventually switched to a different position.

Review: Edelman came out of high school and college at a time when NFL teams were just starting to believe shorter quarterbacks could get the job done. As a senior in 2004, Edelman helped his high school team, Woodside, Calif., to an undefeated season and state title while throwing for more than 2,200 yards, rushing for almost 1,000 yards and scoring more than 40 total touchdowns. In 2005 Edelman played one year at the College of San Mateo, a junior college, where he set a school record for rushing yards before transferring to Kent State. He played three seasons for the Golden Flashes, breaking out as a senior. Edelman broke Joshua Cribbs' total offense record when he racked up more than 1,800 passing yards, more than 1,500 rushing yards and 26 total touchdowns. The New England Patriots selected Edelman in the seventh round of the 2009 NFL Draft as a wide receiver. After playing primarily on special teams and emerging as a top punt returner for four years, Edelman has become a starter and one of Tom Brady's top targets the last three seasons.

Farrell’s take: Edelman was a prolific athlete in high school but went under-recruited because he was very small. Back then, a lot of the smaller guys that didn’t get the national attention ended up in the MAC. In those days, anyone that played quarterback and was under 6-foot wasn’t really looked at. Most colleges wanted guys that were 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4. The exceptions were specific offenses that were built for athletic dual-threat guys. Edelman wanted to play at a bigger college out of high school, but had to go the junior college route for a year to get his shot.

Review: A heralded recruit out of high school, Miller was No. 34 in the Rivals100 in the 2011 recruiting class. He led his high school to the state title game his senior year after scoring 34 total touchdowns, passing for more than 2,100 yards, and rushing for almost 700 yards. His career at Ohio State has been well documented but it included accolades like Big Ten Freshman of the Year, two Big Ten MVPs and two Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year awards. Miller sustained a season-ending injury before the 2014 season and switched to wide receiver for the 2015 season, his final season as a Buckeye. In limited action he put up 341 receiving yards, three touchdowns, and caught 26 passes during the 2015 season. The Houston Texas selected Miller in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Farrell’s take: Miller was a dynamic quarterback but wasn’t a big guy. He was closer to 6-foot-1. Miller was very fast and dominant in every aspect of the game as a quarterback. The fact that he got injured and then reinvented himself as a wide receiver is pretty amazing. When you have the ball in your hands all the time you don’t know how that’s going to translate to receiver. He obviously did a great job. If you told me years ago that Miller would be in the NFL as a wide receiver, there’s no way I would’ve thought that. I would’ve thought he would be in the NFL as a quarterback and as a highly-touted one.

Review: After leading New London to a 12-win season, Reed redshirted at Florida in 2009 and, like Miller, started a number of games as a quarterback in college. In 2010 Reed started four games at quarterback and played in all 12 that year. He was moved to tight end before the 2011 season and really excelled. Reed was named an All-SEC performer after the 2012 season and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has battled injuries in the NFL but is viewed as one of the top young tight ends in the league.

Farrell’s take: Reed grew up in Connecticut, where I live, so I saw him many times. He played at a high school that always put up big numbers. Reed’s high school coach was controversial but also known for producing good football players. Reed was very raw but very big, about 6-foot-4 and filled out. He was much better outside the pocket than as a pocket passer. When Florida took him I was surprised because I wondered what they were doing up in Connecticut when they’re located in the Southeast. Knowing the offense that they had run under Tim Tebow, I could sort of see Reed fitting in but I never thought he would move to tight end and be this successful.

Review: Coming out of Northern Virginia, Smith originally wanted to go to the University of Virginia. When the Cavaliers were slow to offer Smith jumped at the chance to play for Maryland. Smith had more rushing yards than passing yards his senior year in high school but remained ranked as a dual-threat quarterback. After redshirting in 2007, Smith burst onto the scene in 2008 by setting an ACC season record for kickoff return yards and broke that record again in 2009 en route to All-ACC honors. In 2010 Smith was an All-ACC selection as a wide receiver and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. So far his best season as a professional came in 2013 when he recorded 1,128 yards. In 2014 Smith scored 11 touchdowns for the Ravens. He signed with the San Francisco 49ers before the 2015 season.

Farrell’s take: Smith was faster than Chancellor and a much more explosive dual-threat quarterback that just ran away from everybody. He wasn’t an accomplished passer and mechanically wasn’t a guy colleges were looking for. We didn’t really project Smith to be a wide receiver but I could see with his speed how that could happen. We thought he would go to Maryland and actually change their offense because at the time they were looking for more dual-threat guys, guys that could cause a lot of problems for defenses with their feet.