College Football 2011: 20 QBs Who Could Throw For 3000+ Yards in 2011
College is a passing game nowadays. The times of three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust are long gone.
Rare are the Wing-T and Triple Option offenses as the Spread, Pistol and Run-and-Shoot offenses have taken over. The result are passing numbers like we have never seen before. It's makes for an increasingly exciting game.
Quarterbacks are the biggest beneficiaries of the changes. They get more passing attempts and more open receivers than ever before.
In 2010, 28 college quarterbacks threw for 3,000 yards or more.
Here are 20 quarterbacks that should do so in 2011.
20. Jake Heaps: Brigham Young Cougars
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Jake Heaps struggled in 2010 in comparison to his immediate predecessors, Max Hall and John Beck. The freshman still threw for 2,300 yards and had his best games in the second half of the season.
After taking his lumps for a BYU team that shockingly lost running back Harvey Unga in the off-season when he withdrew from school for an "honor code" violation.
Heaps will have more confidence and experience in 2011. Will it be worth 700 passing yards? It might be worth a whole lot more than that.
19. Ryan Tannehill: Texas A&M Aggies
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In essentially six-and-a-half games as the Aggies quarterback, Ryan Tannehill passed for more than 1,600 yards. He got mop up time in a season-opening win over Stephen F. Austin and then sat behind Jerrod Johnson for five-and-half games waiting for his chance.
Once Tannehill got his opportunity, he never let it go. With a full season as the undoubted started in 2011, Tannehill will at least flirt with 3,000 yards passing.
18. Ryan Lindley: San Diego State Aztecs
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Ryan Lindley enjoyed a prolific 2010, passing for more than 3,800 yards and 28 touchdowns. He'll spend 2011 auditioning his game for NFL scouts. Lindley looks like one of the best quarterback prospects for the 2012 NFL draft.
He'll have to adjust his game to new offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig's offense. Ludwig spent the past two seasons at Cal and was at Utah before that. Ludwig runs a spread offense compared to the pro-style game the Aztecs used under departed head coach Brady Hoke.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
17. Sean Renfree: Duke Blue Devils
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In 2010, the Duke Blue Devils achieved their highest offensive production since 1989. Much of the credit has to be paid to quarterback Sean Renfree, who passed for more than 3,200 yards as a sophomore.
Renfree is another year older. But he'll have a tough schedule of defenses to pick apart. Stanford, Florida State, Virginia Tech, Miami and North Carolina will all try to hold Renfree in check.
16. Darron Thomas: Oregon Ducks
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Can Oregon's offense be any more productive in 2011 than it was in 2010? The "blur" offense one of the most exciting creations in the college football history.
Darron Thomas ran it very well in 2010. Now, he will try to perfect it as a junior. Thomas threw for more than 2,800 yards last season and will be an early Heisman Trophy hopeful.
More games like the one Thomas had in the national championship game and it won't be too hard for Thomas to get it done.
15. Seth Doege: Texas Tech Red Raiders
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Who? Exactly. But how many quarterbacks at Texas Tech need to throw for 3,000 yards or more before it just gets penciled in before the season starts?
1999 was the last time the Red Raiders didn't have a 3,000-yard passer. Seth Doege is the early favorite to take over for graduated Taylor Potts at quarterback in 2011. If he does, he might just throw for 3,500 yards.
14. Stephen Garcia: South Carolina Gamecocks
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It looks like coach Steve Spurrier finally has a quarterback that he trusts at South Carolina. Of course, that can change after Stephen Garcia's first incompletion.
Garcia should be ready for new heights as a passer in his senior season. He eked past 3,000 yards passing in 2010 but won't be cutting it so close this season.
Running back Marcus Lattimore will get plenty of attention after shredding the SEC in 2010, meaning Garcia will have to produce more while Lattimore gets paid increased attention.
13. Russell Wilson: North Carolina State Wolfpack
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Russell Wilson was a 3,500-yard passer in 2010 and will be looking at least similar production in 2011 as a senior. North Carolina State's potential successes hinge on the arm of Wilson.
Wilson has lost his top-two receivers from 2010, Owen Spencer and Jarvis Williams, to graduation. Wilson will be working very hard to develop chemistry with new targets this off-season.
12. Matt Barkley: Southern Cal Trojans
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In two seasons of college football, Matt Barkley has thrown for more than 2,700 yards twice. He's ready to make the jump to being a 3,000-yard passer. He's more mature and will be in his second year with Kennedy Pola as offensive coordinator.
Robert Woods was Barkley's top receiver in 2010 as a freshman. It's only going to get better for Woods and USC has the talent to replenish the other receiving corps losses.
