Ranking The Top 15 Returning Starting NCAA Quarterbacks Ahead of The 2023 Season
The 2023 NFL Draft features one of the best quarterback classes of potentially all-time, but there is good news for the NFL in what looks to be a quarterback-hungry league even after the upcoming year.
Here's a look at how the top 15 stack up ahead of the upcoming season:
1. Caleb Williams, USC.
Taking the starting position from Spencer Rattler at Oklahoma was just the beginning for Williams, though both eventually ended up in the transfer portal in an era where multiple quarterbacks search for greener pastures for the better or worse.
There's no question Williams and head coach Lincoln Riley are a great match, though, as Williams seems likely to go No. 1 overall whenever he chooses to declare for the draft and was once again able to glow with a new program.
The Heisman winner takes the field with the utmost confidence, throws with good anticipation and confidence with some of the best mechanics we have seen in recent times with the anticipation to go with it while getting the ball off to the right playmaker in seemingly impossible situations.
Williams' final stat line for the season was a completion rate of 66.6%, 4,537 passing yards, 42 touchdowns and a small five interceptions on 500 passing attempts in a pass-happy offense with several Air Raid elements within it.
2. Drake Maye, UNC.
Maybe started out as something of a dark horse when the Tar Heels looked to replace standout signal-caller Sam Howell, but he's not much of that at all anymore as he heads into the season with a chance to vie for top quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft.
This is a quarterback who operates well out of structure, is good both on the pass and the run, throws with touch and velocity and can succeed both through the air and on the ground.
Though he has shown tendencies at time to unnecessarily sidearm things, this isn't an all-the-time issues and his assets far outweigh the negatives.
Maye ended the 2022 season with a 66.2% completion rate, 4,321 passing yards, 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He ran the ball 184 times for 698 yards and seven touchdowns.
3. Michael Pratt, Tulane.
Pratt isn't just one of the greatest success stories in college football after being homeschooled and not playing football until high school, he's one of the best quarterbacks in the NCAA heading into the 2023 with a ceiling of being a first-round pick after he played a huge role in leading the Green Wave to the greatest comeback and turnaround in CFB history.
Pratt has it all as a true dual-threat whose pure passing ability came to light with a better offensive line and legitimate supporting cast in 2022 while still showcasing his uncanny ability to evade pressure and make plays on the run.
But while he's still a gifted runner, his focus is on not being reckless about it.
“Definitely had to emphasize a little more discipline of ‘first down get down’ and not trying to do too much on the ground by taking what was there,” Pratt said to me after the win over ECU last season. “Not taking any unnecessary hits and that was a point of focus going into this week especially.”
He finished out the 2023 season with a 63.6% completion rate, 3,010 passing yards, 27 touchdowns and five interceptions. He ran the ball 129 times for 478 yards with 10 touchdowns, establishing a number of career-highs.
4. Jordan Travis, Florida State.
An underrated quarterback who has been more than just an emerged, Travis has the ability to do a lot at the next level when he is to make the jump. He gets the ball out fast with good placement at all levels of the field with polished mechanics that look to only get better.
Field vision and arm strength are both positives he possesses and he seems like the perfect passer for any offense that heavily utilizes RPOs. His frame is a bit of a concern moving forward, but smaller quarterbacks have succeeded and he's made a good case to be an exception for bigger quarterbacks.
Travis finished out 2022 with a 64% completion rate, passing for 3,214 yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions.
5. Bo Nix, Oregon.
According to sources, several NFL scouts were highly impressed with Nix by the end of the 2022 season and he was largely projected to go in the early-mid rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft. One of the biggest surprises of the offseason was when Nix chose to remain behind at Oregon for an additional year, something that may cement his status as a first-round pick when all is said and done.
After being something of a Jekyll and Hyde case at Auburn, which appears to possibly have been not much fault of his own now that he has found his footing with the Ducks, Nix is on a strong upward trajectory.
Nix finished the 2022 season with an eye-grabbing 71.9% completion rate, throwing for 3,593 yards with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Using his wheels, he also accounted for 510 rushing yards with 14 touchdowns on 89 carries.
6. Michael Penix Jr., Washington.
Penix was a victim of injury that plunged his stock at Indiana, but he's been on the up since he reunited with Kalen DeBoer. A healthy Penix will do a lot for any NFL team looking for a quarterback. He has the prototypical size with a solid release and good timing with the ability to improvise.
Utilizing his lower-body mechanics -- what truly drives a quarterback's accuracy -- will continue to be something to build upon for Penix in the upcoming season, but he's got a whole lot of everything else and is an intriguing prospect to say the least.
Penix end out the 2022 season with a 65.3% completion rate, a by far career-best 4,641 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions while also running for four touchdowns.
7. JJ McCarthy, Michigan.
The sophomore who ultimately upped former Wolverines starting passer Cade McNamara has not done just that, but has garnered attention to potentially become one of the best overall prospects in a future draft.
He presents no shortage of athletic ability with an NFL arm and the desired accuracy to couple with it in addition to be able to think on the fly. Considering the experience level of this player and the unbelievable foundation he has already set, the sky truly is the limit.
McCarthy completed 64.6% of his passes, passing for 2,719 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in the action he did see on the 2022 season. Expect him to only build upon this in 2023.
8. Sam Hartman, Notre Dame.
After exceeding expectations in the Wake Forest "Clawfense", Hartman is headed on to Notre Dame to continue to prove himself ahead of the upcoming draft.
Among Hartman's positive traits are his composure in the pocket that's been consistent even under heavy pressure, his ability to accurately make off-platform throws, throw with touch, timing and anticipation and drive short throws. The season before last, Hartman also became the first quarterback to throw for 30 or more touchdown passes and rush for 10 more scores since Lamar Jackson did it at Louisville in 2016.
Hartman ended out the 2022 season with a 63.1% completion rate, 3,701 passing yards, 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He carried the football 102 times for 129 yards and one score one season distanced from recording 11 rushing touchdowns.
9. Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina.
There's no question that McCall has been one of the most electric, gritty players to watch in the NCAA since he first took the field as a freshman with nothing but ongoing success since then.
McCall possesses a high football IQ and is a quick decision-maker, something that is imperative in an intricate offense like the one he plays in. He's displayed solid anticipation on even hard throws, maintaining a high level of accuracy at all levels of the field. He navigates the pocket well and can make throws on the run even if his feet aren't completely set.
McCall's final stat line at the end of his most recent season was a 69.7% completion rate, 2,700 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and just a pair of interceptions on 297 passing attempts. He also ran for 195 yards and six touchdowns on 91 carries.
10. Jayden Daniels, LSU.
Daniels came to Baton Rouge with some concerns surrounding his abilities purely throwing the ball and scoring through the air despite some of the talent he displayed with his legs, but he's completely rewritten that narrative at this point.
While showing concerns as a quarterback who could get things done through the passing game at Arizona State, Daniels now looks like a quarterback with great field vision who has accuracy at all levels of the field who came make people miss in the ground game.
While he still sometimes bails from the pocket too early and lacks arm strength, Daniels has the traits the modern era asks for and demands to be recognized for his potential high ceiling.
Daniels finished out the 2022 season with 1 68.6% completion rate, passing for 2,913 yards with 17 touchdowns and three interceptions. He also carried the ball 186 times for 885 yards and 11 touchdowns.
11. Devin Leary, Kentucky.
12. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina.
13. Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma.
14. KJ Jefferson, Arkansas.
15. Will Rogers, Mississippi State.
