College Football's Top 10 QBs Entering 2015 Spring Practice
Offseason rankings are always a hot-button topic. Naturally, I expect this particular list—the top 10 quarterbacks heading into spring practices—to go over smoothly.
As always, stats play a factor, but they're not the only thing. How much did a quarterback play last year, and how healthy was he? How consistent was he? Has he shown growth over time?
Actually participating in spring practices isn't a requirement, though. As you'll see, a few guys on this list are banged up and on the mend at the moment. However, that doesn't mean they aren't projected to be some of the best quarterbacks in the country next year.
With that in mind, let's get to it.
Honorable Mentions
1 of 11
These are players who barely—and in some cases, I mean barely—missed the cut. But they couldn't simply go unmentioned, so they've found their way onto the honorable mentions slide. They're listed below in no particular order.
As a side note, if you still don't see your favorite quarterback below, rest assured they're on our "Super Honorable Mention" list, which is located...somewhere.
Anu Solomon, Arizona: 3,793 passing yards, 30 total TDs, 9 INTs.
Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee: 1,206 passing yards, 469 rushing yards, 17 total TDs, 6 INTs.
Kyle Allen, Texas A&M: 1,322 passing yards, 16 TDs, 7 INTs.
Mike Bercovici, Arizona State: 1,445 passing yards, 12 TDs, 4 INTs.
No. 10 Taysom Hill, BYU
2 of 11
It's been a long and winding career for BYU quarterback Taysom Hill. He initially signed with Stanford out of high school in 2009 but later enrolled at BYU. He's had two season-ending injuries in 2012 (knee) and '14 (leg).
Because he has rarely been consistently healthy, Hill tightropes the line between making this list and being an honorable mention.
However, when Hill is 100 percent, he's a one-man wrecking crew. In five games last season, before sustaining his injury against Utah State, Hill accounted for an average of 288 total yards and three touchdowns per game. That translates into about two-thirds of the total yards per game the Cougars averaged during that stretch.
Hill plans to be back in 2015 and is participating in spring practices. According to Jason Shepherd of KSL.com, Hill will go through individual drills but not team exercises.
No. 9 Brad Kaaya, Miami
3 of 11
Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya is one of those players who don't look or act like they're coming off a freshman season.
Sure, Kaaya took some lumps, throwing seven interceptions in his first four games. He also had three games in which he completed below 50 percent of his passes. But that's part of the growing up process. The flashes of greatness were there. He throws a nice deep ball, had moments where he went through his progressions and displayed some nice touch and mobility in the pocket.
The tools are there; it's just a matter of experience and maturing. In an interview with
"If watching another team play in your home stadium on New Year's Eve doesn't motivate you, I don't know what does," Kaaya posted on his Twitter account.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 8 Justin Thomas, Georgia Tech
4 of 11
By the end of last season, there were few teams playing better than Georgia Tech. (Yes, Ohio State was one of them.) A huge reason for that was quarterback Justin Thomas.
Thomas is underrated in the Yellow Jackets' option attack. That thing was a well-oiled machine by November/December/bowl season. That's no easy task. Running that style of offense takes quick decision-making and discipline.
Thomas ranked fourth in the ACC with 1,086 rushing yards and averaged 5.72 yards per attempt. You'd expect those types of numbers from head coach Paul Johnson's offense, but Thomas was also an accomplished passer—probably the best Johnson has had to date.
Thomas completed 51.3 percent of his passes—that's about as good as the offense will allow—for 1,719 yards and 18 touchdowns to just six picks.
No. 7 Deshaun Watson, Clemson
5 of 11
Similar to Hill, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson battled injury problems last season. Still, he showed the future is bright for the Tigers in the post-Tajh Boyd era.
In five starts (and eight game appearances), Watson threw for nearly 1,500 yards and 14 touchdowns to just two interceptions. He also had five rushing touchdowns. A partially torn ACL sidelined the freshman for the Russell Athletic Bowl, but he should be back by the time next season rolls around.
Watson's value came in how well he moved the offense, especially for a freshman. The Tigers simply weren't the same when Cole Stoudt was in the game. Watson's ceiling is so, so high.
With most of his receiving and rushing weapons coming back, Watson will have a lot of help around him. Look for the Tigers to put up more video game numbers in 2015—provided Watson can stay healthy.
No. 6 Jared Goff, Cal
6 of 11
Cal hasn't quite been able to turn the corner under head coach Sonny Dykes just yet, but it feels like the Bears are close.
It's certainly not because of a lack of offense. Last season, Cal finished sixth nationally with 346 passing yards per game and No. 13 nationally at nearly 500 total yards per game. The Bears have a fine young quarterback in Jared Goff, who has started in every game over the past two seasons.
