The Pac-12 has been loaded with quality quarterbacks over the years including most recently, the 2014 Heisman trophy winner Marcus Mariota. The Tennessee Titans drafted Mariota second overall in the 2015 NFL Draft but there’s plenty more talent that could find its way to the NFL after this season. Here is a look at the top five projected starting quarterbacks in the Pac-12 for this upcoming college football season.
1. Cody Kessler, USC Trojans
It only makes sense that the senior Kessler is at the top of this list after his 167.1 QBR ranked second in the Pac-12 behind only Mariota last season. Kessler threw for 3,826 yards and 39 touchdowns compared to only five interceptions and Trojans fans can’t wait to see what he has in store for an encore performance this year. ESPN recently named him to the Heisman Watch List and he’s third in line for the trophy behind Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliot and TCU’s Trevone Boykin.
With USC ranked in the preseason national top 10 and the preseason conference favorite, Kessler has a chance to be one of the brightest stars at the position this season.
2. Mike Bercovici, Arizona State Sun Devils
Bercovici got his opportunity to prove he can be a star when Taylor Kelly went down with an injury last season and he played so well that the consensus is that he deserves to be the starter this season. Bercovici finished the year with 1,445 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 115 of 186 pass attempts. Arizona State has the potential to do some damage in the Pac-12 this season and Bercovici’s quarterback play will be key to how well they perform.
3. Anu Solomon, Arizona Wildcats
Only one quarterback was able to beat Mariota’s Oregon team before the national championship game last season and that was Solomon with Arizona. Solomon threw for 287 yards with a touchdown in the Wildcats’ 31-24 win in early October and while an ankle injury hampered his performance late in the season, he still managed to throw for 3,793 yards with 28 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. He also ran for 291 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
That was all in Solomon’s first season under head coach Rich Rodriguez but we know how good RichRod can make quarterbacks look. Solomon could be in store for even bigger numbers in 2015.
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4. Jared Goff, California Golden Bears
Goff was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the Pac-12 last season despite being a sophomore as he threw for 35 touchdowns compared to just seven picks. He finished the year with 3,973 passing yards. The Golden Bears offense averaged 38.3 points per game last season under head coach Sonny Dykes, who loves to air it out. With Goff now one year more experienced and developed in the offense, he will have the potential to be an absolute star this season. He’s one of the guys that nobody is talking about right now but he could be a household name by the end of the season.
5. Kevin Hogan, Stanford Cardinal
Mariota’s replacement, Vernon Adams, and Colorado’s Sefo Liufau deserve honorable mention but Hogan gets the nod ahead of both of them on this list even though he has been inconsistent at Stanford over the past couple of seasons. Hogan completed 65.9% of his passes for 2,792 yards and 19 touchdowns last season but he has been fairly inconsistent over the past couple of years. Obviously, he had a tough act to follow as Andrew Luck was incredible before him and last year was especially challenging as he lost his father to cancer in December. However, Hogan has never really amounted to anything more than a game manager so far. He needs to be better week in, week out if the Cardinal are going to be a true contender in the Pac-12. Hogan has all of the tools to succeed and it looks like he finally might have some better weapons around him. The football world will be watching to see if he can finally put it all together and thrive at Stanford this season.
