Ranking the top 10 college football quarterbacks in 2024
With spring practices about to start, we’re taking stock of college football’s leading returning players at numerous positions. First off is the most important position on the field: quarterback.We surveyed our college
football reporters, asking them to rank their leading 10 QBs entering the 2024 season. Points were appointed based on their votes: 10 points for first place, 9 for 2nd location, down to 1 for 10th place.Our choices include four quarterbacks from the SEC
and two who are returning from injury after missing most or all of the 2023 season. And while QBs have actually been frequent visitors to the transfer website over the last few years, only two transfers from this offseason made our list. So maybe there’s something to be stated for continuity behind center.Here are our choices for the leading 10 quarterbacks in college football. Todd Kirkland/Getty Images 2023 statistics: 3,941 yards passing, 24 TD passes, 6 INTs, 117 yards hurrying, 4 TD rushes, 85.2 QBR Points: 89(five first-place votes )After waiting patiently for 3 seasons, Beck lastly
took control of Georgia’s offense in 2023. He led the
Bulldogs to an unbeaten routine season and nearly took them back to the College Football Playoff. In his very first season as a starter, he completed a whopping 72.4%of his pass efforts for 3,941 backyards with 24 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. After all the issues about Georgia having a brand-new quarterback and offending coordinator(Mike Bobo ), it ranked fifth in the FBS in scoring (40.1 points per game )and 11th in passing (305.3 lawns ). This season, Beck won’t have All-America tight end Brock Bowers or receiver Ladd McConkey. However, he didn’t have them at his disposal for extended stretches last season, either. Georgia is still stocked with pass-catchers; it included tight end Benjamin Yurosek (Stanford)and receivers Colbie Young(Miami), Michael Jackson III (USC) and London Humphreys(Vanderbilt) through the transfer website. Beck must be even more comfy with 14 starts under his belt.– Mark Schlabach 2023 statistics: 3,660 lawns passing, 30 TD passes, 6 INTs
, 373 yards hurrying, 12 TD hurries, 87.3 QBR Points: 85 points(three first-place votes )Gabriel’s transfer from Oklahoma to Oregon was among the more unexpected offseason relocations, considering he led the Sooners to a 10-2 mark and threw for 3,660 backyards with 30 touchdowns last year. Gabriel, who spent his very first 3 collegiate seasons at UCF, found a brand-new home just days after going into the portal, landing at Oregon, where he will change Bo Nix. Nix’s success story in Eugene is a blueprint Gabriel would love to follow, as Nix elevated his game substantially after heading west from Auburn. The Ducks didn’t just bring in Gabriel through the portal, either. Dante Moore, the former five-star recruit who saw comprehensive playing time for UCLA as a real freshman in 2023, likewise transferred in for what is presumed to be a developmental year behind Gabriel.Gabriel goes into the season No. 8 on the all-time FBS passing list with 14,865 lawns and needs 4,353 to break Case Keenum’s record (19,217 ).
That would require Gabriel to set a profession high, but it’s definitely within the world of possibility given Nix threw for 4,508 yards for the Ducks last season.– Kyle Bonagura 2023 statistics: 3,479 lawns passing, 22 TD passes
, 6 INTs, 75 lawns hurrying, 5 TD rushes, 78.7 QBR
Points: 71 (2 first-place votes)
Ewers changed his body (and his hairstyle) before last season and dedicated himself to improving. He did just that, ending up the season with 3,479 lawns, which was 15th most among all FBS quarterbacks, to go with 22 goal passes and six interceptions. He assisted direct the Longhorns to a 12-2 record with the only acnes a 4-point loss to Oklahoma in the routine season and a 37-31 loss to Washington in the College Football Playoff semifinal.Texas is losing its top
2 receivers(Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell)to the NFL, however the personnel generated Alabama’s Isaiah Bond, Houston’s Matthew Golden and Oregon State’s Silas Bolden to help fill those voids and give Ewers more players on the exterior. The Longhorns deal with a tough schedule in 2024, with Michigan, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky and Texas A&M all on the slate. But Ewers has experience, talent around him and a knowledge of the offensive system, all of which need to help him reproduce– and possibly go beyond– the success he and the group saw in 2023.– Tom VanHaaren
2023 stats: 2,834 yards passing, 23 TD passes, 6 INTs, 531 backyards rushing, 12 TD hurries
, 80.5 QBR Points: 57 Editor’s Picks 2 Related
