2013 College Football Freshmen QBs Who Could Win Starting Job

What's a freshman quarterback to do?

Johnny Manziel set an impossibly high standard last season, becoming the first first-year quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy. He was the nation's best and most exciting player, but he wasn't the only freshman passer to thrive.

Everett Golson led Notre Dame to the BCS National Championship game, and Marcus Mariota looked like, perhaps, the best passer Oregon has had this millennium. Stanford's Kevin Hogan won the Rose Bowl (over Wisconsin freshman QB Joel Stave), and UCLA's Brett Hundley won the Pac-12 South.

All over the FBS last season, freshman quarterbacks came to the forefront, setting unrealistic expectations for the rookie class of 2013. That's the bad news.

On the flip side, the success of last year's freshman might have opened more doors for this year's freshman class.

There's no telling how many will be pressed into action, as teams attempt to catch lightning in a bottle just like so many did in 2012.

Honorable Mentions

Davis Webb (Texas Tech): Michael Brewer was (and perhaps still is) the heavy favorite to start, but an impressive spring from Webb throws a wrench in that assumption. He'll have to be spectacular to win the job in camp, but new coach Kliff "Swagger" Kingsbury has no prior allegiance to Brewer. May the best man win. 

Nathan Peterman/Joshua Dobbs/Riley Ferguson (Tennessee): These three freshmen all have an outside shot at winning the job in Knoxville. Junior Justin Worley looked average when he saw the field last season, but he still remains the tentative favorite.

Malik Zaire (Notre Dame): Tommy Rees will start Week 1 against Temple and is likely, save awful results, to keep that job all year. But Kelly is fickle with his quarterbacks, and Zaire has been likened to Everett Golson. He's a dark horse to steal some playing time, especially after Kelly hinted that Rees' job isn't permanent.

Patton Robinette (Vanderbilt): Robinette is trying to beat out Austyn Carta-Samuels, a plucky transfer from Wyoming, for the right to succeed Jordan Rodgers in Nashville. Carta-Samuels is the favorite, but Robinette has the livelier arm. He could see some time this season.

Ford Childress (West Virginia): Childress faces an uphill battle against last year's backup, Paul Millard, and Florida State transfer Clint Trickett. But he has the size and arm strength to get the ball everywhere it needs to be—something that can't be overstated in Dana Holgerson's wide-open offense.

Jameis Winston, Florida State (Redshirt)

Winston is the much-hyped successor to E.J. Manuel, touted by ESPN analyst (and former counselor to Winston at the Elite 11 camp) Trent Dilfer as a future No. 1 draft pick.

Even before he shone in the Seminoles' spring game, Winston was expected to assume starting duties in 2013 and make a big impact.

That he actually did, in fact, steal the show, finishing with 205 passing yards and just three incompletions, only furthered that expectation.

The job isn't his, though—at least not yet. According to Coley Harvey at the Orlando Sentinel, coach Jimbo Fisher insists that the there's a competition under center and that Winston will have to fight for the right to start.

Still, if anyone else begins the season at quarterback, it would come as a massive upset.

Christian Hackenberg, Penn State (True)

In 247Sports' class of 2013 rankings, Hackenberg was the No. 1 pro-style QB, No. 1 overall QB and No. 7 prospect. He has the size of a prototypical pocket passer and touch that far exceeds his age.

But he's engaged with Tyler Ferguson in a heated battle for the starting job. Ferguson, though also new to Happy Valley, was one of the top junior college prospects last season. And even if that's a few notches below the Big Ten, it's a few notches above the competition Hackenberg faced last year in high school.

Hackenberg, though, has the advantage of pedigree and arm talent, both of which have made him a prohibitive favorite to land the job. Still, the QB battle at Penn State might be the nation's best.

Max Browne, USC (True)

Browne finished behind Hackenberg on 247Sport's personal rankings, but he outpaced him in the composite, finishing No. 1 in the aggregated rankings among pro-style QBs. In truth, he and Hackenberg were 1a and 1b in last year's quarterbacking caste and both are expected to perform accordingly.

