The other Professor , Cork Gaines, is a Tampa Bay area native and lifelong Bucs fan. Today he graces Joe with a historical look at Josh Freeman.

The Bucs may have missed the playoffs, but this team left a lot to be excited about moving forward. Josh Freeman, who was only 22 this season, put together a sophomore campaign that left him in some very elite company.

Freeman finished with a QB rating of 95.9. In the last 50 years, only two other quarterbacks had a QB rating of at least 90.0 under the age of 23 (minimum eight starts). You might have heard of them: Dan Marino and sleazy Ben Roethlisberger.

Freeman also threw 25 touchdowns, one short of the team record. Only three quarterbacks under the age of 23 in the Super Bowl era have even thrown 20 touchdowns in a season. Again, this group is a who’s who of successful QBs, that includes Peyton Manning, Drew Bledsoe, and Marino.