1. Tim Tebow, Florida-One Heisman Trophy and two National Championships later while playing in the toughest conference in college football it's hard to argue that Tebow isn't the best quarterback of his generation. Everyone knows he can run the ball (673 yards rushing with 12 TD) but his arm was deadly too with an accuracy rate over 64% while throwing for 30 TDs and only 4 INTs. He should have another great season with an experienced offensive line back in Gainesville and plenty of weapons around him.
2. Colt McCoy, Texas-Hard to believe but it seems like Colt McCoy is a forgotten man when it comes to QB talk in college football. Last season he led the Longhorns in rushing with 561 yards and scoring 11 TDs. Very Tebow-like. Passing he surpassed Tebow with an incredible 77% completion percentage while throwing for 34 TDs and only 8 INTs. Texas returns a ton of experience so expect huge numbers again from The Real McCoy.
3. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma-It's almost insane to think that the reigning Heisman Trophy winner is only the third best QB on my list. It's not a knock on Bradford by any means it's just that Tebow and McCoy faced a lot more pressure last season than Bradford. Bradford threw for 50 TDs while amassing a Dan Marino-esque 4700 yards passing in helping the Sooners reach the BCS National Title game. It was very rare last season to see Bradford get hit but this year they replace 4 starters on the line so it could be a difficult season for him. And by difficult I mean don't expect him to throw for 40 or more TDs. But then again he does play in the Big 12 where defenses go to die.
4. Jevan Snead, Ole Miss-Snead grew into his own last year as he helped lead the Rebels to a 9-4 record including very impressive wins over Florida and Texas Tech. The Texas transfer will have the full spotlight on him this season in Oxford as the Rebels are expected to compete for a SEC Championship. With an out of conference schedule consisting of Memphis, SE Louisiana, UAB, and Northern Arizona he should have plenty of opportunities to pad his stats against inferior competition. Ole Miss will only go as far as Snead leads them this season. 30 plus TD passes will be a given but he needs to improve his accuracy and cut down on the INTs like he showed the last quarter of the season in 2008.
5. Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame-Thunderlips as I like to call him is expected to have a huge junior campaign on par with Brady Quinn's 2005. Clausen spent most of his first two seasons in South Bend running away from defenses and getting picked up off the ground after being hit numerous times. Largely this was due to an inexperienced team taking their licks. 2009 there will be no excuses. Clausen throws a tight spiral and is deadly accurate from 20 yards and in. With the best set of receivers in the country (Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, Duval Kamara, Kyle Rudolph, etc.) returning along with a stable of quality backs and the most experienced offensive line in the country it should be an incredible season for the youngest Clausen. Expect Clausen to put up over 3500 yards passing and 32 TDs. He will be judged on how he performs against USC on October 17th. If he performs well along with the rest of his teammates and leads the Irish to victory then he will be a legitimate Heisman frontrunner.
6. Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State-A lot of people have ignored Mr. Robinson, myself included, the past two seasons and I'm not sure why. Zac has 24 starts under his Cowboys belt and has been very impressive with a 62% completion rate while throwing for 51 TDs and only 19 INTs. He has also managed to rush for over 1500 yards. He gets overshadowed in the Big 12 conference because of McCoy and Bradford but with WR Dez Bryant returning along with 1st Team AA RB Kendall Hunter he should have plenty of weapons at his disposal. The Cowboys have won 13 straight season openers and to make it 14th Robinson is going to have to have the game of his life against the Georgia Bulldogs in Stillwater. If Robinson can lead them to victory then the next 3 opponents are Houston, Rice, and Grambling State before they start conference play.
7. Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan-The 2-time 1st team All-MAC quarterback is back and ready to go for the Chippewas in 2009. The 6'3 senior QB is a highly touted NFL prospect and is only the second QB all-time to throw for over 3000 yards while rushing for 1000 (Vince Young the other). He will have his 3 leading receivers back but the O-line is questionable with a lack of experience returning. Playing in the MAC conference he should put up some huge numbers and don't be surprised if he rushes for over 800 yards this season.
8. Max Hall, BYU-The Cougars senior QB returns in what could become a storybook season. Last season Hall was impressive, completing nearly 70% of his passes for close to 4000 yards and 35 TDs. This season they are the leading preseason favorite to win the Mountain West Conference and perhaps play in a BCS Bowl game with TCU and Utah both coming to Provo. Hall and the Cougars open up with Oklahoma in Arlington in what should be a very entertaining battle between two high scoring offenses.
