On Sunday, rookie Caleb Williams leads the Chicago Bears against second-year starter Anthony Richardson and the Indianapolis Colts. Both quarterbacks are 22 years old.
Together, Williams and Richardson are five years younger than the expected starters in Utah’s game against Oklahoma State on Saturday in Stillwater.
Cam Rising is 25. Alan Bowman is 24. Rising, a four-star quarterback from Newbury Park, California, and Bowman, a three-star quarterback from Grapevine, Texas, were in the 2018 recruiting class.
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That’s the same class as Trevor Lawrence of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Justin Fields of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (who finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 2018 rankings), as all three are in their fourth NFL season. Fields has already been traded and is starting for his second team.
Rising and Bowman are so old they might need a nap at half-time. Where’s the Ovaltine?
Other comparisons are wild.
CJ Stroud (age 22) of the Houston Texans is in his second season and leads his team this weekend against the Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota is currently led by Sam Darnold, who is 27 years old and playing on his fourth NFL team.
They are the same age as Rising and Bowman.
Jordan Love (25), who waited patiently for Aaron Rodgers for three years in Green Bay before getting his chance, and Will Levis (25), who transferred from Penn State to Kentucky, spent five years in college and is now playing his second year with the Tennessee Titans, are together one year older.
The age comparisons in the NFL starting quarterback duels this weekend could go on forever.
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Both Rising (who will only start the game due to a hand injury) and Bowman had to make detours to their respective locations this weekend.
Out of the blue, Rising transferred from Oklahoma to Texas, but only spent a short time there before moving to Utah.
He was undrafted in Austin in 2018. He was undrafted in 2019 before spending years as the Utes’ starter but missing all of last season with injury. He’s back for one final round as Utah’s starting quarterback after being ranked 149th overall in the 2018 Rivals250.
Bowman originally signed with Texas Tech because Penn State showed interest because he was a Nittany Lions legend. He played three seasons at Lubbock, two at Michigan and is now in his second year at Oklahoma State after throwing for 3,460 yards last year.
To ask one final question: How long – how painfully long – had Rising and Bowman been in college?
When the two quarterbacks began playing college football at age 18, many, if not all, of the freshmen at both Utah and Oklahoma State, members of the class of 2024, had just finished elementary school.
One last ride on Saturday for Rising and Bowman. Then a nice warm blanket, a comfy chair and Matlock replays.
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