College Football Predictions: Preseason Top 25 Quarterbacks for 2011
The college football season is never really over. Sure, football players won't take the field to win the BCS title, but we had the Senior Bowl, the East-West game, players battling it out for roster spots, and college recruitment beginning to wrap up.
Most teams are heading into 2011 either with a quarterback who is already established or with a few options to pick from as their star either graduated or declared for the NFL draft. For those lucky enough to have a quarterback in place, they are looking to build around him in hopes of a national championship in 2011.
Who are the best of the quarterback bunch for this upcoming season? Here are the top 25, complete with an obvious top three, a few names you may recognize, and one who's far less experienced at the position than the others.
25. Barrett Trotter, Auburn
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Yes, one of the people on this list is someone who was a backup last season. I have him on here nonetheless for three reasons. First, he'll still have plenty of weapons, especially in the running game led by Michael Dyer. Second, he looked like a capable quarterback in the little time that he did see, completing six of nine passes in his career.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, is the offense of Gus Malzahn. I'm convinced that his offenses can make average QBs great and great ones phenomenal. After all, look how well Cam Newton performed this past season.
24. Dominique Davis, ECU
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Dominique Davis, a junior who had transferred from Boston College, brought East Carolina to a bowl game and put up good numbers in the process. He threw for nearly 4,000 yards and 37 touchdowns along with 16 interceptions.
While he won't sniff a national title as the result of ECU's poor defense, he should have another very good year.
23. Tyler Bray, Tennessee
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The 6'6" freshman had a rough start to his college career, but he started to get things going near the end of the season. I have a gut feeling that he'll be a lot better in 2011; after all, he's got to have at least one match where he completes over 60 percent of his passes, right?
Then again, Tennessee was 1-3 when he didn't play in 2010, so maybe he will be good.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
22. Jeffrey Godfrey, Central Florida
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Also a freshman, Jeffrey Godfrey had to adjust quickly to being a college starting quarterback. However, he had a lot more success than Bray did, leading the team to 11 wins while putting up rather modest stats.
He won't be a guy that lights up defenses like other quarterbacks, but if he can lead a team to 11 wins, then they'll take that.
21. Taylor Martinez, Nebraska
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Yet another freshman looking to make an impact as a sophomore, Taylor Martinez played well enough his first year to keep Nebraska competitive. I think that he'll develop into a better quarterback over the offseason as he matures, or at least Nebraska fans hope he does.
Martinez is one of the many scramblers on the list and has a 241 yard rushing performance on his resume. Now he just needs to work on his passing more.
20. G.J. Kinne, Tulsa
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G.J. Kinne is a junior who is lucky enough to lead an air-it-out offense. This past season, he completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for 2,650 yards and 31 touchdowns. While these are very good numbers, he could certainly complete more passes with the type of offense he runs.
Besides, when he was put up against a great quarterback, namely Brandon Weeden, he crumbled.
19. Chris Relf, Mississippi State
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Relf is in a similar situation as Godfrey; he throws just enough to win. His dominating performance against Michigan was the best of his career, as he's usually not that good. Last year, he threw for 1,789 yards and 13 touchdowns, which are hardly great numbers, especially in the SEC.
Then again, he's another who does more damage with his running game than his throwing game, having multiple games where he ran for more yards than he threw.
18. Aaron Murray, Georgia
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Of the batch of freshman quarterbacks looking to make an impact as a sophomore, Murray is probably the best of the bunch. He's a little inconsistent, but some of his matches, such as the one against Georgia Tech, were great. However, his poor Liberty Bowl matchup against UCF shows that he still has things to work on.
17. Chandler Harnish, Northern Illinois
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The three year starter for the Huskies has finally blossomed into a great quarterback. This past season, he threw for 2,530 yards, 21 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while leading the Huskies to an 11-win season. His name will start to pop up in November/December, since NFL teams are willing to look at MAC quarterbacks nowadays.
16. Bryant Moniz, Hawaii
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Had I not seen his performance against Tulsa, I would be inclined to rate him much higher. He proved in that game that he's more of a passer than a quarterback. Just throwing the ball up there and hoping Greg Salas can get under it doesn't work each time.
Then again, Hawaii's played this style of football for nearly 10 years now, and so far it's worked, even though we all know quarterbacks are not expected to throw for 5,000 yards like this guy did last season.
15. Stephen Garcia, South Carolina
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Stephen Garcia is a quarterback that I expect great things from heading into 2011, but his stats show him as merely a good quarterback, not as great as others. He threw for 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season, and I would say the two numbers are much too close together, especially if you want to dominate the SEC.
14. Denard Robinson, Michigan
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I was all set to put Denard Robinson in the top 10 easily, maybe even squeaking into the top five, but then it hit me. Rich Rodriguez is gone from Michigan, and while Brady Hoke is a great hire, Robinson is not going to put up the numbers he did under RichRod.