9. Robert Griffin, Baylor-"Track Guy" as his teammates call him earned All-American honors in the 400 meters last year as a true freshman but what was even more impressive was his stats as the starting QB. He ran for 843 yards and 13 TDs while throwing for over 2000 yards, 15 TDs and only 3 INTs all season. Griffin took a ton of hits last season but always bounced right back up despite playing for the worst team in Big 12 history. With his two leading receivers back along with him and RB Jay Finley in the backfield we could be looking at Baylor making their first bowl appearance since 1994. If you like to watch fast guys, or "Track Guy" play QB then watch Griffin tear it up this year. You won't be disappointed.
10. Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State-The true freshman held his own last year leading a senior laden Buckeyes team to their 4th Fiesta Bowl trip in the past 7 seasons. He was the second leading rusher on the team behind Beanie Wells with 631 yards and 6 TDs. His passing stats were also impressive as he threw for 12 TDs with only 4 INTs and completed over 60% of his throws. This season he will be the lone focal point of the offense as Beanie is gone along with their top receivers. Many people compare him to Vince Young and for good reason. He is tall, black, fast, and throws like a girl and perhaps like Vince has never kissed one. He will get his chance to destroy some Trojans on the football field in Columbus on September 12th. Win that game and the kid will already be a legend.
Honorable mentions-Ryan Mallett, Arkansas; Jake Locker, Washington; Todd Reesing, Kansas; Joe Cox, Georgia; Daryl Clark, Penn State
Excellent!! And I love how you ripped apart Pryor & Vince, I hate them.
ReplyDeleteLook at JC sneaking his way into the 5 spot... Hopefully this is the year it comes together.
ReplyDeleteOk I like your top 10 but I gotta give a vote here to a guy I saw rumble all over a very talented Oregon State team last year in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl... Jeremiah Masoli could probably be a top ten fullback, if you watch the games highlights at http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=283652483&confId=80
ReplyDeleteyou'll not only see Masoli throwing for touchdowns (1) and rushing for 6 packs (3) but if you watch close you'll see him blocking to spring half back Jeremiah Johnson... Ok, fullback may be a stretch but I was just really impressed with how tough this kid is. Ie. sending Quinton Moore to the weight room. The kid started last season looking at a redshirt and the fifth spot on the depth chart and finished starting 10 games for the Ducks and ranking 3rd amongst Pac-10 QB's for efficiency (behind Willie Tuitama of Arizona and the Jets new franchise Quarterback Mark Sanchez formerly a dirtball Trojan) and 8th in the Pac-10 for rushing yards. I'm not saying he's going to be a top 10 guy this year but I guess I'm saying he'd be my dark horse vote. His freshman year at CCSF he won a junior college national title, his sophomore year with Oregon a Holiday Bowl victory over no. 13 Oklahoma State and your boy Zac Robinson. He's opening his Junior season leading the Sporting News no. 7th ranked squad in a Pac-10 conference that could see it's traditional powerhouses a little vulnerable this year... Look we all know Notre Dame is going to win it all this year but I guess I'm just sayin... fear the duck.
A few too many B12 QBs. I know they don't play pass defense in that league but maybe some of the DBs will actually get in the way this year.
ReplyDeleteI agree with an earlier post. Oregon Quarterback Masoli should be in the top 5. Let alone the top 10
ReplyDeleteWhat about Kellen Moore? He is(should be) in the number #3 or #4 spot.
ReplyDeleteYou are missing a Top 5 quarterback in Texas A&M's Jerrod Johnson. Sure he does not have anyone around him, but he by far should be in your top 5, if not top 3. Bradford needs to take a hike out of your top 10.
ReplyDeleteare you absolutley dumb???
ReplyDeleteDo you kno who jerrod johnson for texas a&M is??? HES ALREADY shattered so many records plus althouggh a&m hasnt been playing as good as everyone knows they can they still have the 7th best offense in ncaa and jerrod (coming from an OU fan) is a beast. I think he should come in at number four after Bradford
Come On Wheres Jake Locker WASHINGTON & Jeremiah Masoli OREGON ?????
ReplyDeleteJimmy Clausen has done nothing just bc he plays for Nore dame does not make him good. N Kellen Moore should b atleast in the top 5
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