Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield will enter the 2016 college football season among the most recognized names in the entire nation and for good reason. Watson and Mayfield put up outstanding numbers a year ago with Mayfield leading the Sooners to a Big 12 title and the conference’s first College Football Playoff appearance while Watson led the Tigers to an ACC title and an appearance in the national championship game. While Watson and Mayfield are among those that will command the most attention heading in to this year, there are a number of quality passers that have flown under the radar and could be poised for big seasons. Here is part one of our breakdown of the 10 under the radar quarterbacks to watch in 2016.
Zach Terrell, Western Michigan Broncos
Terrell entered the 2016 campaign ranked 195th in FBS history with 8,567 career passing yards and will look to build on that total with a productive season at Western Michigan. The Broncos are coming off consecutive eight-win years and Terrell’s play has been among the biggest reasons for it. Terrell threw for a career-high 3,526 yards with 29 touchdowns a year ago and while he lost top receiver Daniel Braverman, he will have Corey Davis back in the fold as one of the better receivers in the conference. This is a team that lights it up on the scoreboard, which means the stats and numbers will be there for him. Western Michigan has a chance to contend for a MAC championship in 2016 and it will be Terrell leading the way at quarterback.
Brent Stockstill, Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
There were some obvious concerns when Middle Tennessee head coach Rich Stockstill turned to his own son Brent to fill the void he had at quarterback a year ago. However, Brent shined with 4,005 passing yards and 30 touchdowns along with a 66.7 completion percentage in his freshman season. Stockstill was incredibly efficient and his strong play as a big reason why the Blue Raiders took a major step forward. Stockstill will look to pick up from where he left off in 2016 and if he performs to his potential then Middle Tennessee could emerge as a 10-win team in 2016.
Brett Rypien, Boise State Broncos
Rypien is on track to follow in the footsteps of Jared Zabransky and Kellen Moore as Boise State quarterbacks that get a ton of recognition on the big stage. But more importantly with Rypien, remember that he has pedigree. He’s the son of former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien, who maybe wasn’t a superstar but was a quality starter for many years.
Rypien is coming off a year in which he recorded 3,350 yards and 20 touchdowns en route to earning Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors, even though he didn’t play in two games and split touches in another. The Broncos reloaded with a talented roster for the 2016 season and the potential is there for Rypien to lead the school to its 14th 10-win season since 1999.
Nick Mullens, Southern Miss Eagles
Mullens led a Southern Miss offense that averaged 39.0 points per game in 2015. He threw for 4,476 yards and 38 touchdowns compared to just 12 interceptions in 521 attempts. It will be extremely difficult for Mullens to match those numbers this season without top targets Mike Thomas and Casey Martin but we aren’t about to write him off just yet. Mullens was outstanding for the Golden Eagles a year ago and he is flying under the radar heading in to the 2016 season.
Chase Litton, Marshall Thundering Herd
Litton filled in admirably for Rakeem Cato following his departure from Marshall including a seven-game win streak in which he looked absolutely dominant at times. That’s not overly surprising as Marshall runs the type of plug-and-play offense where a lot of quarterbacks would succeed.
Nonetheless, Litton threw for 2,605 yards and 23 touchdowns compared to only eight interceptions in his freshman season and he led the Thundering Herd to a win over Connecticut in the St. Petersburg Bowl. Litton will have every opportunity to build on his strong start at Marshall this season and early games against Louisville and Pittsburgh mean he won’t fly under the radar for long this season.
