10 Starting Quarterbacks Most Likely to Lose Their Jobs Before End of 2016
Spring football is a time for competition. Fifteen practices and no games to prepare for give college football coaches a chance to push players who they aren’t happy with or give younger players an opportunity to win a starting role. The quarterback position is not immune from this phenomenon.
Each spring, programs across America hold quarterback competitions for a variety of reasons—a former starter returning from injury, an ineffective starter, the graduation of the previous starter o the separation of two similar players. This spring is no different.
A number of intriguing, high-profile competitions are taking place, and some are certain to shuffle the starting quarterback ranks while ruffling some feathers. Here’s a look at 10 starting quarterbacks who are most likely to lose their jobs by the end of the 2016 season, if not well before.
Kansas State QB Joe Hubener
1 of 10
The 2015 campaign was a frustrating one for Kansas State. The Wildcats never found a true rhythm on offense, squeezing into a bowl game at 6-6 but ending the year sub-.500 following a Liberty Bowl loss to Arkansas.
Quarterback Joe Hubener exemplified the struggles. He started 11 games but completed only 47.6 percent of his passes, throwing for 1,837 yards with nine touchdowns against 10 interceptions. He got the opportunity to start after starter Jesse Ertz suffered a torn ACL on the season’s first offensive series against South Dakota.
Ertz is back this spring competing for the job with Hubener, among others, per Kellis Robinett of the Kansas City Star. Assuming he’s fully healthy, Ertz is talented enough to win the role and put Hubener back on the bench.
DeShone Kizer, Notre Dame
2 of 10
For the second consecutive season, Notre Dame and head coach Brian Kelly are spending spring practice sorting out the quarterback position. A year ago, Malik Zaire pushed rising senior Everett Golson hard and overtook him following spring drills. Golson left via graduate transfer for Florida State, opening up the position for Zaire.
Zaire was good early on, but he suffered a broken ankle at Virginia, which ended his season. Mobile freshman DeShone Kizer excelled in the job, throwing for 2,884 yards with 21 touchdowns against 10 interceptions and rushing for 520 yards and 10 touchdowns, leading Notre Dame to a 10-win season and the Fiesta Bowl.
This spring, Zaire has returned healthy, and he’s splitting first-team reps with Kizer, per J.J. Stankevitz of CSNChicago.com. Kizer flashed clear talent last fall, but it’d be no surprise to see Zaire, the more experienced player, take his old job back and force the sophomore to the bench.
Greyson Lambert, Georgia
3 of 10
Last fall, Greyson Lambert was one of the biggest surprises in college football. Following a pair of up-and-down seasons at Virginia, Lambert transferred to Georgia and won a three-way battle for the starting quarterback role.
Lambert was good, not great, as the Bulldogs starter. He threw for 1,959 yards with 12 touchdowns against two interceptions, completing 63.3 percent of his passes. Following the season, Georgia fired longtime coach Mark Richt and replaced him with Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart.
This spring, Lambert is dealing with a new coach and a new backup quarterback, early-enrollee freshman Jacob Eason, the nation’s No. 5 overall prospect, per 247Sports. Eason stands 6’5”, 208 pounds and boasts excellent arm strength, pocket presence, accuracy, intangibles and delivery.
Eason is Georgia’s quarterback of the future. It’s just a matter of when that future starts. Unless Lambert does something to impress his new boss, that could be sooner rather than later.
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Sean Maguire, Florida State
4 of 10
Life after Jameis Winston wasn’t easy for Florida State last fall. It was natural to expect that the Seminoles offense wouldn’t be the same, but neither Everett Golson nor Sean Maguire stepped forward and claimed the job. FSU slipped from 13-1 to 10-3, and Maguire threw for 1,520 yards with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions, completing 59.3 percent of his passes.
Maguire won’t take part in FSU’s spring practice while recovering from ankle surgery, which is unfortunate, as it will give other quarterbacks on the roster a chance to make their cases for the job with head coach Jimbo Fisher.
Redshirt freshman Deondre Francois is battling with J.J. Cosentino and early-enrollee freshman Malik Henry, and this is a huge opportunity for him. Francois, a dual-threat passer, sat, learned and developed last fall, but he has worked with the first-team offense this spring, per Brendan Sonnone of the Orlando Sentinel.
Francois won’t overtake Maguire while the senior is sidelined, but a good showing will give him a chance to push Maguire during preseason practice in August.
Tanner Mangum, BYU
5 of 10
Maybe Taysom Hill just isn’t ready to leave college quite yet. Like many BYU players, Hill served a Mormon mission before enrolling at the Church of Latter-day Saints' flagship university. But injuries have extended his time as an undergraduate.
In 2014, Hill suffered a torn ACL five games into the Cougars’ season, ending his year. Last fall, he suffered a Lisfranc fracture in his foot in the season opener at Nebraska, ending his season before it had much of a chance to get going.
In his absence, Tanner Mangum stepped forward in a big way. Mangum threw a Hail Mary pass to beat the Cornhuskers and followed it with a 35-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Juergens with 45 seconds left to stun Boise State. Mangum finished with 3,377 yards and 23 touchdowns against 10 interceptions.
This spring, however, Hill is back for one last ride after earning a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA. He has experience and remains a solid dual-threat quarterback. Will he do enough to impress new coach Kalani Sitake and overtake Mangum for the starting role? Given all that Hill has overcome for this season, it’d be a special ending to his college career.
