The quarterback position is the most scrutinized in the game of football for a reason. There is no position on the gridiron that is more important. The rise of fast-paced, high-scoring spread offenses has taken college football by storm and there are more prolific passers at the college level right now than ever before. We took the time to break down the top quarterbacks in the country including the best passers in each of the top conferences. Here is a look at the best quarterback in every power college football conference.
ACC – Deshaun Watson, Clemson Tigers
Watson’s dual-threat ability led to him becoming the first player in FBS history to throw for over 4,000 yards and top the 1,000-yard rushing mark while leading Clemson to an ACC title and national championship game appearance last season. All eyes will be on the Tigers’ junior quarterback to see what he has in store for 2016. Watson threw for 4,104 yards with 35 touchdowns while rushing for 1,105 yards and another 12 scores to earn serious Heisman trophy consideration. Watson didn’t win the award but he will be among the favorites to win the Heisman in 2016 as he looks to take care of unfinished business at Clemson this coming season.
Big Ten – J.T. Barrett, Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State will return just six starters from a year ago but they do have their quarterback Barrett back in the mix. Barrett was forced to share time with Cardale Jones a year ago but that won’t be the case this year as the Buckeyes’ unquestioned starter. Barrett finished with just 992 passing yards and 11 touchdowns but he added another 682 rushing yards and 11 scores in just 11 appearances. Ohio State will have a tough road in the Big Ten this season and there will definitely be some growing pains with such a young roster Fortunately, Ohio State should be able to lean on Barrett as the best quarterback in the Big Ten.
Big 12 – Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma Sooners
Mayfield led a major turnaround at Oklahoma a year ago when the Sooners went from 8-5 to 11-2 with a Big 12 championship and a College Football Playoff appearance. The Texas Tech transfer was clearly Oklahoma’s best player as he threw for 3,700 yards with 36 touchdowns while rushing for 405 yards and another seven scores. The 6’2’’, 214-pound junior is a solid dual-threat passer that is poised to put up big numbers for the Sooners again in 2016. Oklahoma has the potential to successfully defend its conference championship and get back to the playoff and Mayfield is the biggest reason for it.
Pac-12 – Josh Rosen, UCLA Bruins
All eyes were on Rosen a year ago to see how he would fare in his true freshman season at UCLA. The Bruins’ quarterback thrived in year one as he threw for 3,669 yards with 23 touchdowns in Noel Mazzone’s spread offense. Rosen is more of a traditional pocket passer than some of the other names on this list but it’s clear he deserves recognition as one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Rosen should be even better with a full year of experience under his belt and all eyes will be on UCLA’s star quarterback to see what he can do in 2016.
SEC – Chad Kelly, Ole Miss Rebels
Technically, Kelly makes two Clemson quarterbacks on this list as you might recall, he transferred away from them. At any rate, the Rebels return just five starters from a year ago but they are fortunate to have the best quarterback in the SEC back for his senior season. Kelly is coming off an incredible year in which he threw for 4,042 yards and 31 touchdowns while rushing for 500 yards and 10 scores. Ole Miss will rely heavily on Kelly’s arm to keep them alive as a contender in a loaded SEC West division. A lot of people will say that Tennessee’s Josh Dobbs deserves a mention here but he’s not on Kelly’s level just yet. He might get there this year but as of now, he’s not there. It will be very interesting to see if Kelly can duplicate last year’s numbers and help the Rebels hit the 10-win mark once again.
