Nearly a decade’s worth of Oklahoma starting quarterbacks are now starters in the NFL.
With Dillon Gabriel set to start in Week 5 for the Cleveland Browns, every OU QB who started the majority of games in each season from 2015 through 2023 is now an NFL starting quarterback. That’s six different players and nearly 19% of the league’s starters.
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It’s a remarkable modern era run of NFL QB success that spans the tenures of Sooners coaches Lincoln Riley and Brent Venables. No other school comes close to having the number of starters the Sooners currently have. Four former Alabama quarterbacks started in Weeks 2 and 3, but that was because Mac Jones started in place of Brock Purdy for the 49ers.
Here’s a look at all the Oklahoma QBs currently starting for their respective NFL teams.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield
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Years as Oklahoma’s starter: 2015, 2016, 2017
After starting his college career at Texas Tech, Mayfield had to sit out the 2014 season when transferring to Oklahoma. He was a three-year starter for the Sooners and finished in the top four of the Heisman voting in all three of those seasons. In his final year as a starter in 2017, Mayfield completed over 70% of his passes and threw for 43 TDs on his way to becoming a Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.
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Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray
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Years as Oklahoma’s starter: 2018
Like Mayfield, Murray started his career at another school. He played eight games for Texas A&M in 2015 before transferring to Oklahoma. He was Mayfield’s backup in 2017 and got spot duty, throwing 121 passes across eight games.
In 2018, Murray threw for over 4,300 yards and 42 TDs while rushing for over 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns to beat out Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa for the Heisman Trophy. Like Mayfield, he was also a No. 1 pick when the Cardinals selected him at the top of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts
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Years as Oklahoma’s starter: 2019
Hurts missed out on becoming the third Oklahoma QB to win the Heisman in three seasons in 2019 when he finished second to Joe Burrow as LSU set offensive records on the way to a 15-0 season and the national championship.
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Hurts was at Alabama for three seasons before transferring to OU after Tagovailoa became Alabama’s starter in 2018. In 2019, Hurts threw for over 3,800 yards and 32 TDs and rushed for nearly 1,300 yards and 20 touchdowns before he was taken in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Eagles.
New Orleans Saints QB Spencer Rattler
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Years as Oklahoma’s starter: 2020, 2021
Rattler took over as OU’s starting QB following Hurts’ departure. The former five-star recruit started 11 games in 2020 and threw for over 3,000 yards and 28 TDs as the Sooners went 9-2 and won the Big 12.
He began the 2021 season as the starter but lost his job to Caleb Williams midway through the season. After playing in just four of Oklahoma’s final eight games of the season, Rattler transferred to South Carolina and started for the Gamecocks in 2022 and 2023 before he was a fifth-round pick of the Saints in the 2024 NFL Draft.
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Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams
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Years as Oklahoma’s starter: 2021
Williams’ play in limited reps behind Rattler forced coach Lincoln Riley to make a QB change midway through the 2021 season. Williams threw for 1,912 yards and 21 TDs on just 211 passing attempts while also rushing for 442 yards and six TDs. When Riley left for USC in a shocking move at the end of the season, Williams followed him.
In 2022, Williams won the Heisman Trophy as he threw for over 4,500 yards and had 52 total touchdowns. His TD stats took a slight step back in 2023, but he was still the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft by the Bears.
Cleveland Browns QB Dillon Gabriel
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Years as Oklahoma’s starter: 2022, 2023
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Gabriel transferred to Oklahoma from UCF after Brent Venables was hired to replace Riley as the Sooners’ coach. Over two years as Oklahoma’s starting QB, Gabriel threw for over 6,800 yards and 55 TDs with just 12 interceptions while also rushing for 18 scores.
After Bo Nix set the NCAA record for completion percentage in 2023, Nix transferred to Oregon ahead of Oklahoma’s bowl game that season for his sixth and final season of college eligibility. As the Ducks went 13-0 on their way to the Big Ten title, Gabriel threw for 3,857 yards and 30 TDs while finishing third in the Heisman voting to Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.
