College Football Programs with the Most Compelling QB Controversies in 2016
It's still February, but that smell in the air is spring practices. They're right around the corner for most college football programs. Time to put on the pads, tighten the cleats, stretch properly and find the most compelling quarterback controversies across the sport.
It's that time of year.
Note that "quarterback controversy" and "quarterback competition" aren't the same things. Plenty of teams will have quarterback battles this offseason. Just because there's an open competition doesn't mean there's a controversy. Rather, "controversy" implies there's something else at play—a head coach's job, an inconsistent incumbent starter and the like.
Furthermore, compelling quarterback battles usually involve higher-profile programs or ones with a lot on the line, be it a conference championship or playoff berth. Or it could simply be a matter of high expectations.
With that in mind, we look at the most compelling quarterback controversies that should dominate the headlines over the next several months.
Auburn
1 of 7
After a disastrous 2015 season, Auburn is reopening the competition at quarterback. Two of the signal-callers who navigated the offense—if you want to call it that—are back: Sean White and Jeremy Johnson. However, they'll be joined by junior college transfer John Franklin, who began his college career at Florida State, and redshirt freshman Tyler Queen.
According to James Crepea of AL.com, it would be "difficult not to already pencil in Franklin as the starter for the fall." However, Franklin has to show right away he has a grasp on the offense. Otherwise, White and Johnson are the two most experienced players in this program. And neither performed well at all last season.
It's wild to think head coach Gus Malzahn would struggle to put an offense together, let alone two years in a row. But at this point he either has to go with a proven, but inconsistent quarterback, or a brand-new face.
BYU
2 of 7
What a situation for BYU: The Cougars get quarterback Taysom Hill, the heart and soul of your program, back for a final season, yet first-year head coach Kalani Sitake has to decide between him and Tanner Mangum.
What makes this decision especially difficult is that Hill is coming off a foot injury and, per Pete Fiutak of Campus Insiders, will be limited in the spring:
"So what does Sitake do? Does he go with the heart-and-soul guy like Hill, who everyone wants to see succeed, or does he go with the sophomore who can grow into the role even more and be the main man for the next three years. Throw in the idea that Mangum might simply be better, and it’s a quarterback battle good enough to be on the front-burner over the next seven months.
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Hill's career has unfortunately been injury-filled, and Mangum showed a lot of flashes in his first season as a starter in 2015. The competition will rage all offseason. Hill is the sentimental favorite, but BYU knows it can't count on that alone.
Florida State
3 of 7
In the bigger picture, Florida State's quarterback situation isn't as dire as other areas, like offensive line or wide receiver. Still, Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher bounced between Sean Maguire and Notre Dame transfer Everett Golson last year before eventually sticking with Maguire.
Heading into the 2016 season, Maguire is the unquestioned front-runner, but by no means is he the guaranteed starter. This is coupled by the fact that he's likely to miss spring drills with an ankle injury, per Jim Henry of the Tallahassee Democrat.
That puts the spotlight on redshirt freshman Deondre Francois, early enrollee Malik Henry and redshirt sophomore J.J. Cosentino.
With Maguire out for the time being, the "controversy" probably won't arise until fall camp. Certainly, Florida State's passing-game struggles last year weren't all Maguire's fault, but he left some things to be desired as well. Fans wanting to return to the playoff will want a new face, but Fisher has to play the quarterback who gives the team the best chance to win. Period. Last offseason, Maguire asserted himself in that role.
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Nebraska
4 of 7
Tommy Armstrong Jr. will be a senior in 2016. But just because this is his last year doesn't mean he's guaranteed to win the starting quarterback job. The Cornhuskers had brutally bad stretches on offense in '15, and second-year head coach Mike Riley is already looking for answers.
Whether Armstrong remains that answer is yet to be determined. He made some poor decisions and was careless with the football. However, this is his second year in the system. “This is my second year in the playbook, but I’m learning a lot more in-depth with certain things now, not just the plays,” Armstrong said, per Rich Kaipust of the Omaha World-Herald.
Zack Darlington impressed last spring and is more of the type of quarterback Riley has coached in the past. Early enrollee Patrick O’Brien could make waves early as well. Armstrong is the early favorite to start, but there could be many restless fans if that's the case and he struggles out of the gate.
Notre Dame
5 of 7
In 2015, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly made headlines when he said he would take his quarterback situation (Everett Golson and Malik Zaire) over Ohio State's, which at the time had proven winners with Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones.
This year, though, Kelly has a legitimate argument for the best one-two quarterback pair in college football. Zaire showed flashy improvements before sustaining an ankle injury two games into the year. DeShone Kizer, Zaire's replacement, went on to throw for 2,880 yards and 21 touchdowns.
This spring, these two will battle for the starting job all over again.
On one hand, Zaire beat out Golson and Kizer last year to be the Week 1 starter. On the other hand, Kizer is big, strong, has a great arm and good mobility once he gets going. Since he's technically more proven, there's a strong case to be made he should be the starter.
This is no ordinary quarterback battle at no ordinary program. The competition between two gifted signal-callers will be fascinating to watch.
Texas
6 of 7
What would this be without a quarterback controversy at Texas?
Barring a dramatic change, the primary battle should be between redshirt sophomore Jerrod Heard and early enrollee Shane Buechele. Senior Tyrone Swoopes will be in the mix—after all, there's a new offensive coordinator, Sterlin Gilbert, in town—but he found his role in the run-based "18 Wheeler" package late in the season.
Therein lies the biggest question about Texas' quarterback battle: Will it be a plug-and-play scenario in which multiple players have a role, or will one emerge from the group? (On that note, the saying goes if you have two quarterbacks, you have none; what about if you have three?)
The run game is Texas' strength on offense by default, but can someone—say, Buechele—emerge as a competent enough passer to complement the ground game?
Regardless of who wins the job, Texas needs results and quickly. Entering Year 3, head coach Charlie Strong is on the hot seat after two losing seasons. Given the Longhorns' recent dry spell at quarterback, there's no more room for error. Or for patience.
West Virginia
7 of 7
The last time we saw West Virginia quarterback Skyler Howard, he was throwing for 532 yards against Arizona State in the Cactus Bowl. One would think, then, his status as starter is all but assured for 2016, right?
Maybe, but let's not forget the context that makes the Mountaineers' quarterback situation interesting.
Head coach Dana Holgorsen is entering Year 6 with West Virginia. When he was hired to replace Bill Stewart following the '10 season, it was under the assumption he would revitalize the offense. In the post-Geno Smith era, however, Holgorsen has failed to recruit and develop a quarterback out of high school. His two main quarterbacks in the past few years were Howard and Clint Trickett, both transfers.
Howard gives the offense a boost with his running ability, but his accuracy has been spotty. So far, no other quarterback has been able to overtake him on the depth chart. Does that change this offseason? If not, can Howard make big enough strides to finally takes WVU's offense to another level?
With two years remaining on Holgorsen's contract and extension talks now stalled, per Mike Casazza of the Charleston Gazette-Mail, this is the critical year for those questions.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.
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