Top Signal Callers
By Judd Hall
College football is one of those sports that is dominated by both coaching schemes and star players. For every high powered attack that an Urban Meyer comes up with, you need a quarterback like Tim Tebow to run it on the field. So which conference out there has the best field generals amongst its programs?
Atlantic Power…
The Atlantic Coast Conference has been a joke for the most part on the gridiron ever since they poached the Big East back in 2004. But there is reason for hope in the ACC this season thanks to some of the best signal callers.
Florida State’s Christian Ponder head the list of top QBs after completing 69 percent of his passes, while throwing 14 touchdowns to seven picks (14 TD, 13 INT in 2008). A shoulder injury kept him out of the final four games of the season, but the future is bright this season. Gamblers might get some chances at getting value on the Seminoles as they were 2-7 against the spread in his nine starts last year. And there are some real chances for early profits against Oklahoma, BYU and Wake Forest to close out September.
At the other end of the state is Jacory Harris for the Hurricanes. Harris was darling of the ESPN publicity machine after guiding Miami to wins over the Sooners, ‘Noles and Yellow Jackets at the start of the year. The positives for Harris are he has some experience in Mark Whipple’s offense. Plus he’ll have targets to LaRon Byrd and Leonard Hankerson for the long passes. As good as Harris has been, the ‘Canes will have their work cut out to start the year. Games at Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Clemson are by no means gimmes (2-3 ATS in Sept. road games since 2006).
Others to watch…
Josh Nesbitt, Georgia Tech: Hard to ignore a QB that passed for 1,701 yards and 10 touchdowns and running for 1,037 more yards and 18 scores. He guides a tough Yellow Jacket option-based offense that nobody has consistently stuffed.
Tyrod Taylor, Virginia Tech: Another two-way signal caller that can and will give defenses fits. And the Hokies bring back most of their receiving corp that will make for a potent aerial assault.
Big Ten Bullies…
There have been several great quarterbacks to emerge from the Big Ten over the years (Tom Brady and Drew Brees come to mind). And the league has some more talent on hand.
Many believed that Terrelle Pryor had his coming out party Ohio State’s win over the Ducks in the Rose Bowl. He has improved his passing skills at the end of last season and in the Scarlet & Gray Game over the spring. That will spell trouble considering the veterans receivers the Buckeyes have at their disposal. And you can’t forget how well Pryor can escape with his fancy footwork. OSU was good as a team to back at the sportsbooks with a 9-4 ATS mark in 2009. Keep an eye on the non-conference battles with BCS schools as something to hammer, evidenced by a 5-2 ATS record since 2004.
Iowa no doubt thought about what might have been last season. Ricky Stanzi was powering the Hawkeyes to a sure Rose Bowl berth. Then he got injured early in the game against Northwestern, which turned into their first loss of the season. Still, he came back to lead them to an Orange Bowl triumph over Georgia Tech. Odds are good he’ll have a solid 2010 campaign with great solid group of receivers.
Others to watch…
Scott Tolzien, Wisconsin: Showed a lot of promise last year for the Badgers. Tolzien will have a chance to avenge a poor effort against the Buckeyes when they come to Madison on Oct. 16.
Robert Marve, Purdue: The former Hurricane has looked good in spring practice. Can he hand the change of scenery?
Ben Chappel, Indiana: The Hoosiers’ signal caller played well to close out the season. He has the arm to make big throws. Now if their offensive line will give him the time to make good decisions.
Big XII Bombers…
This conference has been known for top-flight passing attacks the past few years. Looks like more of the same in 2010.
Landry Jones was thrust into a no-win situation last year as a freshman for the Sooners in taking over for Sam Bradford in the opener against BYU. The growing pains were many, but Jones mastered the offense towards the end of the year with nine touchdowns to three interceptions. Oklahoma will need him to play well on the attack to start the year (FSU, Air Force, Cincy to close out September) since they have a rebuilt defense.
The Tigers fell back to Earth last year with some bad losses to Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma State, to name just a few. Yet Blaine Gabbert showed he was a worthy successor to Chase Daniel with 24 scores to just nine picks. Both he and gamblers will have a chance to tee off early in the season with games against Illinois, McNeese State, San Diego State and Miami-Ohio. Might be tough against the Big XII foes, but anything is possible.
Others to watch…
Garrett Gilbert, Texas: He got the ultimate baptism by fire in the BCS Title Game last year and nearly pulled off the stunner. He may have issues with a new offensive line, but has an arm and talented receivers to make up for that early on.
Robert Griffin, Baylor: The Bears faltered at the end of the year when Griffen went down with an injury. Supposedly he’s at full strength, which could help Baylor reach .500 and a possible bowl berth.
Leaders of the Pac…
The Pac-10 is fairly wide-open race now that the Trojans had the banhammer dropped on them and Jeremiah Masoli can no longer play for Oregon as he writes “The Longest Yard: The College Years.” That means we have some new signal callers can step up into the spotlight.
Jake Locker surprised many when he opted to stay in Seattle one more year with the Huskies. He’s comfortable in Steve Sarkisian’s offense and has three starting wide outs back with him as well. Look for Locker to surpass the 2,8000 passing and 388 rushing yards he amassed in 2009.
In Palo Alto, Stanford’s Andrew Luck has all the attention with Toby Gerhart has moved onto the Vikings of the NFL. Luck was great in tossing for 2,575 yards and 13 touchdowns. But he is also not one to make the mistakes, throwing just four picks in ’09. Given that he has the majority of an o-line returning that gave up just seven sacks, the Cardinal could be heading to Pasadena in January.
Others to watch…
Matt Barkley, Southern Cal: While he won’t get to go to a bowl this season, Matt Barkley will get to improve his skills under Lane Kiffin. Barkley will need to do a little more work with an offense that is replacing a lot of pieces.
Nick Foles, Arizona: Mike Stoops finally found a field general that can run his offense. And Foles will have almost his entire starting lineup back on the attack. This could be Arizona’s best chance at making its first trip to the Rose Bowl.
SECond to none…
There have been plenty of quarterbacks that have been in the spotlight in the SEC and this year is no different.
When Michigan opted for Rich Rodriguez’s zone-read offense, they helped the Razorbacks acquire Ryan Mallett. The former Wolverine threw for 30 touchdowns and seven picks last year to go along with great agility. He’s got solid receivers coming back to target. If he can get through a murderous opening to the season (Georgia, Alabama and Texas A&M), then Mallet can think about gaining some national awards.
Greg McElroy of defending national champ Alabama isn’t the most exciting signal caller out there, but he gets the job done. He tossed for just over 2,500 yards and 17 scores, but was never afraid to make throws when they mattered. He’ll still Mark Ingram to hand off to this season. And this is a guy that hasn’t tasted defeat since tooling around in middle school.
Others to watch…
John Brantley, Florida: This guy is not like Tim Tebow. He’s a pocket passer with a strong arm and a good mind for the game. He’ll have a good mix of youth and experience to throw to for a program that could be destined for another BCS Bowl.
Out of WAC…
The WAC is the domain of one team for a long time. That will change next year, but for now it’s status quo.
Kellen Moore didn’t get as much attention for what he did at Boise State last year. All Moore did in a Fiesta Bowl winning year was throw 39 touchdowns to just three interceptions. That’s right…three measly picks! He has a relatively soft schedule outside of the season opener with Virginia Tech and depth to spare everywhere on offense. He is the best option for a Heisman Trophy winner and can easily make it to the BCS Title Game.
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