With the college football season set to begin, the final decisions had to be made in terms of naming starters. No position has a greater importance than the quarterback spot. There were several teams that still hadn’t named their starter heading into this week but that had to change with teams making their final game week preparations. Here is a look at five quarterbacks in the spotlight after they were named starters this week as well as a break down of their situation heading in to the 2015 season.
Hills Named The Maryland Starter
Perry Hills was considered a dark horse longshot to be named the Maryland Terrapins starting quarterback for Week 1 but he beat out Oklahoma State transfer Daxx Garman and last year’s backup Caleb Rowe for the starting job.
The fact that he opened the spring behind both of those passers on the depth chart only seemed to motivate him even more. After looking good in practice and scrimmages, he was named the starter. Hills will have to perform at a high level in order to hold off Garman for the starting job in-season and there is no doubt all eyes will be on the Terrapins redshirt junior when the season starts versus Richmond at home in Week 1.
Rosen Named The Starter At UCLA
Josh Rosen, a true freshman, is the latest quarterback prodigy with a big arm to earn the starting job at California. The hype behind him is legitimate after he beat out Jerry Neuheisel for the staring job. Rosen has a live arm and can make all of the throws but it is his intelligence and ability to make smart decisions with the football that the coaching staff has raved about the most.
The Bruins are taking a chance on Rosen being the real deal and he certainly has big shoes to fill taking over for the record-setting Brett Hundley. With Neuheisel waiting to pounce if he slips up, he’ll have to be very poised for a freshman.
Oregon Names Adams The Starter
Senior Vernon Adams Jr. was named the successor to Heisman trophy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota. Expectations will be high with a reloaded Ducks team once again expected to contend for a Pac-12 title. The fact that Adams was able to beat out Mariota’s longtime backup Jeff Lockie despite missing the first few days of practice is telling. Now fans will get to see what it was that allowed Adams to separate himself in practice on the actual football field beginning with a highly anticipated showdown with Eastern Washington, his former team.
Mayfield Will Start For Oklahoma
The Sooners will give junior quarterback Baker Mayfield the starting job to start the 2015 season as they hope that his experience gained in seven games at Texas Tech last season will help translate to success in Bob Stoops’ offense. Mayfield will be the 11th different starter under Stoops after he beat out Trevor Knight and Cody Thomas for the job and expectations will be high with Oklahoma looking to make a run at the Big 12 title.
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Seminoles Go With Golson
The Seminoles are tasked with replacing Jameis Winston, who as the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. However, they had a gem fall into their laps when former Notre Dame star Everett Golson decided to transfer. The Seminoles scooped him up and from the moment he joined the team, it was assumed that he’d eventually take over the starting role.
On Monday, Golson was officially named the team’s starting quarterback by Jimbo Fisher. He beat out Sean Maguire for the job but it is perceived that he might have a short leash – even though Fisher said the opposite. Golson is talented but turned over the ball a lot last season, which really frustrated former head coach Brian Kelly. We’ll see if he’s more on-point in the new system.
