George County star is one of the top-rated QBs in Mississippi history. Here are the others

George County’s Deuce Knight is heading into his senior season as one of the top-ranked quarterback prospects in the country.

According to 247sports.com’s composite ranking, Knight is a four-star prospect and the No. 8 quarterback in the 2025 class.

That makes the Notre Dame commit, along with Noxubee County’s KaMario Taylor, the 12th and 13th blue-chip quarterbacks to hail from the state of Mississippi. Knight is only the second from the Lower Six counties in the recruiting service era, dating back to 2000.

Knight is the 12th four-star from the state, which has only produced one five star quarterback — Taylorsville product and Auburn star Jason Campbell.

While Knight is part of a growing list of Mississippi-bred gunslingers, he’ll be just the fifth to go to college outside of the state out of high school, and the first to leave the South.

Here’s a complete history of every blue-chip quarterback recruit from the state.

KaMario Taylor, Noxubee County | Class of 2025 | Mississippi State

Taylor is the first home-state blue-chip quarterback the Bulldogs have landed in 15 years. Taylor threw for 3,647 yards as a junior with 48 touchdowns to just five interceptions. He added another 789 yards on the ground and 15 scores.

AJ Maddox, Oak Grove | Class of 2024 | Ole Miss

Maddox was originally a Texas A&M commit before signing with Lane Kiffin and the Rebels. Maddox guided Oak Grove to a 7A state championship as a senior and is an early enrollee at Ole Miss.

Luke Altmyer, Starkville | Class of 2021 | Ole Miss

Altmyer was the No. 4-ranked prospect in the state out of his class and spent his first two seasons of college ball as a backup for the Rebels. He started nine games for Illinois in 2023 and has two seasons of eligibility remaining with the Illini.

KJ Jefferson, Sardis | Class of 2019 | Arkansas

Jefferson was a terror at 3A Sardis, racking up 9,582 career passing yards and 143 total touchdowns. He would go on to start 38 games for Arkansas, throwing for 7,911 yards and 67 touchdowns while rushing for another 1,876 yards and 21 scores. Jefferson will play his final season at UCF.

John Rhys Plumlee, Oak Grove | Class of 2019 | Ole Miss

The 2019 class has been the only to produce multiple blue-chip quarterbacks from Mississippi. Plumlee was a two-sport star who initially chose Georgia before flipping to Ole Miss. He continued to play both football and baseball for the Rebels for three seasons before doing the same at UCF for his final two years.

At UCF, Plumlee threw for nearly 5,000 yards and 29 touchdowns on the gridiron and had 56 hits with 10 home runs in one season on the diamond. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in April.

Myles Brennan, St. Stanislaus | Class of 2017 | LSU

Brennan smashed statewide passing records in high school as the first blue-chip prospect to come out of the Coast. At LSU, Brennan was a backup to Danny Etling and Joe Burrow before getting the starting nod in 2020. He threw for 1,112 yards and 11 touchdowns through three games, but an injury sidelined him for the year. Brennan would miss the 2021 season with another injury and opted to retire just before the 2022 season began.

Ryan Buchanan, Jackson Prep | Class of 2013 | Ole Miss

Ole Miss brought in a pair of four-star quarterbacks in the 2013 class and both were gone after three seasons. Buchanan completed 20 passes backing up Bo Wallace and Chad Kelly between the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He is the state’s only blue-chip quarterback from an MAIS school.

Anthony Alford, Petal | Class of 2012 | Southern Miss

Alford is still the second-highest rated recruit in Golden Eagles history, but his time in Hattiesburg was brief. In between lone seasons at USM and Ole Miss, Alford played professional baseball in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He would go on to play 102 games in the majors for the Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates and is now in the Mexican League.

Tyler Russell, Meridian | Class of 2009 | Mississippi State

Russell was a 5A state champion at Meridian before joining Dan Mullen’s roster in Starkville. He played in 38 games across four seasons, throwing for 5,441 career yards and 42 touchdowns. The latter was a school record at the time.

Blake Barnes, Baldwyn | Class of 2004 | Georgia

Barnes was a Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year at Baldwyn, but played behind the likes of David Greene, DJ Shockley and Matt Stafford at Georgia. He played in only four games through four years before transferring to Delta State and throwing for 533 yards and three scores in 2008.

Omarr Conner, Noxubee County | Class of 2003 | Mississippi State

Conner was a dynamic athlete who played both quarterback and wide receiver for the Bulldogs. He threw for just over 3,000 yards across three seasons, caught 31 passes and was responsible for 20 total touchdowns. Conner is currently the quarterbacks coach at Hinds Community College.

Jason Campbell, Taylorsville | Class of 2000 | Auburn

Campbell came out of the earliest digital recruiting rankings class and was one of the most successful homegrown quarterbacks in the state’s history. He threw for over 7,000 career yards and led Auburn to an undefeated 2004 season with an SEC championship and Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech.

Campbell was a first-round draft pick and had a nine-year career with five different teams. He threw for over 16,700 yards in his career with 87 touchdowns. He is now an analyst for Auburn Sports Network.