When Alabama benched Milroe following a Week 2 loss to Texas in 2023, couple of anticipated him to project as a top-five quarterback for the following season. However he responded well to the problem, establishing his downfield passing skills and other areas, and assisting the Tide to an SEC champion and a CFP look. Milroe completed more than 80% of his passes in his first two games after the benching, and finished at 65.8% for the season. He likewise tossed only 3 interceptions on 218 pass efforts in his last 10 games. Milroe ended his first season as Alabama’s starter with 2,834 passing yards and 23 touchdown passes while showcasing his mobility against the similarity LSU, Auburn, Michigan and Kentucky.His next difficulty
will be getting used to a brand-new training staff, led by Kalen DeBoer and coordinator Nick Sheridan. DeBoer transformed Michael Penix Jr. into a record-setting passer and certainly will include Milroe’s deep-ball talent. Like Penix did at Washington, Milroe will require much better protection after taking 44 sacks in 2023, including 6 against Michigan in the CFP semifinal. However if he can maintain or raise his efficiency, he will remain in the mix for the Heisman Prize and other national awards this fall.– Adam Rittenberg
Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports 2023 stats: 2,869 lawns passing, 25 TD passes, 6 INTs, -33 lawns rushing, 0 TD rushes, 83.8 QBR Points: 42 Fifita was a 5-foot-11, 175-pound possibility out of Anaheim, California, and he had an unassuming set of offers from schools in his region(Arizona, Cal, Fresno State, Hawai’i, Utah State ). Even if he were to eventually develop into a strong player, he wasn’t the kind of possibility a coach would lean on for an over night program turn-around. And yet … after an 8-8 start to Jedd Fisch’s period in Tucson– which was a strong enhancement in itself thinking about the Wildcats had actually lost 23 of 24 games before he arrived– the Wildcats ignited the moment Fifita got in the lineup for an injured Jayden de Laura. He nearly led upsets of both Washington (he threw for 232 yards and three TDs in a 31-24 loss) and USC (303 lawns and 5 scores in a 43-41 loss), and from mid-October on, he didn’t lose again.A relative unknown before the season, Fifita finished with 2,869 lawns and 25 goals regardless of beginning just 9 games, and he completed eighth in Total QBR, ahead of such notables as USC’s Caleb Williams, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe and Florida State’s Jordan Travis. Fisch left for Washington, but both Fifita and 1,400-yard receiver Tetairoa McMillan remained with UA, and they might lead the Wildcats to a lovely start to life in the Big 12.– Expense Connelly
2023 statistics: 3,364 lawns passing, 23 TD passes, 5 INTs, 391 backyards rushing, 8
TD rushes, 78.5 QBR Points: 41 Expectations are skyrocketing for Ole Miss headed into 2024, and it all starts with quarterback Jaxson Dart. In 2015, Dart topped the first 11-win season in school history with an impressive performance in a 38-25 win over Penn State in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, tossing for 379 backyards with three goal passes, while adding a hurrying score. In all, Dart tossed for 3,364 yards, 23 goals and 5 interceptions in his finest year to date. Another year under Lane Kiffin and those numbers must improve even further.Now think about
who returns alongside Dart– receivers Tre Harris and Jordan Watkins and tight end Caden Prieskorn. Harris and Prieskorn integrated for 17 catches for 270 backyards in the Peach Bowl. Though there are questions at running back with Quinshon Judkins leaving for Ohio State, the Rebels return talent at that position too. But ultimately all eyes will turn to Dart as he tries to lead Ole Miss into the College Football Playoff for the first time.– Andrea Adelson
2023 stats: 705 backyards passing, 5 TD passes, 1 INT, 74 yards rushing, 0 TD hurries
, 82.7 QBR Points: 34 All he’s got to do is stay on the field. In his previous 14 total games, Daniels has tossed for 3,336 yards, 29 goals and just 8 interceptions while rushing for 691 backyards (not consisting of sacks). He scrambles perfectly, avoiding both sacks and choices, and over the 2022-23 seasons, he produced the greatest combined Overall QBR of any returning quarterback. However discovering that “14 total games” sample needs you to check out Kansas’ past 29 games. He missed a month in 2022 and saw snaps in only three games last season due to the fact that of back concerns. He was a substantial reason for the Jayhawks’ quick starts in both 2022 and 2023, but he hasn’t played because Sept. 23 of last season.Is this the
