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Fox Sports ranks the 2014 conferences by QB talent. Looks right to me.
1. PAC!!! PAC!!! PAC!!!
Last year, the SEC was loaded with experienced, big-game, play-making quarterbacks. This season, it's the Pac-12 that's absolutely stacked. The conference has 10 returning starters led by two bona fide Heisman contenders in Oregon's Marcus Mariota and UCLA's Brett Hundley. Oregon State's Sean Mannion is a third QB that has received a lot of first-round draft talk.
ASU's Taylor Kelly and Stanford's Kevin Hogan are also proven talents who have won a bunch of games, while strong-armed Connor Halliday figures to pile up gaudy stats at Washington State but needs to cut way down on the picks if he's to crack the top five in the conference. USC's Cody Kessler finished 2013 on a high note and has displayed strong leadership for a program that had a chaotic season.
2. Big Ten
Ohio State's dynamic Braxton Miller is the headliner, but Michigan State's Connor Cook and Penn State's budding star Christian Hackenberg give the Big Ten a very strong top three. If Cook -- coming off a terrific first season as a starter -- can lead the Spartans to an upset win in early September at Oregon, he'll jump into the Heisman race.
Michigan's Devin Gardner had an inconsistent first full season as a starter but showed flashes of his talents by accounting for 32 TDs against just 11 INTs despite playing behind a very suspect O-line. He should have a strong 2014 as he gets more comfortable with new OC Doug Nussmeier. Another QB who should really benefit from new coaching is Rutgers’ Gary Nova, who has played a lot for the Scarlet Knights and now gets to work with noted OC Ralph Friedgen.
3. Big 12
I was tempted to slide the SEC in here, but the Big 12 has a stronger top three led by Heisman contender Bryce Petty from Baylor. In his first season as the Bears starter, Petty threw 42 TDs and just three INTs to go with 4,200 yards. He also ran for 11 TDs, and the Bears are again LOADED on offense.
Right behind him should be Texas Tech's Davis Webb, who is ready to become a star as a sophomore. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder is coming off a fantastic spring and has coach Kliff Kingsbury very fired up: “He has a chance to be very special," Kingsbury said. "He has one of the quickest releases and strongest arms I’ve been around. Very smart, intellectual thinker. Processes things very quickly. Sees the field. Great at checking to the right place. He probably had the best spring I’ve ever been around as far as protecting the football and making plays in our scrimmages. In our live scrimmages, [he had] 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions, which was a huge step from where he was last year."
OU's Trevor Knight capped off his freshman season by shredding Alabama's D in the Sugar Bowl, throwing for 348 yards and four TDs while boosting expectations in Norman for a big second season.
After that top three, K-State's Jake Waters (18 TDs, 9 INTs) probably is the next best option.
4. SEC
It'll probably anger SEC fans to see any list that has their league this far down in something rated by conference, but there are just too many question marks at this point to default them higher up. Auburn's Nick Marshall had a terrific debut season and it'll be fascinating to see how he develops considering he's the first starting QB that Gus Malzahn has had return for a season in nine years. After Marshall, the guys with starting experience that catch your eye are MSU's big Dak Prescott, who is intriguing; Ole Miss' Bo Wallace, who should have a good year; and UF's Jeff Driskel, who returns from injury.
I'll take a spot on the Driskel/UF bandwagon right now, because I think new OC Kurt Roper is that good and Driskel does have some talent to work with. The wildcard that could really boost this group: Bama's Jacob Coker, the FSU transfer who had Noles coaches and players raving. Also, keep an eye on freshmen Brandon Harris from LSU and Kyle Allen from Texas A&M -- both have the ability to become stars.
5. ACC
The conference has one sure-fire star in FSU's Jameis Winston, last year's Heisman winner. He has first-pick-of-the-draft talent assuming he can keep the knucklehead behavior in check off the field. After Winston, things get pretty thin. Duke's Anthony Boone is a good one, as is UNC's Marquise Williams, and Virginia's David Watford has some nice skills -- although the latter won't go to training camp as No. 1 on the UVA depth chart.
One to keep an eye on is NC State's Jacoby Brisset, a big, talented UF transfer who has generated some nice buzz inside the program.
6-10 available at the link.