Browne is less likely to start from Day 1, though, locked in a heated battle with Max Wittek and Cody Kessler for the job. All three were blue-chip recruits, and each has his own strengths and weaknesses.

But although less experienced, Browne might have the biggest upside of the trio, which makes him a bona fide threat to start at some point this year. If not Week 1, perhaps another week down the line.

The Trojans just lost one four-year starting quarterback and might be eager to groom another.

Anu Solomon, Arizona (True)

Solomon faces an uphill battle to win the starting job in Tucson, blocked on the depth chart by senior B.J. Denker and USC transfer Jesse Scroggins. But neither of them suits Rich Rodriguez's scheme better than Solomon, which makes him an undeniable threat.

Sports Illustrated ranked Solomon the No. 1 instant-impact quarterback in the nation, ahead of guys like Hackenberg and Browne. He was lauded in that piece for his success at Bishop Gorman, a school where Solomon started all four years and led his team to a state title in each of them.

He was rated just No. 18 in 247Sports' dual-threat-QB composite rankings, but the times in college football have a-changed. After the success of last year's freshman passers, which has opened the door for other first-year QBs, Solomon has a real shot of starting.

Zach Kline, California (Redshirt)

Sonny Dykes comes to Cal with a reputation that describes the former Louisiana Tech coach as an offensive guru and a passing-game savant. Just last season, his quarterback Colby Cameron won the Sammy Baugh Award, and his top receiver Quinton Patton was taken in the fourth round of the NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers.

Now he gets his hands on Zach Kline, a redshirt freshman quarterback whose arm talent far exceeds that of Cameron. He was the No. 2 pro-style QB in 247Sports' class of 2012 composite and has tools that should translate to Dykes' aggressive scheme.

He'll be pushed for the job by junior Austin Hinder and true freshman Jared Goff, a dark horse who almost made this list himself. But Bears fans would be disappointed if anyone but Kline got the nod.

His ceiling is just too high.

Danny Etling, Purdue (True)

First-year coach Darrell Hazell wants to usher in a new era of Purdue football, and doing so might begin with a freshman under center.

Rob Henry is a senior who has made seven starts. But none of those has come since 2010, making him rusty in addition to being a rookie in Hazell's scheme.

All of which suggests a shot for freshman Danny Etling, one of Purdue's most highly touted recruits and the star of spring practices in West Lafayette. The coaching change puts Etling on a more level playing field in his attempt to start, and purely as a passer, he might already be more advanced than Henry.

According to the Journal & Courier, the two have split time with the first-team offense in camp, Hazell wanting to give them each an "honest chance." But it seems like Etling, once considered more of a long shot, might now actually be the favorite.

Jeremy Johnson, Auburn (True)

It's a four-way crapshoot at Auburn, where returnees Kiehl Frazier and Jonathan Wallace are battling junior college transfer Nick Marshall and true freshman Jeremy Johnson for the job under center.

Being given the keys to Gus Malzahn's offense is a rare distinction. Auburn's new head coach/former offensive coordinator successfully employed Cam Newton as his bell cow three years ago, and that season ended in a BCS National Championship.

It's hard to tell who, if anyone, leads the race, but Johnson has already made a strong impression. Per Ryan Wood of the Opeilka-Auburn News, there are physical similarities between him and Malzahn's former Heisman Trophy winner.

He may be a "freshman" on paper, but he certainly doesn't play like one in pads. It would not be wise to discount him from the race.

Chad Voytik, Pittsburgh (Redshirt)

It was hard not to take notice of Voytik this spring, even if he spent most of practice running the second-team offense. 

Widely believed to trail Tom Savage for the starting job, Voytik saw the majority of reps in the spring game and made a major statement. Per the Pittsburgh Gazette, he finished with 358 passing yards and three touchdowns on 27-for-33 passing. 

He isn't the same, big, traditional specimen as Savage (Voytik stands only 6'1''), but Pitt coach Paul Chryst has worked and succeeded with smaller QBs at Oregon State and Wisconsin. 

If he stays hot in fall camp, he could face fellow redshirt freshman Jameis Winston in the season opener.