Coming out of Mission Hills High School in San Marcos, California as part of the 2018 class, Jack Tuttle was once the prized signee of the University of Utah’s football program.
That isn’t hyperbole.
When he signed his letter of intent in Dec. 2017, Tuttle was the highest-rated quarterback prospect to ever sign with the Utes.
At the time, Tuttle was seen as a sure-fire star for Utah, and a probable NFL quarterback.
Said San Diego Union-Tribune reporter John Maffei, who covered Tuttle throughout his prep career: “There’s a kid I could see playing on Sundays.”
Of course, thing didn’t pan out for Tuttle in Salt Lake City.
Midway through his freshman season he enter the NCAA transfer portal.
He ended up an Indiana, where he would spend the next four seasons, playing in 15 games total, with five starts.
As a graduate transfer last year he moved on to Michigan, where he backed up J.J. McCarthy and won an national title with the Wolverines.
After six seasons of college football, Tuttle isn’t done yet, though.
According to multiple reports, and later confirmed by Tuttle on social media, the NCAA has granted the former 4-star QB another season of eligibility.
Tuttle isn’t going to be the oldest college football player in the country next season, but here’s some perspective on his return for a seventh year.
Rated a top-10 pro style QB coming out of high school, Tuttle was in the same class as Trevor Lawrence, JT Daniels, Tanner McKee, Matt Corral, Tyler Shough, Joe Milton III, Devin Leary, Sam Hartman, Brock Purdy, Zach Wilson and current Utah starter Cam Rising.
Lawrence, Purdy and Wilson, famously, are NFL starting quarterbacks. At least most of the time.
Daniels played for four different programs — the USC Trojans, Georgia Bulldogs, West Virginia Mountaineers and Rice Owls — before exhausting his eligiblity.
McKee served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and then played for the Stanford Cardinal, before heading to the NFL.
Corral, Milton, Leary and Hartman all had notable careers, starring for teams like Ole Miss, NC State, Tennessee and Notre Dame.
Of the aforementioned QB’s, Tuttle somehow isn’t the only one still playing in college.
Shough is now at Louisville, after playing for both Oregon and Texas Tech. Injuries have cost him significantly during his collegiate career.
And then there is Rising, who missed all of last year while recovering from a devastating knee injury.
Tuttle, too, suffered a season-ending injury (his final season at Indiana) and he has now managed to carve out quite the career removed from the expectations that he arrived in Salt Lake City with nearly seven years ago. A career that isn’t done yet.