10 QBs Who Aren't Getting Nearly Enough Praise This Season
Who is the best quarterback in college football?
Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott? Oregon’s Marcus Mariota? Florida State’s Jameis Winston? Ole Miss’ Bo Wallace?
While those guys are at the top of the list—Heisman hopefuls leading teams with serious College Football Playoff aspirations—are they really the best of the best?
Rating quarterbacks is a tricky business, but with 128 starters in the FBS, it’s logical to assume that the elite guys aren’t just those who get the most media love, or those that play for the top teams.
Here’s a look at 10 young athletes that you may or may not have heard of, each of whom deserves a second glance.
10. Austin Grammer, Middle Tennessee
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Only 11 quarterbacks in college football have a better completion percentage than Middle Tennessee’s Austin Grammer.
Grammer is 155-of-230 through eight games, completing 67.4 percent of his attempts. That’s better than Alabama’s Blake Sims (66.5 percent), Ole Miss’ Wallace (65.6 percent) and Cal’s Jared Goff (64.8 percent).
Other high marks for Grammer are a quarterback rating of 147.95 (No. 31 in the nation) and 1,893 passing yards (No. 21).
Perhaps most impressive is that Grammer has led Middle Tennessee to a 5-3 start, putting the Blue Raiders within striking distance of matching their 10-3 finish in 2010, the program’s highest mark since moving up to the FBS in 1999.
Grammer is a sophomore, a first-year starter who came to Middle Tennessee as a 3-star, pro-style prospect from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 2012.
9. Joe Licata, Buffalo
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With 18 touchdown passes through seven games, Buffalo’s Joe Licata is tied for the eighth-most in the nation.
This puts him in the same league as Baylor’s Bryce Petty, USC’s Cody Kessler and Ole Miss’ Wallace, also at the 18 mark.
What’s impressive about Licata is that he’s ranked among the top 25 percent of quarterbacks in every major statistical category: No. 28 in passer rating (149.72), No. 23 in completion percentage (65.3), No. 22 in yards (1,892) and No. 25 in yards per game (270.3).
After improving to 8-5 last season, Buffalo is off to a 3-3 start, with a realistic shot of earning back-to-back bowl bids for the first time in program history.
Licata came to the Bulls as 3-star, pro-style prospect from Williamsville, New York, in 2011. He’s a junior in 2014, his second season as the full-time starter.
8. Brad Kaaya, Miami (Fla.)
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True freshman Brad Kaaya beat out transfer Jake Heaps for Miami’s starting job and has soared through his first seven games.
Kaaya’s passer rating of 156.25 is No. 16 in the FBS. Among freshman quarterbacks, only Clemson’s Deshaun Watson has a higher rating than Kaaya, but Watson has 88 fewer attempts and one fewer start.
Kaaya is also No. 14 in the nation in yards per attempt (9.0) and No. 19 in touchdown passes (16).
Though the Hurricanes are off to a disappointing 4-3 start, they are on the right track with their young quarterback, who has only been on campus since May.
Kaaya was a 4-star recruit out of West Hills, California, ranked No. 8 by Rivals among pro-style prospects in the class of 2014.
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7. Gary Nova, Rutgers
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After finishing last season 6-7 in the American Athletic, Rutgers is off to a 5-2 start in its inaugural Big Ten campaign. One of the primary reasons for the success is senior quarterback Gary Nova and a passing attack that is averaging 257 yards per game.
Only two quarterbacks have posted more yards per attempt than Nova’s 10.1—Clemson’s Watson (10.5) and Oregon’s Mariota (10.4).
Nova is also No. 12 in the FBS in quarterback rating at 161.52, putting him ahead of guys like Florida State’s Winston (160.02) and Texas A&M’s Kenny Hill (154.65).
This is a huge improvement for Nova, who finished last season with a rating of 124.68, No. 82 in the nation.
Nova was a 3-star back in 2011, Rivals’ No. 11 ranked pro-style prospect hailing from Ramsey, New Jersey.
6. Rakeem Cato, Marshall
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Rakeem Cato is the leader of the No. 23 Thundering Herd, who are 7-0 and ranked for the first time since 2002.
Cato is lighting up more than just the Conference USA: He’s No. 11 in the FBS in passer rating (161.92), No. 7 in yards per attempt (9.4), No. 17 in touchdown passes (7) and No. 21 in yards per game (273.1).