11. Aaron Murray: Georgia Bulldogs
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Even when All-Galaxy wide receiver A.J. Green was serving a four-game suspension, Georgia freshman quarterback Aaron Murray was still good. He threw for more than 200 yards twice in that stretch.
Losing Green to the first round of the NFL draft will be tough to offset, but Murray will try to reinforce the theory that quarterbacks experience the most improvement from year one to year two.
Kris Durham was the second-leading receiver for the Bulldogs in 2010, and he is gone to graduation.
10. Nick Foles: Arizona Wildcats
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Even if something happens to Nick Foles that knocks him out for the season early on, Arizona would still have a player with high-potential to become a 3,000-yard passer in Matt Scott.
But as long as nothing happens to Foles, he's a shoe-in for a prolific season that he and the Wildcats hope is more successful as a team in 2011.
Arizona has seemingly been on the cusp of shaking up the Pac-10 for years now. Maybe it can finally do so in the Pac-12.
9. Kyle Padron: SMU Mustangs
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June Jones packed his run and shoot offense when he moved from Hawaii to Texas to take over as coach of SMU. The Mustang offense has enjoyed great success. Kyle Padron took over full control of the unit halfway through his freshman season and kept it clicking as a sophomore.
Padron is a threat to pass for 4,000 yards. SMU is still trying to upgrade its talent level after performing adequately without much flare on the roster.
Padron will be in his third year as the leader of the run and shoot, which is continuously opening new options to quarterbacks.
8. Case Keenum: Houston Cougars
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Its an argument for another time: but what is the NCAA thinking when it denies former Cincinnati quarterback Ben Mauk a sixth year of eligibility and then grants one to Houston's Case Keenum?
Anyway, I'm glad to see Keenum given another year to play the college game. He's a two-time 5,000-yard passer that the Cougars are hoping is fully recovered from an ACL tear suffered against UCLA.
In an off-year, Keenum can put up 3,000 yards easily in coach Kevin Sumlin's offense.
7. Dominique Davis: East Carolina Pirates
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Dominique Davis put up eight 300-yard passing performances in 2010 for East Carolina. The Boston College transfer-turned-Conference USA star could pass for 4,000 yards in 2011.
One 1,000-yard receiver, Dwayne Harris has graduated, but another 1,000-yard receiver, Lance Lewis, is back for the Pirates.
Davis passed for more than 3,800 yards in 2010. He's got a buffer to stay a 3,000-yard passer.
6. Kellen Moore: Boise State Broncos
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Kellen Moore has overcome the BCS supporters' nay-saying, Boise State's blue field and Nike's questionable uniforms to become one of the most success quarterbacks in college football history.
He's already thrown for more than 3,000 yards three times with the number increasing each season, so why would Moore not do it again in 2011?
Sorry, non-BCS team bashers, but Boise State isn't going anywhere for a while.
5. Robert Griffin III: Baylor Bears
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Robert Griffin III spurned greater suitors when he stayed close to home to play for Baylor. That potential turned into actuality in Griffin's third season. His freshman year was a 2,000-yard passing, 800-yard rushing campaign and his sophomore year was stifled by injury.
But as a junior, Griffin exploded for a 3,500-yard campaign. As long as Griffin stays healthy, he'll put up similar numbers in 2011 as Baylor continues its rise to prominence.
4. Andrew Luck: Stanford Cardinal
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Sure, Andrew Luck lost his head coach, Jim Harbaugh, to the San Francisco 49ers, but his offensive coordinator, David Shaw, just slid up a rung on the ladder.
Luck won't miss out on any mentoring, as if he needs it at this point for the college game. Luck was expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft but spurned the money for more time in college and a degree.
3. Brandon Weeden: Oklahoma State Cowboys
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Somehow, Brandon Weeden and head coach Mike Gundy were able to persuade wide receiver Justin Blackmon to return to school.
The 27-year-old senior's season low in passing yards in 2010 was 218 yards in the Cowboys' season-opening romp of Washington State.
Weeden and Blackmon will be back to blast Big 12 defenses this season.
2. Landry Jones: Oklahoma Sooners
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Oklahoma hasn't shied away from slinging the football over the past decade. Landry Jones will get his chances to do so again in 2011. The 4,700-yard passer attempted at least 34 passes in 12 of 13 games in 2010.
Superstar wide receiver Ryan Broyles has returned to school. Jones and Broyles will embark on what could be a record-setting season.
1. Bryant Moniz: Hawaii Warriors
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Hawaii's Bryant Moniz was college football's lone 5,000-yard passer in 2010. June Jones may have left for SMU three seasons ago, but the Warriors are still slinging the rock on the big island.
Moniz is running the run and shoot offense at a Colt Brennan-like level. Hawaii is a scary team that is the WAC favorite with Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada all having moved to the Mountain West.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
