Earlier this month, three-star 2024 QB Brendan Zurbrugg unwittingly found himself at a crossroads.
Less than a month after Zurbrugg flipped his commitment from Syracuse to Northwestern, a hazing scandal resulted in the firing of longtime Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald. In the immediate aftermath, Northwestern lost several of its verbal commitments from prospects in the 2024 cycle. Though Zurbrugg wasn’t among those who reneged on his pledge to the Wildcats, he did begin to re-evaluate his recruitment and the options at his disposal. That’s when one of college football’s blue-blood programs saw an opportunity… and jumped all over it.
In search of a second quarterback to add to their 2024 haul, Oklahoma extended an offer to Zurbrugg and immediately pushed to get the Alliance (Ohio) native on campus in late July. For his part, Zurbrugg was receptive to the Sooners’ overtures, and he booked a July 28 unofficial.
In the aftermath of his first-ever trip to the Sooner State, Zurbrugg discussed the visit in detail with OUInsider.
“I’d never been there before,” Zurbrugg remarked. “It was definitely cool to experience. It’s hotter; I can tell you that. It’s a lot hotter than it is here. But they love football. They love football in Norman. So I love that… I only had a day, so it was crammed. I had meetings with just about everybody — coaching staff, academic advisor, all those people. And then they had the Party at the Palace that night, so I met a bunch of recruits. It was a really good day."
Oklahoma already owns a commitment from four-star Frisco (Texas) signal-caller Michael Hawkins, a legacy prospect whom Rivals regards as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the nation. It might be expected that the presence of another QB commit would dissuade Zurbrugg from matriculating at Oklahoma, but he’s not one to shy away from competition.
“No, absolutely not — I actually met Michael,” said Zurbrugg. “We get along, and outside of playing quarterback, we’d be friends with each other. And regardless of what year I am or what other quarterbacks or there, no matter what school I go to, I’m gonna have to compete with other quarterbacks. So it’s not much of a big deal.”
With less than three weeks until the first game of his senior season, Zurbrugg says he wants to wrap up the recruitment process soon. In his mind, the final two options are to honor his commitment to Northwestern or flip to Oklahoma. He’s still been in contact with the remnants of the Wildcat staff, but acknowledged that communication has been sparse amidst the tumult in Evanston.
“It’s been kind of tough for them and us,” Zurbrugg said of Northwestern, “because their first priority is the players that are there currently. I can’t imagine what they’re going through. So we haven’t talked much; we’ve talked once every week or two weeks or so. It’s a little crazy.”
As for the highlights of his trip to Norman, Zurbrugg says the opportunity to spend face time with the coaches was the most valuable component of the visit.
“Honestly, just getting to meet all of the coaches, that’s a huge part of it,” he observed. “Because whatever school you go to, that’s going to be the people you’re around for the next four or five years. So meeting all the coaches was really important and really good. And next up besides that was meeting other recruits.”
Another key element of Oklahoma’s pitch to Zurbrugg was the offense, which aligns nicely with the dual-threat nature of his play. His arm and his legs can offer value in Jeff Lebby’s scheme.
“The offense they run, I match, first of all,” he said. “But with the type of quarterback they bring in, they can also do things that match the quarterback. He said, for example, someone like me — I run the ball pretty well. They would have more quarterback running plays, more options, that type of thing.”
Zurbrugg plans to make a final decision between the Sooners and the Wildcats this week.
Less than a month after Zurbrugg flipped his commitment from Syracuse to Northwestern, a hazing scandal resulted in the firing of longtime Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald. In the immediate aftermath, Northwestern lost several of its verbal commitments from prospects in the 2024 cycle. Though Zurbrugg wasn’t among those who reneged on his pledge to the Wildcats, he did begin to re-evaluate his recruitment and the options at his disposal. That’s when one of college football’s blue-blood programs saw an opportunity… and jumped all over it.
In search of a second quarterback to add to their 2024 haul, Oklahoma extended an offer to Zurbrugg and immediately pushed to get the Alliance (Ohio) native on campus in late July. For his part, Zurbrugg was receptive to the Sooners’ overtures, and he booked a July 28 unofficial.
In the aftermath of his first-ever trip to the Sooner State, Zurbrugg discussed the visit in detail with OUInsider.
“I’d never been there before,” Zurbrugg remarked. “It was definitely cool to experience. It’s hotter; I can tell you that. It’s a lot hotter than it is here. But they love football. They love football in Norman. So I love that… I only had a day, so it was crammed. I had meetings with just about everybody — coaching staff, academic advisor, all those people. And then they had the Party at the Palace that night, so I met a bunch of recruits. It was a really good day."
Oklahoma already owns a commitment from four-star Frisco (Texas) signal-caller Michael Hawkins, a legacy prospect whom Rivals regards as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the nation. It might be expected that the presence of another QB commit would dissuade Zurbrugg from matriculating at Oklahoma, but he’s not one to shy away from competition.
“No, absolutely not — I actually met Michael,” said Zurbrugg. “We get along, and outside of playing quarterback, we’d be friends with each other. And regardless of what year I am or what other quarterbacks or there, no matter what school I go to, I’m gonna have to compete with other quarterbacks. So it’s not much of a big deal.”
With less than three weeks until the first game of his senior season, Zurbrugg says he wants to wrap up the recruitment process soon. In his mind, the final two options are to honor his commitment to Northwestern or flip to Oklahoma. He’s still been in contact with the remnants of the Wildcat staff, but acknowledged that communication has been sparse amidst the tumult in Evanston.
“It’s been kind of tough for them and us,” Zurbrugg said of Northwestern, “because their first priority is the players that are there currently. I can’t imagine what they’re going through. So we haven’t talked much; we’ve talked once every week or two weeks or so. It’s a little crazy.”
As for the highlights of his trip to Norman, Zurbrugg says the opportunity to spend face time with the coaches was the most valuable component of the visit.
“Honestly, just getting to meet all of the coaches, that’s a huge part of it,” he observed. “Because whatever school you go to, that’s going to be the people you’re around for the next four or five years. So meeting all the coaches was really important and really good. And next up besides that was meeting other recruits.”
Another key element of Oklahoma’s pitch to Zurbrugg was the offense, which aligns nicely with the dual-threat nature of his play. His arm and his legs can offer value in Jeff Lebby’s scheme.
“The offense they run, I match, first of all,” he said. “But with the type of quarterback they bring in, they can also do things that match the quarterback. He said, for example, someone like me — I run the ball pretty well. They would have more quarterback running plays, more options, that type of thing.”
Zurbrugg plans to make a final decision between the Sooners and the Wildcats this week.
