What the 1st round of the 2021 NFL Draft told us about Bryan Harsin’s eye for quarterbacks

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The first night of the NFL Draft was devoid of Auburn players, but the first round provided a trend that provides some insight into new Tigers head coach Bryan Harsin.

The man has an eye for quarterback talent.

That was evident during the first three picks of Thursday’s opening round, when the New York Jets selected BYU quarterback Zach Wilson with the No. 2 overall pick and the San Francisco 49ers followed by drafting North Dakota State’s Trey Lance with the third overall pick. Neither of those quarterbacks played for Harsin, of course, but both were highly coveted by the then-Boise State head coach coming out of high school despite being three-star prospects rated 958th and 2,005th overall in the 2018 class, respectively, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

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Wilson was a longtime Boise State commit before ultimately ending up closer to home at BYU, while Lance was long committed to North Dakota State, an FCS program, but had Boise State among his few FBS offers coming out of high school. Harsin’s assessments of the two were also similar during their recruitments, which were also somewhat intertwined back in 2017.

Wilson, a former three-star prospect out of Draper, Utah, took an unofficial visit to Boise State in early June 2017 for a camp. Harsin and Boise State’s staff were already familiar with Wilson; they’d evaluated his film before, and the consensus was that he was “really raw but had some great tools and frame” at 6-foot-3 and shy of 200 pounds, according to a source familiar with the evaluation. When Wilson arrived for the camp, Harsin personally put him through a rigorous workout that was intended to really press the Corner Canyon High prospect.

Wilson put on a show for Harsin and his staff that day, and the next morning they called and extended an offer to him. The following day, Wilson announced his commitment to Boise State and canceled planned trips to UNC and South Carolina that same week.

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Wilson showed remarkable mental toughness during the demanding workout, and his performance that afternoon remains one of the most impressive displays Harsin has seen from a prospect, a source told AL.com.

“The kid just wasn’t fazed and was really, really impressive,” the source said. “… He was really athletic and had crazy arm strength; he just needed to gain weight and get stronger, but we always knew we could do with that guy.”

Wilson remained committed to Boise State for six months and made regular trips to the Broncos’ campus, which was about 350 miles from his hometown of Draper. Then, on Dec. 13, 2017 -- a week before the start of the early signing period -- Wilson backed off his commitment to Boise State, which had just arrived in Las Vegas to begin bowl week preparation for that year’s Las Vegas Bowl against Oregon. Eight days later, Wilson signed with BYU, saying in the time since that the opportunity to play closer to home and family -- despite his own family ties to BYU’s rival, Utah -- was too good to pass up.

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After the Broncos defeated the Ducks in the 2017 Las Vegas Bowl to cap an 11-3 campaign, Harsin and his staff returned to Boise and began poring through their recruiting board at quarterback, in search of a player who might be available in that class. They immediately identified Lance, another three-star prospect who had been committed to FCS program North Dakota State for nearly seven months.

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In Lance, Harsin saw many of the same traits that he recognized in Wilson, according to a source: “He was super athletic and had crazy arm strength but was just skinny” and needed some time to develop in the weight room.

The Broncos gave him a call to gauge his interest and extend an offer. According to Lance’s 247Sports recruiting profile, Boise State was one of just three FBS programs to offer Lance, along with Western Michigan and Northern Illinois. The Broncos trusted their evaluation in Lance, but the Marshall, Minn., native didn’t want to go back on his word to NDSU and told Harsin thanks but no thanks -- a decision Boise State’s staff respected. Lance signed with the Bison the next day during the early signing period.

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The next quarterback Harsin offered in that class was Brock Purdy, another three-star prospect — rated 839th nationally — who took an official visit to Boise State that January. The Broncos were his first FBS offer, but he ultimately signed with Iowa State over Boise State and Alabama. Purdy has thrown for 8,982 yards, 62 touchdowns and 25 interceptions while completing 66.1 percent of his passes at Iowa State the last three seasons, while Wilson parlayed an enormous 2020 campaign—3,692 yards, 33 touchdowns and three interceptions on 73.5 percent completion rate—into becoming top-two pick. Lance, meanwhile, only played in a single exhibition game last fall thanks to the pandemic but was considered one of the most intriguing prospects in this draft class due to his physical attributes, IQ and poise at the position.

It just adds another layer to Harsin’s reputation with quarterbacks. He’s most known for helping develop the likes of Jared Zabransky, Kellen Moore and Brett Rypien while at Boise State, but his ability to evaluate talent at the position was further demonstrated by Thursday night’s first round.

“The thing is we never looked at ratings at any position really,” the source said. “We just trust our evals and find guys that fit our culture."

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