year all of it comes together for the player from Lawndale, California? He’s got a dynamite running back corps, with 1,200-yard rusher Devin Neal and big Daniel Hishaw Jr., at his disposal, and his receiving group is loaded with seniors. Kansas went 9-4 with backup Jason Bean beginning most of last season, and the offense has truckloads of experience for new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes. Yep, all Daniels has to do is remain on the field. Hopefully this is the year.– Connelly
David Zalubowski/AP 2023 statistics: 3,230 lawns passing, 27 TD passes,
3 INTs,
-77 backyards rushing, 4 TD hurries, 63.1 QBR Points: 33 Colorado’s start to the season ended up being a mirage on a number of levels, but not regarding Sanders, who transitioned well from the FCS to the FBS. He finished ninth nationally in conclusion percentage (69.3%), 10th in passing yards average (293.6 ypg) and fourth in interception percentage (0.7%) regardless of the team’s late-season challenges and a relentless pummeling that left him with a broken back.Sanders set Colorado’s single-game passing record in his Buffs debut, piling up 510 backyards at TCU. He had 348 passing backyards or more in 5 games and had multiple goal passes 7 times, while tossing simply one interception in his last 6 contests. Sanders created NFL draft buzz, especially throughout the first half of the season, and completed with a team-record 3,230 passing lawns and 27 touchdown passes (2nd most in CU history).
He will enter his first full season with planner Pat Shurmur, who took control of playcalling in November. Sanders ultimately must do his part to restrict sacks and hits after taking 52 sacks and being pressured on 39.9% of his dropbacks. If he stays healthy and keeps progressing in the Enthusiasts’ brand-new league, he needs to be among the top quarterbacks on NFL draft boards for 2025.– Rittenberg
2023 statistics: DNP Points: 24 Rising wasn’t supposed to be Utah’s savior back in September 2021. The Utes opened that season with Charlie Maker as their starter after the Baylor transfer beat out Rising for the task. The early results were bad, nevertheless, and Utah lost its very first two games versus FBS foes before coach Kyle Whittingham made a change. And once Utah was Rising’s group, the Utes never looked back.Rising and the Utes went 9-1 and won a Pac-12 champion before losing in a shootout against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl– a game in which Rising represented 3 TDs and completed 77% of his tosses. It was more of the same in 2022, with Increasing leading the Utes to a 10-3 record and another Pac-12 title before falling to Penn State in the Rose Bowl. Throughout those two seasons, Increasing was 18-6 as a starter with 46 touchdown passes, 13 choices and an 83.6 Total QBR.But for a real gratitude of Rising’s worth, just look what occurred to Utah’s offense when he missed the 2023 project with a knee injury. The Utes went from balancing nearly 39 points in 2022 to just 23 in 2015, and saw a decrease of 85 passing lawns per game, while their pass TD total was halved.– David Hale
2023 statistics: 3,735 backyards passing, 25 TD passes, 7 INTs, 144 yards hurrying, 8 TD hurries, 65.2 QBR
Points: 19
In what might have been the most significant quarterback transfer of the offseason, Washington State’s Cam Ward went into the website, declared for the NFL draft– in what now appears to have been a take advantage of play– and lastly opted to stay in school at Miami. Ward’s skill is apparent. He had several amazing moments for the Cougars over the previous 2 seasons and was an FCS revelation at Incarnate Word before that. However consistency has been an issue. He threw for 3,735 lawns last season, however over a five-game winless stretch in the middle of the season, tossed simply four goal passes.Washington State understood very early last season that it would likely be Ward’s final season in Pullman. The Cougars didn’t have the NIL firepower to keep him around and the collapse of the Pac-12 made his departure nearly a sure thing. This could be a make-or-break year for Ward in regards to his NFL outlook. He would have been a late-round possibility had he stayed in the draft, however if he improves his consistency, he could be thought about a top-three-round kind of player.– Bonagura Also receiving votes: Brady Cook, Missouri(13 ); Riley Leonard, Notre Dame(11);
Will Howard, Ohio State (8); Garrett Greene, West Virginia(5); Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee (4 ); Kaidon Salter, Liberty (4 ); DJ Uiagalelei, Florida State (4 ); Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma (2 ); Conner Weigman, Texas A&M (2); Kyron Drones, Virginia Tech (1 ); Will Rogers, Washington (1)