The 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl is here, and the quarterbacks are set to take top billing. Two years ago, the Shrine Bowl saw Brock Purdy take center stage before landing as one of the top signal-callers in this year’s NFL playoffs.
Are any of this year’s Shrine Bowl quarterbacks destined for top NFL Draft picks and stardom?
Shrine Bowl QB Rankings
The Shrine Bowl begins on Saturday, Jan. 27, and will be a spectacle for all NFL Draft enthusiasts. This year’s quarterback class has a variety of record-setters and high upside mixed with notable names and potential sleepers.
Here’s how those QBs stack up against one another at this stage of their prospective NFL Draft journey.
1) Jordan Travis, FSU
Florida State’s Jordan Travis is undoubtedly the top quarterback attending the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl. However, Travis will not participate in any field drills as he continues rehabbing a gruesome injury against North Alabama in Week 12 of the college football season.
When healthy, Travis is as accurate as the top quarterbacks of the 2024 NFL Draft class. He also has an uncanny athleticism that he uses to buy time and rebuild the pocket. Travis took the proverbial step forward at the end of the 2022 season and looked every bit the part of a talented future NFL quarterback before injury in 2023.
He’ll be there to answer questions about his leg health at the Shrine Bowl. How NFL teams feel about his status between now and the future events of the pre-draft process will ultimately decide where he’s selected in April. But at his best, Travis is a Day 2 prospect with his overall abilities at quarterback.
2) Jason Bean, Kansas
Don’t look now, but the sleeper quarterback of the pre-draft process for the 2024 NFL Draft is Jason Bean. The former Kansas Jayhawks (and North Texas Mean Green) signal-caller had an outstanding week at the Hula Bowl and parlayed that success to an invite to the Shrine Bowl following his time in Orlando.
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Bean is as athletic as they come and the fastest quarterback from the entire 2023 college football season. His athleticism makes him a valuable asset to an NFL team’s backfield in multiple capacities, but his arm talent makes him a viable quarterback in the future.
Watch for Bean to have a great week at the Shrine Bowl.
3) Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
The 2022 college football season’s record holder for most passing yards, Austin Reed, is out to prove he’s a viable signal-caller for the professional ranks. All Reed did at Western Kentucky was exceed expectations after transferring from West Florida following the 2021 season.
Reed and former offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle developed an incredible rapport that saw Reed blow past the success that Bailey Zappe had a season prior in Bowling Green. He can make every throw and has terrific accuracy, but how he adjusts to quick pressure and developing coverage schemes at the NFL level will be on display at the Shrine Bowl.
4) Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
Yes, Taulia Tagovailoa has an NFL legacy to his advantage as he hopes to join his brother Tua in the professional ranks. But Taulia and Tua are very different quarterbacks.
Taulia throws with incredible anticipation and has a zip to his throws with his shortened delivery. Oh, he’s also right-handed, compared to his brother’s left-handed nature.
While Taulia won’t be a first-round pick like his brother, he can make every doubter believe with his performance at the Shrine Bowl. When he was at his best at Maryland, Tagovailoa layered shots beautifully over defenders, threw his receivers open, and helped elevate talent.
Far too often, however, Tagovailoa made far too many ugly throws and poor decisions. Those will have to change quickly in the pre-draft process. The Shrine Bowl is one of the last chances Tagovailoa can show he’s improved in that regard during live action.
5) Devin Leary, Kentucky
Former NC State Wolfpack quarterback Devin Leary had an up-and-down final season of college eligibility, a year spent with the Kentucky Wildcats. Leary threw for 87 career touchdowns across five seasons but failed to meet lofty expectations in his lone season of SEC play.
Yet, there were moments at Kentucky when Leary showcased what made him a sought-after player in the transfer portal last offseason. He has great arm strength and an ability to spot receivers streaking open with just a slight bit of separation.
But he’s been late at times in his career, notably throwing to the sidelines or away from his body. Decision-making is an ability that’s fixable in an NFL scheme, but you’d want to have seen a cleaner billing from Leary as he matured in college.
6) John Rhys Plumlee, UCF
John Rhys Plumlee reportedly met with just about every team at the Hula Bowl, meeting with them as a quarterback, not working at any other position, as he tries to make his NFL dreams come true. Plumlee is every bit of one of the top athletes at the Shrine Bowl now that he’s been called up, so to speak.
His arm talent is not in question; his stature in the pocket and field vision are. Plumlee is dynamic with the ball in his hand and that will likely carve him a role in the NFL as early as next season. His performance at the Shrine Bowl can vault him into the draft-eligible tier of athletic quarterbacks.
7) Kedon Slovis, BYU
With everything going his way to start his collegiate journey, the career arc for Kedon Slovis is as unique as they come. From taking the USC Trojans’ starting role from JT Daniels to transferring to Pittsburgh with terrible results, Slovis was hoping for a resurgence at BYU in 2023.
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Sure, that didn’t come for Slovis or the Cougars in their first season of Big 12 play. However, Slovis still showcased some of the talent he possesses with his arm talent at times this past season.
With three different offensive coordinators over the past three seasons, there is still hope for Slovis’ NFL career, but he’ll need a big-timer performance at “The Star” to showcase he can adapt to yet another playbook quickly.
8) Jack Plummer, Louisville
Jack Plummer has a ton of talent with his ability to throw from inside the structure of an offense. His experience at the Shrine Bowl will be unique because he has all the tools of a next-level starter.
Plummer doesn’t have the elite arm talent, but he certainly has enough to get the ball out quickly and on time in a timing-based offense. If he lands at the right spot in the NFL, Plummer could make noise, but his performance at the Shrine Bowl will have to swoon over decision-makers.
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