He's been thrown into the fire but has developed into one of the better signal-callers in the Pac-12. Yes, his numbers (3,973 passing yards and 35 TDs) are a product of the Air Raid offense; however, he had the second-fewest interceptions (seven) among quarterbacks with at least 500 passing attempts.
USC's Cody Kessler will get the attention as the Pac-12's best quarterback heading into next season (more on him later), but Goff isn't far behind.
No. 5 Cody Kessler, USC
7 of 11
Speak of the devil.
USC quarterback Cody Kessler didn't throw the most passes for the most yards, but he was remarkably efficient. Other than Oregon's Marcus Mariota, no quarterback in the Pac-12 with at least 30 pass attempts per game had more yards per attempt (8.47) or touchdowns (38). Kessler also threw just five interceptions and had the second-highest passer rating (167.06) next to Mariota.
Kessler has almost everything you want: good accuracy, touch and decision-making. It'll be interesting to see how his numbers look next season without leading receiver Nelson Agholor, though Juju Smith is a star in the making.
It'd also be good to see Kessler improve his numbers against the Associated Press' ranked teams. Last year in four such games, he had just four touchdowns, three picks and averaged 6.6 yards per attempt.
No. 4 Dak Prescott, Mississippi State
8 of 11
Who's the No. 1 returning quarterback in the SEC? Mississippi State's Dak Prescott, and it's not even close.
Prescott was in the Heisman running for a good portion of last season. But, as it tends to happen, three losses in the final four games for the Bulldogs put a damper on those hopes. Still, that doesn't mean Prescott's efforts were for nothing.
Mississippi State led the SEC in total offense with 513.8 yards per game. Prescott single-handedly accounted for about two-thirds of those. He also accumulated 41 total touchdowns and is the leading returning passer after throwing for 3,449 yards. He leads all returning SEC quarterbacks in rushing yards as well.
Returning for his senior season, there aren't many players who are more valuable to their team than Prescott.
No. 3 Braxton Miller/JT Barrett/Cardale Jones, Ohio State
9 of 11
It's been said countless times before, but it's worth repeating: What's going on at Ohio State is a unique situation. Thus, it calls for a unique ranking.
Braxton Miller, JT Barrett and Cardale Jones could each be ranked on this list—and highly. But, if that happened, it would leave less room for other deserving names.
This isn't meant to lump them all in the same category because they're the same player; they all bring something different to the conversation in terms of their abilities and what they've accomplished. Rather, this is a way to give all the Buckeye quarterbacks their props without saturating the rankings.
Jones went on the improbable three-game stretch of a lifetime to win the national championship. Barrett surpassed all expectations and led the Buckeyes to 10 wins. Miller was the 2013 Big Ten MVP and had awful injury luck that kept him sidelined last season.
"I think that one thing is they've all got a lot of game experience under their belt," new Ohio State offensive coordinator Tim Beck told Austin Ward of ESPN.com. Regardless of who starts next season, the Buckeyes will have a great shot at another playoff run.
No. 2 Trevone Boykin, TCU
10 of 11
From 2013 to 2014, there wasn't a more improved quarterback than TCU's Trevone Boykin. Those aren't just some random hack's words, either; West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen shares that opinion.
The damage Boykin could do with his legs was always evident, but the way he carved up defenses with his arm last season was remarkable.
There are a couple of reasons for that. First, head coach Gary Patterson had the confidence to keep Boykin as the No. 1 guy last offseason rather than further pursue the wide receiver experiment. In his freshman and sophomore seasons, Boykin served as a temporary fill-in for Casey Pachall.
Secondly, the job co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Sonny Cumbie did developing Boykin in year one was award-worthy. The result: Boykin accounted for more than 4,600 total yards and 42 touchdowns. With TCU's offense essentially returning intact (minus one starter), the Frogs should pick up where they left off.
Which, in case you forgot, was a 42-3 rout of Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl.
No. 1 Connor Cook, Michigan State
11 of 11
Picking between No. 2 and No. 1 was almost agonizingly difficult. What gives Michigan State's Connor Cook the edge is his consistency over time.
Cook led the Big Ten in passing with 247 yards per game and finished second behind JT Barrett with 8.8 yards per attempt and 24 touchdowns. Of anyone on this list, Cook is the most pro-ready. He has great size (6'4", 218 pounds), a nice arm and underrated mobility.
Where Cook really shines, though, is the way he's helped transform the Spartans offense. Yes, Michigan State is still a run-first team, but the offense is balanced and far more explosive than it has been in previous years. Nationally, Michigan State finished 21st in long scrimmage plays (10 yards or more).
Had Cook declared for the NFL draft, he could have been one of the top quarterbacks taken. Instead, he returns as the best quarterback in college football and a possible early-season Heisman hopeful.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
