The single most important position in football is quarterback. Without an effective, efficient passer it is nearly impossible to succeed at the highest level whether in college football or the NFL. This year’s college quarterback class is projected to be absolutely loaded and we have taken the time to look ahead to this coming year to break down the best of them. Here is a look at the top five quarterbacks in college football entering spring practice.
Deshaun Watson, Clemson
Watson is coming off a year in which he was a Heisman trophy finalist and led the Tigers to a national title game appearance after Clemson spent the majority of the year ranked No. 1 in the country. He became the first player in college football history to throw for over 4,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards, finishing with 5,209 total yards and 47 touchdowns. Watson has six games in which he produced more than 400 yards of total offense on his own, including in the national title game when he was responsible for 478 of the Tigers’ 550 yards of offense. So what should we expect for an encore? Watson is one year more experienced and he will be surrounded by an elite group of playmakers. Watson’s incredible athleticism and passing ability has him listed as the betting favorite to win the Heisman trophy this season while Clemson is a national title favorite. Watson has the potential to go out on top and solidify his NFL Draft stock as a top pick for 2017 so anything is possible in terms of what he can achieve as the top quarterback in college football right now.
Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
Mayfield threw for 3,700 yards and ran for another 405 yards, with a combined 43 touchdowns compared to just seven interceptions. Those are impressive numbers for a young quarterback that the jury was still out on heading in to last year and it will be very interesting to see what he can do for an encore. The most important factor could very well be Mayfield’s ability to avoid the big hits he took last season, which led to him being pulled from games due to injury. Mayfield has to be more conservative when it comes to taking big blows. If he does that, he should thrive while leading the Sooners as a Big 12 title hopeful next season.
J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
Barrett was in and out of Ohio State’s lineup last season and the fact that he had to share the starting job with Cardale Jones really hurt him. He finished with 22 total touchdowns last year after recording 45 touchdowns the year before, and Buckeyes’ fans are hoping that he can get back to the level he played at in 2015. Barrett showed flashes of his elite ability last year and consistency will be the key to much better numbers next season. There is no doubt about his ability, but all eyes will be on Barrett to see if he can perform with the consistency needed to be an elite college football quarterback next season.
Seth Russell, Baylor
There has been a lot of speculation about what Baylor could have done last season if Russell didn’t suffer a neck injury. He and his teammates will get their shot at redemption in 2016. Russell threw for 2,104 yards and 20 touchdowns in just seven games last season. He added another 402 rushing yards and six scores on the ground before he was hurt. Russell had five games with at least four touchdown passes last year, averaging one score for every 6.89 pass attempts. That is an incredible level of production and if Russell can perform at that level in 2016 then he will rank among the top quarterbacks in the game.
Greg Ward Jr., Houston
Houston might be somewhat limited by its status as a non-power conference team, but there is every reason to buy in to their stock as a legitimate force heading in to next season with their star quarterback as a big reason for it. Ward Jr. has become one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the country and the expectation is that the best is yet to come in his senior season. He threw for 2,828 yards and 17 touchdowns while completing 67.2-percent of his passes last season, but perhaps even more impressive was his explosive speed on the ground. The former wide receiver ran for 1,108 yards and 21 scores with at least two rushing touchdowns in seven different games. Ward Jr. has the potential to be even better as a passer with another year of experience next season so look for him to continue his emergence as an elite dual-threat quarterback.
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