Brenden Motley, Virginia Tech
6 of 10
New coach, new opportunity. That’s the theme in Blacksburg, Virginia this spring. With Frank Beamer’s retirement, Virginia Tech has a new head coach for the first time since 1987. Justin Fuente brings coaching acumen (19 wins in his last two seasons at Memphis) and a fast-paced offensive scheme.
In turn, he has also created some quarterback intrigue. With Michael Brewer’s graduation, the Hokies are seeking a new starting quarterback.
Junior Brenden Motley would be the nominal starter right now based on experience. He started six games a year ago when Brewer suffered a broken collarbone and had mixed results. He threw for 1,155 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions, but the Hokies were 3-3 in that span.
Fuente signed dual-threat junior college quarterback Jerod Evans, who he had targeted since he was at Memphis. He and sophomore Dwayne Lawson appear to be the Hokies’ future under center.
Fuente, his staff and the quarterbacks have been tight-lipped about the competition, as Norm Wood of the Virginian-Pilot explained.
"At quarterback, I’d say the older guys, the guys who have got a little more experience are a little bit further ahead than the younger guys," Fuente said, "but that doesn’t mean really all that much right now.”
However, Evans fits Fuente’s system well. If he emerged as the starter over Motley, it would surprise no one.
Anu Solomon, Arizona
7 of 10
Two years ago, Anu Solomon had an excellent debut as Arizona’s starting quarterback. He threw for 3,793 yards with 28 touchdowns against nine interceptions. Last fall, however, he regressed, throwing for 2,667 yards with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions while missing two games with injuries.
Solomon led Arizona to the Fiesta Bowl as a freshman, but durability has been an issue. He suffered multiple concussions last season and missed four practices this spring with a hamstring issue. Michael Lev of Tucson.com said Solomon was hard on himself late this spring.
“I’ve got to realize when I step on this field, it’s all about Arizona football,” Solomon said. “I can’t let everything else outside of the field—school, life, anything—get in my head. I’ve got to concentrate on that. I caught myself on it. God humbled me. It’s definitely a learning experience.”
When Solomon has been on the sidelines, backup Brandon Dawkins has been impressive.
Dawkins threw for 305 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions against Arizona State last fall, adding 78 yards on the ground, including a 24-yard touchdown run. He has a strong arm and great mobility, and if he’s healthy, there’s no reason he can’t wrest the job from Solomon at some point in 2016.
Tyrone Swoopes, Texas
8 of 10
Tyrone Swoopes hopes that he can write a happy ending to an up-and-down college career. Texas’ senior quarterback was pressed into action as a sophomore starter when concussions scuttled David Ash’s career, and he threw 13 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
A year ago, he lost his starting role to Jerrod Heard, only throwing for 537 yards and four touchdowns with an interception, adding 451 yards and 12 scores on the ground. New offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert has given Swoopes a fresh chance, and he has emerged as the leading candidate in spring practice, even if it angers fans, as Mike Finger of the Houston Chronicle noted.
Gilbert likes a quarterback with a big arm who can run, and Swoopes is that. But he has never shown real consistency. With head coach Charlie Strong decidedly on the hot seat after going 11-14 in his first two seasons, he won’t be afraid to make a change if Texas struggles early. The Longhorns’ first five games? Notre Dame, UTEP, Cal, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. That’s a tough early run. If Swoopes doesn’t claim the job, Heard might be ready to pounce.
Patrick Towles, Boston College
9 of 10
Boston College has a new offensive coordinator in Scot Loeffler, and that is probably a good thing. The Eagles were horrible on offense last fall. They mustered just 17.2 points per game, No. 120 nationally, and averaged just 111.2 passing yards per game, No. 124 nationally, with five quarterbacks combining for eight touchdowns against nine interceptions.
Matters under center are a bit more optimistic. Darius Wade, who began 2015 as the starter but suffered a season-ending broken ankle in a Week 3 loss to Florida State, returns. BC also landed a graduate transfer in former Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles, who is seeking a new start after regressing as a junior, going from 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions to nine touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Towles has all the tools to start, but he hasn’t earned any extended trust from Loeffler and head coach Steve Addazio. Even if he beats out Wade this spring, there’s no reason to think Wade can’t win his old job back this fall.
John Wolford, Wake Forest
10 of 10
Head coach Dave Clawson inherited a rebuilding project from former coach Jim Grobe, and he appears to be a little ways away from turning the corner in the top-heavy ACC Atlantic Division. The Demon Deacons are 6-18 under Clawson’s watch, going 3-9 in each of his first two seasons.
Wake had one of the nation’s worst offenses in 2015, averaging a measly 17.4 points per game, No. 119 nationally. Quarterback John Wolford didn’t help much. He threw for 1,791 yards with nine touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 60.9 percent of his passes.
Kendall Hinton is pushing Wolford for his job, as ESPN.com's David Hale noted. Last year, Hinton threw for 929 yards with four touchdowns against five interceptions, completing 52.0 percent of his passes. But Hinton is a much more mobile option than Wolford, rushing for 390 yards and seven touchdowns, while Wolford gained 73 yards (on 67 carries) with three scores.
Wake’s run game was also awful, ranking No. 122 nationally. If Clawson decides he wants a better runner under center to help on the ground, Hinton will be the man, and Wolford will be watching from the sidelines.
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