Like Nova, he’s ranked above Florida State’s Winston in passer rating (160.02, No. 13) and just below USC’s Kessler (162.08, No. 10).
Cato is another guy from the class of 2011, a 3-star from Miami Central High School in Miami, Florida.
5. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
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J.T. Barrett deserves to be seen as more than the guy who replaced Braxton Miller under center at Ohio State.
Barrett is No. 3 in the FBS in passer rating (182.1), No. 25 in completion percentage (65.2), No. 5 in yards per attempt (9.8), No. 6 in touchdown passes (20) and No. 27 in yards per game (269.2).
Compare that to Miller, who finished last season ranked No. 13 in passer rating (158.08), No. 31 in completion percentage (63.5), No. 25 in yards per attempt (8.2) and No. 85 in yards per game (174.5).
Where Barrett has 20 touchdowns through six games, Miller had 24 through 12 contests last season.
Barrett was a highly-touted 4-star in 2013, ranked No. 7 among dual-threat prospects by Rivals and No. 20 overall in the state of Texas. He hails from Rider High School in Wichita Falls.
4. Garrett Grayson, Colorado State
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After beating Utah State last Saturday, Colorado State is 6-1, off to its best start since going 10-2 in 2000.
Leading the way is senior quarterback Garrett Grayson, guiding the No. 17-ranked passing attack in the FBS, a unit that averages 308 yards per game.
Grayson is No. 21 in passer rating (154.36), No. 11 in passing yards (2,066), No. 17 in yards per attempt (8.7), No. 19 in touchdown passes (16) and No. 14 in yards per game (295.1).
He has completed 68 percent of his passes in his last five outings—all wins—putting him just outside of the top 10 in national completion percentage.
Grayson, a senior, came to Colorado State as a 3-star recruit from Vancouver, Washington, in 2010. Rivals had him as the No. 22 dual-threat prospect that year.
3. Shane Carden, East Carolina
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Only four quarterbacks in the FBS ranks have thrown for more yards per game than East Carolina’s Shane Carden has this season.
Not only is Carden No. 5 in yards per game (354.8), but he also ranks No. 20 in passer rating (154.61), No. 20 in completion percentage (65.9), No. 10 in passing yards (2,129) and No. 19 in touchdown passes (16).
Best of all, he’s the offensive leader on a team that is 5-1 and ranked No. 18, the highest ranking in program history since 2008, when the Pirates beat No. 17 Virginia Tech and No. 8 West Virginia in back-to-back games, earning a No. 14 rank.
Carden was a 2-star prospect back in 2010 (the lowest star rating among the 10 guys on this list), hailing from Episcopal High School in Bellaire, Texas.
2. Brandon Doughty, Western Kentucky
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When you play in the Sun Belt, it’s safe to say that your name isn’t going to get called out a bunch of times on national television.
Regardless of how many passes you complete, how many yards you accumulate and how many points you score.
Western Kentucky’s senior Brandon Doughty may be way under the national media radar, but he’s all over the statistical charts.
Doughty is No. 18 in the FBS ranks in passer rating (154.99), No. 10 in completion percentage (68.2), No. 4 in passing yards (2,500), No. 7 in touchdowns (19) and No. 2 in yards per game (416.7).
Remember, these are national numbers, out of the 128 starters at the top level of college football.
What hurts is Western Kentucky’s 2-4 start this season, which is its first as a Conference USA member. Doughty was a 3-star prospect back in 2010, coming to the Hilltoppers from Coconut Creek, Florida.
1. Clint Trickett, West Virginia
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The front man for the best two-loss team in college football, Clint Trickett deserves more credit than just being viewed as the next quarterback in the Dana Holgorsen system.
Trickett’s 2014 resume isn’t just built on quantity—it’s oozing with quality: No. 17 in passer rating (155.23), No. 10 in completion percentage (68.2), No. 3 in passing yards (2,525), No. 17 in yards per attempt (8.7) and No. 3 in yards per game (360.7)
Trickett and his No. 22 Mountaineers have only faltered twice this season: in the opener against No. 2 Alabama (33-23) and in Week 4 against No. 4 Oklahoma (45-33).
Trickett was a 3-star member of the class of 2010 from Tallahassee, Florida. He originally signed with Florida State, but transferred to West Virginia in 2013.
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