Former Vanderbilt quarterback has a prominent place in the school's football record book. He checks in at No. 47 on the VandySports 100. Follow our countdown to No. 1 here.
Honors and awards: 2018 Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week (vs. Tennessee)
In the VU record book: Single-game passing yards: fifth, ninth (416 vs. Tennessee in 2016, 367 vs. Tennessee in 2018)
Single-game passing attempts: seventh, tied-10th (52 vs. Missouri in 2017, 49 vs. South Carolina in 2017)
Single-game passing touchdowns: tied-fourth (Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama A&M in 2017)
Single-game completion percentage: first, ninth (88.6 vs. Tennessee in 2018, 75.9 vs. TSU in 2018)
Single-season pass completions: third, fifth, seventh (254 in 2018, 220 in 2017, 204 in 2016)
Single-season completion percentage: third (62.6 in 2018)
Single-season passing yards: second, fourth, 10th (3,130 in 2018, 2,823 in 2017, 2,409 in 2016)
Single-season pass attempts: third, fifth (406 in 2018, 380 in 2017)
Single-season passing touchdowns: first, second (26 in 2017, 24 in 2018)
Single-season 300-yard passing games: tied-third, tied-sixth (three in 2017, two in 2018)
Career passing yards: first (8,865)
Career pass attempts: first (1,264)
Career pass completions: first (722)
Career completion percentage: second (57.1)
Career passing touchdowns: first (64)
Career 300-yard passing games: third (six)
Before VU: Senior captain and two-year starting quarterback for Philadelphia private school LaSalle College High School. Helped the team to two Class 4A runner-up finishes and a 16-6 record. Completed 180-of-307 passes for 2,472 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior, earning first-team all-state honors and the Maxwell Club's Pennsylvania Player of the Year. Threw for 4,996 yards and 53 touchdowns as a two-year starter. Also led the swim team to the 2014 state title and was a member of the 200-medley relay team that set a state record.
Freshman (2015): Started against Missouri, Houston, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Tennessee. According to Pro Football Focus, Shurmur played 262 snaps and graded a 57.0 for the season. Took his first collegiate snap vs. Missouri and led VU to a win, hitting 10 of 20 passes for 89 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Led team to a win over Kentucky, completing 13-of-26 throws for 166 yards, two TDs and no picks. Was 15-for-34 for 209 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in a loss at Tennessee.
Sophomore (2016): Started all 13 games for a 6-7 (3-5 Southeastern Conference) squad. According to PFF, took 893 snaps and graded a 59.3. Set the school record for passing yards by a sophomore. Was 21-of-34 for 416 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the win over Tennessee. Was 17-for-30 with two touchdowns, no picks and 273 yards in a win over Ole Miss.
Junior (2017): Started all 13 games for a 5-7 (1-7) team. According to PFF, took 737 snaps and graded a 72.1 for the season. Finished second in the SEC in passing yards and touchdowns. Was 20-of-28 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns, most of that in the first half, as VU coasted to a win at Middle Tennessee. Was 15-for-18 for 208 yards and four TDs against Alabama A&M. Was 14-of-23 for 205 yards, adding a touchdown through the air and another on the ground, in a win over a ranked Kansas St. team. Went 27-for-49, with 333 yards, four touchdowns and a pick, in loss to South Carolina. Was 20-for-31 with 283 passing yards, four TDs and no interceptions in a win over Tennessee.
Senior (2018): Led VU to a 6-7 (3-5) mark. According to PFF, took 844 snaps and graded a 72.0 for the season. In SEC games, Shurmur threw 15 touchdowns, second most in the league and just three interceptions, second fewest in the league. Was phenomenal against Tennessee, completing 31-of-35 for 367 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-13 victory. That was part of a four-game SEC run (the other opponents were Missouri, Arkansas and Ole Miss) during which he was 90-of-123 (73 percent) with 11 touchdowns and one interception. Was 26-for-43 with a touchdown, an interception and 326 passing yards in a 22-17 loss at No. 8 Notre Dame. Went 22-for-29 with 297 yards, three touchdowns and two picks in a win over TSU.
Post-VU: Shurmur went un-drafted, but Kansas City signed him as a free agent. Shurmur spent most of the season on the practice squad for the Super Bowl champs, but briefly spent time on the active roster, though he didn't play. The Chiefs recently released Shurmur, who's yet to sign with another team.
Final thoughts, and why I ranked him where I did: In terms of all-conference honors and such, I think every single player ahead of Shurmur on this list was more accomplished than he was, and the same can probably be said of three-fourths of the ones behind him.
I wrote in Luke Kornet's feature about how a player's value is sometimes most felt in his absence. Quarterback is the toughest position to play well in sports. A decent-to-good signal-caller may be the most underrated commodity in sports, because the drop-off to a bad one is catastrophic.
Look at these figures on NFL quarterback salaries for next year; Alex Smith, the 16th-highest paid quarterback, will make $23.5 million. Smith is ahead of better players like Pat Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson, who are still on their first contracts. Marcus Mariota just signed for $8.8 million in Las Vegas in order to be a backup.
You get the point. While a good deal of the 2019 drop-off was certainly a result of VU losing tackle Justin Skule and Bruno Reagan, losing Shurmur was probably the biggest reason for an offensive collapse.
Shurmur also tormented Tennessee for four years, winning three times while completing 83-of-130 throws (63.8 percent) for 1,275 yards, (9.8 per throw), 12 touchdowns and one interception.
Shurmur wasn't a superstar, but he had a big hand in winning more games than probably any Commodore quarterback of the past half-century and is all over every significant passing leaderboard in school history. That should earn him a spot in the top 50.
