Matt Barkley Stays at USC: Power Ranking the Top 5 College Football QBs for 2012

Matt Barkley has decided to stick around for his senior year of college. The guy who finished sixth in the Heisman voting will be one of the top quarterbacks in the country in the 2012 season.

But with guys like Kellen Moore, Case Keenum, Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck all heading off to the NFL, who else will step up as an elite college quarterback?

Here are the top five quarterbacks for the 2012 season.

Note: I’ve assumed that Robert Griffin III will declare for the draft, while Landry Jones will stay behind.

Honorable Mention

Denard Robinson: Prolific runner, but needs help in the passing game.

Collin Klein: See Denard Robinson.

Tajh Boyd: He wasn’t as efficient as the other quarterbacks on this list, though he should improve with another year under Chad Morris.

5. Casey Pachall

Most people thought that TCU would have a rough year after losing Andy Dalton to the NFL draft. Boy, were they wrong.

Casey Pachall has been sensational in his first year as starter, ranking seventh in the country in passing efficiency. Ed Wesley and Waymon James both return at running back, as will Josh Boyce at receiver. The quarterback is in for a huge year next season.

4. Tyler Wilson

Wilson has made a lot of people forget about Ryan Mallett, but he will lose so much talent at wide receiver next year to graduation.

He will make a great NFL quarterback, but it will certainly be a challenge to try to match his numbers this year without Jarius Wright and Joe Adams.

3. Geno Smith

Unlike Wilson, Smith will be returning two fantastic receivers in Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin. He will finish the year with more than 4,000 yards passing in Dana Holgorsen’s spread offense, and another year will make him even better.

Should West Virginia move to the Big 12 for next season, Smith could be the conference’s best quarterback.

2. Landry Jones

Landry Jones has had his troubles this year but still has over 4,300 yards. The loss of Ryan Broyles clearly hurt the team, but another offseason with Kenny Stills and the Sooners offense should be high-flying once again.

Expect him to rebound in a big way next season.

1. Matt Barkley

Without a doubt, the top quarterback for 2012 will be Matt Barkley. He threw for 3,500 yards with 39 touchdowns to just seven interceptions.

Add to that his receivers Robert Woods and Marqise Lee, and you have a guy who is ready to dominate every quarterback statistic. The Trojans are absolutely ecstatic that he is returning for his senior season.