These rankings do not just concern the 2017 college football season. They attempt to determine how well various big-name programs are set up at quarterback for the next three seasons, through 2019. Which ones make the cut? Here is a first look, keeping in mind that teams positioned to do well at quarterback are not necessarily the teams which are expected to win conference championships and contend for national titles. Some are on this list, but not all five.
1. USC Trojans
The USC Trojans have the best quarterback in college football, and he’s only a sophomore. Sam Darnold processed the game and made accurate reads of defenses better than anyone last season. Deshaun Watson of Clemson won the national title, but he threw lots of interceptions. Darnold made very few mistakes for a USC offense which thrived in the last two months of the regular season, and then in the Rose Bowl against Penn State, a 52-49 comeback win from a 42-27 second-half deficit. Darnold should be around for at least two more seasons, giving the Trojans an elite on-field leader through 2018. That’s a great position to be in. One of the reason the Trojans are back on the map is Darnold and if they continue to contend for the College Football Playoff, that will help them with recruiting going forward.
2. Florida State Seminoles
The performance of freshman quarterback Deondre Francois was very good last season. It wasn’t close to Darnold’s standard of excellence, but it was generally very encouraging for the future. Francois took a lot of big hits and kept on getting up last season. He showed a lot of toughness and won total trust from his teammates. That should help him this year. He knows a lot more of what to expect and will understand ways in which he can take fewer hits. Francois should be in Tallahassee through 2018 at least, so FSU is almost as well-positioned as USC is.
3. Georgia Bulldogs
When the 2017 season begins, Jacob Eason might not be a guaranteed star at quarterback for Georgia, but he will have two elite running backs with him once again. Nick Chubb and Sony Michel will take a lot of heat off Eason’s back. This gives Georgia a situation it should feel comfortable about. Then, in 2018, when Chubb and Michel are gone, Eason can become more of the leader of the offense in terms of production. Eason has the tools to become a huge success. Georgia has to like what it has in the next few seasons.
4. Texas Tech Red Raiders
There is simply no real change from one year to the next: regardless of who plays, Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury develops quarterbacks. It’s what he does. Texas Tech might have a terrible defense, but its offense is always good. Nic Shimonek this season, and whichever quarterbacks play next season and the year after that, will enable Texas Tech’s offense to once again be special. Kingsbury knows how to create a high-scoring offense. This has been going on at Texas Tech for many years now dating back to the Mike Leach days. They won’t be a real Big 12 contender until their defense shows up but their offense and quarterback play should continue to be strong.
5. Oklahoma Sooners
When the Baker Mayfield era finally comes to an end after this season, OU will have to move on, but the fact that Mayfield is about to play his third straight season means that the Sooners have had time to line up their replacements and develop them in practice. When 2018 comes, Kyler Murray or other players in the Sooners’ stable will be ready to step up. As you might recall, Murray was a stellar prospect that transferred away from Texas A&M, so he has great pedigree. You’ll probably see coach Bob Stoops use the second halves of blowouts this season to prepare his backup quarterbacks for 2018. And who knows, if Mayfield can’t stay out of trouble, we might see some of these young guns get an opportunity sooner rather than later.
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