Ranking the Top QBs Notre Dame Defense Will Face in 2015
On Wednesday, we examined the top quarterbacks Texas' defense will face in 2015. Now, let's take a look at the same category for Notre Dame, who just so happens to be the Longhorns' Week 1 opponent.
The thought process for this list is similar to the previous one. Open quarterback battles take a back seat since it's difficult to project a winner. Previous games against the Irish are taken into consideration, as are career production and preseason/postseason accolades.
The Irish return a defense that struggled in the second half of the season, but one that also has a lot of experience with proven playmakers like linebacker Jaylon Smith. Which quarterbacks present the toughest challenges for Smith and Co.? Let's take a look.
Honorable Mentions
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Blake Frohnapfel, UMass: Frohnapfel, in addition to having the toughest name to spell on this list, could be on the underappreciated side. Last season, Frohnapfel threw for 3,345 yards and 23 touchdowns. However, he struggled at times against Power Five teams, going 9-of-22 against Boston College in the season opener.
Chad Voytik, Pitt: Running back James Conner is the show in Pittsburgh, but quarterback Chad Voytik is no slouch. He averaged 7.8 yards per passing attempt, third in the ACC, and had one of the highest passing efficiency numbers in the conference as well. He's not asked to take over the offense, but Voytik is good enough to move it.
P.J. Walker, Temple: Walker is a dual-threat type who accounted for nearly 2,700 yards of offense last year and 16 touchdowns. His 15 interceptions are an eyesore, but the Owls can't exactly get much worse on offense. Temple is an interesting pick to possibly win the AAC this year, so the late October game at home against the Irish could be interesting since it follows the USC game for Notre Dame.
5. Kevin Hogan, Stanford
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Kevin Hogan's career at Stanford has been filled with its share of ups and downs. Hogan is a big, strong player with a great arm and some mobility. He threw for more yards in 2014 than his first full year as a starter in '13; however, his yards per attempt went down and his touchdown passes decreased by one.
Some of that is probably due to the fact that, for the first time in a while, Stanford didn't have its usual bell-cow running back.
Still, Hogan played well in the final two games of last season against UCLA and Maryland, totaling 519 yards through the air and on the ground with four touchdowns. That should give the Cardinal reason for optimism as Hogan enters his final year.
Hogan's career numbers against Notre Dame haven't been great, though. In two games against the Irish, Hogan has thrown four picks.
4. Keenan Reynolds, Navy
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Keenan Reynolds is a longtime starter for Navy and, other than Justin Thomas at Georgia Tech (more on him later), is one of the top triple-option quarterbacks in the country.
That offense obviously focuses on the run instead of the pass, but Reynolds is a solid passer for that system. His career completion percentages are average, as to be expected, but take a look at his yards per attempt and touchdown-to-interception ratios:
2012: 8.3 yards per attempt, 9-to-2 TD-to-INT ratio.
2013: 8.3 yards per attempt, 8-to-2 TD-to-INT ratio.
2014: 7.6 yards per attempt, 6-to-3 TD-to-INT ratio.
For the option attack, that's not too shabby. And, of course, Reynolds has led Navy in rushing in each of the past two seasons. His numbers in two losses to Notre Dame have been decent and both games have been high scoring affairs.
Whether Notre Dame can beat Navy again, Reynolds is a tough player to pin down.
3. Justin Thomas, Georgia Tech
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Speaking of Justin Thomas, he comes in at No. 3 of the top quarterbacks Notre Dame will face in 2015.
Obviously, Thomas isn't considered one of the pure passers in the ACC like Deshaun Watson or Brad Kaaya, but that doesn't make him any less effective. For the 2015 preseason All-ACC team, Thomas received the second-highest number of votes for quarterback behind only Watson.
Not unlike Georgia Tech itself, Thomas was on fire at the end of last season, throwing and rushing for more than 100 yards against Florida State and Mississippi State. As far as passing goes, he might be the best gunslinger head coach Paul Johnson has had since taking over the Yellow Jackets program (1,719 passing yards, 9.2 yards per attempt, 18 touchdowns, six interceptions).
However, Thomas will be practically the only returning skill player on Georgia Tech's offense in 2015. Does that affect his productivity? We'll see, but Notre Dame should have its hands full with him.
2. Deshaun Watson, Clemson
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And, now, speaking of Watson...
Fully recovered from his season-ending ACL injury, Watson is being littered with preseason hype. He was a first-team All-ACC selection and is currently at 16-1 odds in the Heisman race, according to Bovada.lv (h/t OddsShark.com). Earlier this month at the Elite 11 finals, B/R colleague Michael Felder said, “This is a kid that’s going to be in New York City with an opportunity to win a Heisman trophy. I’m saying it right now in July."
The chatter is definitely deserved. When healthy, we've seen what Watson can do in the Tigers' high-powered offense. In eight games last year, Watson accounted for 19 total touchdowns and just two interceptions. Of anyone on this list, Watson's potential is the highest.
Certainly the Oct. 3 game between Clemson and Notre Dame in Death Valley stands out as one of the most intriguing matchups of the season.
1. Cody Kessler, USC
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It was a tight race between Watson and USC quarterback Cody Kessler for the No. 1 spot. Really tight. While Watson has the higher overall ceiling and is only scraping the surface of his potential, he's still growing and has battled injury problems. As of today, that means Kessler gets the top nod.
The redshirt senior was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in college football last year. He's 1-1 against the Fighting Irish, but played phenomenal against them in 2014, completing 80 percent of his passes on 40 attempts for 372 yards and six—six—touchdown passes to zero interceptions. Though Notre Dame's defense was falling apart at the time, it was one of Kessler's best career games.
Kessler enters this season with Heisman hype and All-Pac-12 consideration. The Oct. 17 game against Notre Dame will come in a difficult stretch for the Irish. How will Kessler play? It's certainly a big opportunity to prove he's one of the best quarterbacks in college football, if not the best.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand.
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