Ah, to be a high school starting quarterback.

To receive admiring glances from your school mates as you roam the hallways of a peer pressure cooker. To take the helm of your team and lead them to glory in weekend battles with cross town rivals. To bask in the longing gazes of cheerleaders and precocious underclasswomen whose heart you can send a flutter with a single smile.

At least that’s what I always imagined it was like.

You know, when I was daydreaming in Spanish class instead of paying rapt attention to yet another round of the “Como-te-llamas-me-llamo-Gordon” drill.

Despite these glory days — real or imagined — the transition to college can be particularly difficult for incoming quarterbacks. Along with getting acclimated to new offensive sets, unfamiliar teammates and a higher level of play, many first year QBs face the reality that, previous honors notwithstanding, they’re unlikely to see significant playing time this fall.

But an unknown arm in 2005 may be “the man” in 2006 and beyond. So we’re letting the incoming quarterback hopefuls take a few snaps for this edition of the Recruiting Recap.

Herron Elects to Join the Presidents

A good feature in The (Charleston, W. VA) State Journal tells the story of Bobby Herron who will attend Washington & Jefferson next fall. The Wheeling Central Catholic High School quarterback joins an offense with lots of weapons returning, including quarterback Chris Edwards who tossed 38 touchdowns last year.

Herron enters college with realistic expectations, telling the Journal, “[W]ith a guy like Chris Edwards coming back, I know that the No. 2 slot is what I’m shooting for this year. Then next year, we’ll see.”

Herron’s story is also a great example of why many talented players decide to play football at the Division III level.

W&J is a smaller school relatively close to home offering Herron a quality education and a chance to play the game he loves. Herron emphasizes that his studies will come first. “I already know that I’m not going to play pro ball for a living, and I know that I’m going to have to turn pro in something. College is where I’ll get the education for the future.”

Well said, Mr. President.

Wartburg Bound

The (Waterloo, Iowa) Courier reports that another talented high school quarterback is headed to a perennial playoff contender. Denver (Iowa) HS quarterback Jake Kuennen will bring his strong arm to Waverly where Wartburg comes off yet another IIAC title.

Like W&J, Wartburg has an incumbent starter returning at quarterback in senior-to-be Reed Hoskins. Despite a relatively weak ratio of 14 touchdowns to 15 interceptions, Hoskins took a large majority of the snaps last year with back-up QB Greg Koenen only throwing three passes.

MIT be a good Fit

Valley Central (N.Y.) HS alum Stephen Toth apparently likes a challenge. So the valedictorian/quarterback plans to play baseball and football at MIT…after he starts classes in pursuit of his chemical engineering degree…after he joins the college’s ROTC program.

Toth told the Middletown (N.Y.) Times-Herald that he was particularly struck by a Mark Twain quote on an MIT brochure — “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.”

Class work at MIT plus football plus ROTC plus the rest of college life? Sounds like a challenge.

In other recruiting news that crossed our virtual desk:

– Pontiac (Ill.) HS grad Christopher Green will play at Augustana

– Charleston (Ill.) HS WR/DB Jason Murphy heads to Illinois College

– Lyndhurst (N.J.) HS quarterback Brian Kapp will attend Montclair State

– Carmi-White County (Ind.) HS product Eric Trout will enroll at North Central

– Wyoming Valley West (Pa.) HS rusher Ryan Kraynack will suit up for Union

– Green Bay East (Wis.) HS lineman Matt Klug heads to UW-Platteville

– Bexley (Ohio) HS teammates Matt Ellinger and David Gitlitz will attend W&J

Remember that there are plenty more recruits listed here, including new links to full recruiting classes for Delaware Valley, Franklin & Marshall and Minnesota-Morris.

And you can share recruiting news using the comments feature below, but please provide a URL to verify the story.