The success of East Carolina’s all-time passing leader and dark horse Heisman contender shouldn’t be that surprising, especially if you know where he’s from.
ECU star quarterback Shane Carden—more surprising to non-Pirates fans—was only a two-star recruit coming out of high school in 2010. Raised in Bellaire, Texas, just outside of Houston, Carden lead his high school to a Southwest Predatory Conference championship as a senior.
Still grossly overlooked by most FBS programs, Carden considered playing for FCS Stephen F. Austin—just a couple short hours from his home—until former Texas Tech assistant and current West Virginia head coach Dana Holgerson called his old Texas Tech colleague and current ECU head coach Ruffin McNeil to put in a good word for Carden.
Carden took one visit to Greenville, North Carolina, and, as they say, the rest is history.
He’s no longer the two-star undervalued recruit from 2010. In 2014, Carden is a record-breaking, touchdown accumulating, team leading Texan who’s lit up the North Carolina sky in his three years as a starter. Carden (2,129 yards passing, 16 touchdowns, four interceptions) broke the all-time ECU passing mark against SMU in Week 6 and is currently fifth in the country in passing yards per game (354.8).
Carden’s success might seem surprising looking at his perceived value coming out of high school, but looking back at the solid quarterback talent the Lone Star State has produced the last few decades, you’ll realize that Carden is simply fitting in with the pedigree.
As of 2014, Texas has produced the most current starting quarterbacks in both FBS college football and the NFL.
Here’s a list of FBS quarterbacks who’ve started games in 2014:
Baylor: Bryce Petty
East Carolina: Shane Carden
Nebraska: Tommy Armstrong, Jr.
North Texas: Josh Greer
Ohio State: J.T. Barrett
Oklahoma: Trevor Knight
Oklahoma State: J.W. Walsh
Rice: Driphus Jackson
TCU: Trevone Boykin
Texas: Tyrone Swoopes
Texas A&M: Kenny Hill
Texas-San Antonio: Tucker Carter
Texas State: Tyler Jones
Texas Tech: Davis Webb
Tulsa: Dane Evans
Utah State: Chuckie Keeton
UTEP: Jameill Showers
Virginia Tech: Michael Brewer
That’s 18 quarterbacks who played their high school ball in Texas and now are starters at the highest level in college football.
You’ll probably recognize most of the eight quarterbacks listed below who currently start at the professional level, but learning which players came from Big Texas might surprise you.
Bengals: Andy Dalton
Lions: Matthew Stafford
Colts: Andrew Luck
Dolphins: Ryan Tannehill
Saints: Drew Brees
Eagles: Nick Foles
Buccaneers: Josh McCown
Redskins: Robert Griffin III
As you can see, Texas high schools have a knack for producing elite quarterback talent that’s spread around the FBS ranks and matriculates into the NFL. We’ll have to wait and see where Carden falls in the NFL draft after the season and if he will get a shot at increasing the number of starters from Texas in the league.
As for right now, Carden is just following in the talented footsteps of his Texas bloodline.
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