QB Rankings: Top 10 conferences with most talent under center | FOX Sports on MSN
1. PAC!!! PAC!!! PAC!!!
Last year, the SEC was loaded with experienced, big-game, play-making quarterbacks. This season, it's the Pac-12 that's absolutely stacked. The conference has 10 returning starters led by two bona fide Heisman contenders in Oregon's Marcus Mariota and UCLA's Brett Hundley. Oregon State's Sean Mannion is a third QB that has received a lot of first-round draft talk.
ASU's Taylor Kelly and Stanford's Kevin Hogan are also proven talents who have won a bunch of games, while strong-armed Connor Halliday figures to pile up gaudy stats at Washington State but needs to cut way down on the picks if he's to crack the top five in the conference. USC's Cody Kessler finished 2013 on a high note and has displayed strong leadership for a program that had a chaotic season.
2. Big Ten
Ohio State's dynamic Braxton Miller is the headliner, but Michigan State's Connor Cook and Penn State's budding star Christian Hackenberg give the Big Ten a very strong top three. If Cook -- coming off a terrific first season as a starter -- can lead the Spartans to an upset win in early September at Oregon, he'll jump into the Heisman race.
Michigan's Devin Gardner had an inconsistent first full season as a starter but showed flashes of his talents by accounting for 32 TDs against just 11 INTs despite playing behind a very suspect O-line. He should have a strong 2014 as he gets more comfortable with new OC Doug Nussmeier. Another QB who should really benefit from new coaching is Rutgers’ Gary Nova, who has played a lot for the Scarlet Knights and now gets to work with noted OC Ralph Friedgen.
3. Big 12
I was tempted to slide the SEC in here, but the Big 12 has a stronger top three led by Heisman contender Bryce Petty from Baylor. In his first season as the Bears starter, Petty threw 42 TDs and just three INTs to go with 4,200 yards. He also ran for 11 TDs, and the Bears are again LOADED on offense.
Right behind him should be Texas Tech's Davis Webb, who is ready to become a star as a sophomore. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder is coming off a fantastic spring and has coach Kliff Kingsbury very fired up: “He has a chance to be very special," Kingsbury said. "He has one of the quickest releases and strongest arms I’ve been around. Very smart, intellectual thinker. Processes things very quickly. Sees the field. Great at checking to the right place. He probably had the best spring I’ve ever been around as far as protecting the football and making plays in our scrimmages. In our live scrimmages, [he had] 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions, which was a huge step from where he was last year."
OU's Trevor Knight capped off his freshman season by shredding Alabama's D in the Sugar Bowl, throwing for 348 yards and four TDs while boosting expectations in Norman for a big second season.
After that top three, K-State's Jake Waters (18 TDs, 9 INTs) probably is the next best option.
4. SEC
It'll probably anger SEC fans to see any list that has their league this far down in something rated by conference, but there are just too many question marks at this point to default them higher up. Auburn's Nick Marshall had a terrific debut season and it'll be fascinating to see how he develops considering he's the first starting QB that Gus Malzahn has had return for a season in nine years. After Marshall, the guys with starting experience that catch your eye are MSU's big Dak Prescott, who is intriguing; Ole Miss' Bo Wallace, who should have a good year; and UF's Jeff Driskel, who returns from injury.
I'll take a spot on the Driskel/UF bandwagon right now, because I think new OC Kurt Roper is that good and Driskel does have some talent to work with. The wildcard that could really boost this group: Bama's Jacob Coker, the FSU transfer who had Noles coaches and players raving. Also, keep an eye on freshmen Brandon Harris from LSU and Kyle Allen from Texas A&M -- both have the ability to become stars.
5. ACC
The conference has one sure-fire star in FSU's Jameis Winston, last year's Heisman winner. He has first-pick-of-the-draft talent assuming he can keep the knucklehead behavior in check off the field. After Winston, things get pretty thin. Duke's Anthony Boone is a good one, as is UNC's Marquise Williams, and Virginia's David Watford has some nice skills -- although the latter won't go to training camp as No. 1 on the UVA depth chart.
One to keep an eye on is NC State's Jacoby Brisset, a big, talented UF transfer who has generated some nice buzz inside the program.
6-10 available at the link.
QB Rankings: Top 10 conferences with most talent under center | FOX Sports on MSN