I expect him to have a very good 2011, but I don't see him having far more rushing yards than passing in a game.
13. Nick Foles, Arizona
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It was a good move for Foles to return to school, since he has room to improve yet. The last five games, all losses, to end the season were brutal, and while it showed Foles is a good passer, he's still only a decent quarterback with a lot of room to learn.
He definitely improved over his 2009 performance last season, though, and I expect him to do the same again.
12. Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M
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Tannehill is a very hard QB to evaluate, mainly because he's only done so for half a season. The Aggies went 6-0 under him, but his performance against LSU shows he still has room to improve. I think he'll shoot up the rankings this season, but I can't put him in the top 10 just yet.
11. Geno Smith, West Virginia
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West Virginia's sophomore is trying to make the Mountaineers the best team in the Big East. If nothing else, he's the best QB in the Big East. This past season, he threw for 24 touchdowns, seven interceptions and knows when to minimize his passes for a game if he needs to. He'll have a great junior year; no doubt about that.
10. Kirk Cousins, Michigan State
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Kirk Cousins led the Michigan State Spartans to an 11-2 record seemingly out of nowhere. He can have games where he doesn't throw all that often and have games where he lights up the scoreboard and can win in both instances. He's not flashy, but he gets the job done, and Big Ten fans would be wise to keep an eye on him.
9. Robert Griffin III, Baylor
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Despite the fact that he struggled down the stretch, Griffin has emerged as a great quarterback for Baylor. He had a great bowl performance against Illinois despite losing, and he's very efficient in his passing. While he is not the best the "Big 12 (or ten technically)" has to offer, he is a guy to watch, especially if you follow the conference.
8. Dan Persa, Northwestern
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Persa is the most underrated quarterback in football, primarily because he doesn't play for that great a team in Northwestern. He also missed the last three games of the season, including the Wrigley Field matchup, so few know of him.
In 2010, Persa completed nearly three quarters of his passes, throwing 15 touchdowns while rushing for nine more. His 2,581 yards is pretty good, considering he could have had another 800 had he been able to play the final three games. He'll be a quarterback that everyone wonders where he came from when he has a great 2011.
7. Matt Barkley, USC
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Matt Barkley went from having an okay year as a freshman to a great year as a sophomore, and he looks to continue his climb up the QB power rankings. He's a little inconsistent yet, though, and has to play in the same conference as Andrew Luck and Darron Thomas.
If he can have more outings like against California and Hawaii (five TDs) and fewer like against Oregon State (10-19, INT), then he'll be a guy to watch this year.
6. Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State
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If it wasn't for the suspension Pryor faces in 2011, he'd make it into the top 50. Yes, he's missing game against cupcake teams, but that's the time you need to rack up the numbers if you're going to be a Heisman candidate.
On the quarterback front, though, Pryor has made great strides every year, and his senior year will definitely be the best of the four. Each year his completion percentage, touchdowns, and yards are way up, and he's not throwing that many more passes. As long as he keeps the bad games to a minimum, he'll do well.
5. Darron Thomas, Oregon
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Has Darron Thomas's stats been the product of having a great offensive mind in Chip Kelly and a great running back in LaMichael James? More to the point, does it matter if that's the case? Whether it is or not, Thomas has taken over the Oregon squad without incident and has put up solid numbers in the process.
While his numbers aren't amazing necessarily, I see him having a big junior year in 2011. There will be targets on Auburn and Oregon, and Oregon will have an advantage since they still have their quarterback, and can fight back in the tough matchups.
4. Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State
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While Justin Blackmon became a household name this past season, Brandon Weeden has not had that same luxury despite being Blackmon's quarterback. Nonetheless, he is one of the best in college football. In 2010, Weeden threw for 4,277 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions while leading Oklahoma State to an 11-2 record.
Since his main weapon is returning to school, expect more of the same from Weeden in 2011.
3. Kellen Moore, Boise State
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I was leaning towards dropping Moore a few spots because he'll be losing Titus Young and Austin Pettis to the draft. Nonetheless, Moore's stats are so good that I'm convinced he can still do well with other players to throw to.
In 2010, Moore completed 71+ percent of his passes en route to 35 touchdowns and proved to himself and others that Boise State is not to be messed with...unless they face Nevada. Luckily for him, though, Colin Kaepernick's going into the draft.
2. Landry Jones, Oklahoma
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Landry Jones is one of the early Heisman candidates, and for good reason. Jones had shown us all the tools necessary to be an elite college quarterback. This past season, he threw for 4,718 yards and 38 touchdowns, and he could easily improve on that next year.
If he can lead Oklahoma to a national title, then it would be all the more reason why Jones is ranked second right now.
1. Andrew Luck, Stanford
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Andrew Luck emerged as one of the best quarterbacks already when he decided not to declare for the NFL draft. By returning, he has made himself the frontrunner for the Heisman, and all eyes will be on him going into 2011.
What's scary is that he will be even better this year, and he was already elite to begin with.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
