No position in football is more important than quarterback. While Deshaun Watson and Baker Mayfield will lead this year’s class at the position in college football the potential is there for a handful of freshmen to step up and thrive as well. Who is the most likely star freshman quarterback to break through this season? Here is a look at the best bets to be this year’s star freshman quarterback in college football.
Dondre Francois, Florida State Seminoles
The 6’2’’, 193-pound Francois has the potential to make an immediate impact as a dual-threat quarterback for Florida State this season. Francois is extremely talented and he has the kind of presence that makes it that much more likely he will thrive from the outset. Francois has a big arm and is very accurate, with the explosive running ability to make big plays with his legs as well. Francois will have to beat out Sean Maguire and earn the No. 1 job for the Seminoles but he should have every chance to win the starting job. Running back Dalvin Cook will lead an impressive cast of weapons surrounding Francois in the Florida State offense and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Francois broke through as a star in his freshman season.
Travis Jonsen, Oregon Ducks
Jonsen will attempt to replace Vernon Adams as the starting quarterback at Oregon and he has a real shot of breaking through as a star in his freshman season. Jonsen is an outstanding runner and his dual-threat ability will make him the perfect fit in the Ducks’ offense. The question is whether he can do enough to beat out Dakota Prukop for the starting job in camp with Prukop reportedly having the slight edge to win first snaps.
The key here is that there is a lot of pressure on the Ducks – as a program – to deliver results. We saw a dip in production across the board in brand name, offensive success and recruiting once Chip Kelly and Marcus Mariota left, and the trajectory appears to still be declined. Last year, the offense started slow and Mark Helfrich and company simply can’t afford that happening again. If Prukop wins the job and struggles out of the gate, expect him to get in. It is only a matter of time before Jonsen makes his mark and it could happen sooner rather than later if the Ducks aren’t looking like the offensive juggernaut we’ve known them to be.
Brady White, Arizona State Sun Devils
White is a former Southern California quarterback that trained with Jonsen on Sundays with quarterbacks coach Steve Clarkson for years and like his good friend he will have the opportunity to make an immediate impact this season. White is extremely accurate and he makes good decisions with the football so he could slide in nicely as the starter at Arizona State. The Sun Devils have some intriguing weapons at the skill positions and if White wins the starting job he could put up big numbers this season.
Sam Darnold, USC Trojans
Former five-star quarterback prospect Max Browne is projected to start at USC this season but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Darnold steals it at some point sooner rather than later. A tough schedule out of the gate should mean Browne is the No. 1 when the season starts but it might be too difficult to keep Darnold from getting his opportunity for long. He has the higher upside of the two players. Browne is the steady veteran as of right now but if the ship goes off course this season, the Trojans will look to get Darnold in there to develop him sooner – even if that means some growing pains.
Darnold is a smart, prototypical pocket quarterback with a strong enough arm to make all of the throws and he should be on the radar as a potential sleeper pick to shine in his freshman season for the Trojans. The Trojans have enough talent around the team where they could put in a rather raw quarterback and still succeed, so don’t put this decision past Clay Helton.
