Todd Boeckman, Matthew Stafford: Premier Pro-Style QBs

With the proliferation of the various forms of the spread offense, the pro-style passers' prevalence has decreased dramatically in the last five years. 

The increase in influence of dual threat, spread option, and shotgun spread systems have only served to make the dropback, pro-style passer an endangered species in college football.

Of the Athlon Preseason Top 25, only eight schools (Ohio St., USC, UGA, Wisc., ASU, Tenn., Va. Tech and Rutgers) run legitimate pro-style offenses.  With Terrelle Pryor poised to take the OSU reins as a dual threat in 2009, it would appear another pro scheme will temporarily bite the dust. 

Todd Boeckman, Matthew Stafford, and Mark Sanchez headline this year's crop of pro-style passers in college football.  Each of them has a BCS title within reach. 

Sanchez is the least experienced of the group, although USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian has high hopes for him:

"I’m anxious to watch Mark become the guy...I’m anxious to see him to do that because he’s very, very talented."

Sanchez is not yet on the level of Boeckman and Stafford, the two elite talents heading into the 2008 season.  The two players are night and day in their on-field personas, and the contrast is what makes choosing between the two truly difficult.

Todd Boeckman (6'5", 243 lbs)

In his first year as a starter, Boeckman was faced with the challenge of replacing a Heisman trophy winner who led the Buckeyes to a BCS title game appearance.  He not only accepted the challenge but outperformed all the expectations that were heaped upon him. 

Throwing for 2,379 yards, 25 TDs, and a passer rating of 148.95 will get you into the good graces of Columbus quite quickly. 

As the 2008 season approaches, the expectations have increased for the senior, and Boeckman appears ready to face the challenges. 

He returns his leading receivers, Brian Hartline and Brian Robiskie, as well as his leading rusher in Chris "Beanie" Wells as the Buckeyes look poised to make the leap from pretender to contender.

Fundamentally, Boeckman is as solid as they come.  He has quality footwork in his dropbacks while his release and arm angle are textbook form. 

In running the pro-style offense under Tressell, Todd Boeckman has proven himself to be not only an extremely efficient passer, completing almost 64 percent of his passes, but also a calm, even-tempered quarterback.

Although Boeckman can make all the throws required of him, the senior appears to be the most comfortable in play action sets.  He carries out fakes well, gets good depth after the fake, and is able to quickly diagnose the coverage situation and deliver the football accurately. 

For all that Boeckman does correctly, there is a glaring flaw within his game that could cause problems in Columbus this season. 

It is his inability to truly win a game.  Although Boeckman will never lose the game for you, he will also never win the game.  He's a role player, albeit a significant one, in Jim Tressell's system.

Tressell's inability to rely on his quarterback reared its head first in the loss to Illinois, as Boeckman struggled to the tune of three interceptions and an 87.41 QB rating.

The following week in the Michigan game, after a first half consisting of an interception and two fumbles, Tressell limited Boeckman to two pass attempts in the second half and rode Beanie Wells for 39 carries.

Boeckman has to prove he can be a quarterback who wins games, not a guy who has to get out of his team's way for it to be successful.  This season Boeckman has some added pressure to succeed with Terrelle Pryor waiting on the Buckeye sidelines.

Matthew Stafford (6'3", 237 lbs)

Stafford, the Dallas, Texas native, grew up a lot after his mediocre freshman season.  That maturity manifested itself in his 2,523 yards, 19 TDs and 128.92 QB rating for the 2007 season. 

He has grown from a gunslinging, me against the world guy into a D-I quarterback.  Though still a risk taker, Stafford makes better decisions and gets better results (19 TDs to ten INTs).

The junior possesses pro-style quarterback physique, talent, and most importantly, a bazooka of an arm.  Stafford's arm, easily his best physical asset, is put on display with the big-time throws he makes down the field in games and the X's he puts on his receivers' chests in practice.

While not as polished technically, Stafford is a solid pro-style quarterback who can pick apart a defense and make teams pay for putting eight in the box.  He has the tools to truly get the job done on the big stage.

Unlike Boeckman, Stafford is a guy who wants the ball late in games.  He is without a doubt the fiery emotional leader of the Georgia Bulldogs who relishes the role. 

One look at Georgia's overtime win at Alabama shows you this.  The big throw, and the tremendous celebration that ensued, showcases Stafford's ability to be the Lead Dawg in Athens.

Stafford's low completion rate of 55.7 percent is troubling as he needs to be more accurate heading into his junior campaign.  The errant passes are the biggest issues surrounding the Georgia quarterback, and rightfully so, as he should definitely be at least a top 25 passer.

The Verdict

Boeckman or Stafford?  Calm and reserved or passionate and aggressive? 

Boeckman has all the tools to be a quality quarterback that can help lead his Buckeyes into the national title game.  The same can be said for Matthew Stafford and his Georgia Bulldogs.

Both are quality quarterbacks with tons of talent who have the skill players around them to make defenses suffer on the ground and through the air.

Taking everything into account, Matthew Stafford has to be the top pick for the 2008 season. 

Boeckman is a really nice player who has the tangible tools to be a successful quarterback.  However, he doesn't seem to have the mental fire needed to drive the BCS-bound Mack Truck that is Ohio State. 

His big game performance shook his own coach's confidence.  Unless Boeckman develops into a strong leader over the summer, Buckeye fans may be in for a roller-coaster season with Todd at the helm.

Stafford has the tools both physically and mentally to lead Georgia through their hellacious schedule to the BCS title game.  Although critics will argue that his QB rating and completion percentage are low, here are two very telling stats. 

In the two most critical games down the stretch last year, the sophomore had a 206.27 QB rating, three TDs and one interception against Florida, and a 186.89 QB rating, two TDs and one interception against Auburn.

The young man shows up huge in big games, and there is no denying that he has the moxie needed to captain a BCS title team.  With Stafford leading the way, plenty of opponents will feel the Bulldog bite.