The college football structure is built in a way that creates pressure to win every single game. The top teams in the country might be able to contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff with one loss but two or more losses almost guarantees they don’t get in. Running the table is the only way for a big time program to guarantee its spot in the playoff and that creates even more of a burden on the shoulders of the top players in the country, especially when it comes to the game’s most important position. Here is a look at the quarterbacks with the most pressure on their shoulders heading in to the 2016 season.
J.T. Barrett, Ohio State
The Buckeyes lost nine underclassmen that left early for the NFL this offseason, which is one shy of the record set by LSU in 2013. Ohio State has done an excellent job plugging holes with rising talent but will return just three starters on the offensive side of the football. One of those returnees is their junior quarterback Barrett, who will be the undisputed starter after he battled back and forth with Cardale Jones for the No. 1 job last season. Barrett is a talented dual-threat quarterback with a big arm and the elusiveness to make plays on the ground with his legs but he needs to be much more consistent with a ton of pressure on his shoulders if Ohio State is going to contend for a national championship this season.
Tyrone Swoopes, Texas
Swoopes gets one more opportunity to prove that he can lead Texas to glory with new offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert installing his Air Raid system. He struggled in stints under center for the Longhorns last season but they have given him another opportunity to show that he can be the No. 1 quarterback although the leash will certainly be short. Jerrod Heard and freshman Shane Buechele are both expected to challenge Swoopes for the No. 1 job and that will put even more pressure on him to deliver early on. It doesn’t help that Texas will face a very difficult schedule out of the gate with Notre Dame, Utep, Cal, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma set to push Swoopes and prove whether he can truly be the real deal under center.
Anu Solomon, Arizona State
It wasn’t long ago that the Sun Devils were considered on the verge of being a perennial contender in the Pac-12. Anu Solomon was coming off an excellent freshman season in which he threw for 3,793 yards and 28 touchdowns while flashing outstanding dual-threat ability as a quarterback that could make plays with both his arm and legs. However, Solomon failed to build on that first season as he missed two games due to concussions last year and took a step back statistically with just 20 touchdowns while the Wildcats fell to 7-6. Solomon gets another chance to lead Arizona State to glory this year but the Pac-12 is absolutely loaded at the top and the pressure will be on Solomon to stay healthy and deliver at the quarterback position.
Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina
The Tar Heels turned a lot of heads with 11 consecutive wins and an appearance in the ACC championship game last season. With an improved defense, they are looking to contend for a conference title once again this season. The key will be whether or not Trubisky can thrive at the quarterback position after quarterback Marquise Williams graduated. Trubisky excelled in a reserve role last season but it will be a much different scenario now that the Tar Heels have handed him the starting job and he will face the pressure to perform with increased expectations at North Carolina this season.
Brandon Harris, LSU
The pressure will be on the entire LSU staff led by head coach Les Miles this season with a very real chance that anything less than contending for an SEC title results in his dismissal following this season. Miles has assembled a talented roster led by star running back Leonard Fournette but it won’t matter nearly as much unless he gets better play from the quarterback position. Brandon Harris was fairly efficient last season but he wasn’t nearly as good as he needs to be for the Tigers to contend with the big boys in the SEC West. The pressure will be on Harris to show marked improvement in 2016 and LSU’s chances to contend for an SEC title will likely hinge on whether or not he can shoulder that burden and perform at a high level this season.
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