College Football's Best Quarterbacks In 2022: Players 1-5
Quarterback play in college football is going to be a lot of fun to watch and track this season. Stars return, players will bounce back, breakout players will emerge and there are a lot of great story lines.
Irish Breakdown has ranked the 15 best quarterbacks in the country heading into the season. Our ranking is based on projection into the 2022 season. Part one of this breakdown looked at quarterbacks 11-15 and part two breaks down quarterbacks 6-10.
Now it's time to look at the cream of the crop, the best quarterbacks in college football for 2022 based on our projections for the season.
5. CALEB WILLIAMS, USC
Class: Sophomore
2021 Stats: 1,912 pass yards, 64.5%, 9.1 YPA, 21 TD, 4 INT, 169.63 rating - 435 rush yards, 6 TD
Williams will enter the season with a lot of talk about him being a Heisman Trophy candidate, and there are reasons that could certainly happen. He plays in an incredibly quarterback friendly offense, the schedule isn't filled with many top defenses and thanks to the transfers of Mario Williams (Oklahoma), Jordan Addison (Pittsburgh), Terrell Bynum (Washington) and Brenden Rice (Colorado) he'll have a very talented group of pass catchers to throw to.
Williams put up incredibly impressive numbers when he stepped into the lineup for the Sooners last fall. The former five-star recruit was quite erratic, if we're being honest. He was brilliant coming off the bench against Texas, he was outstanding in his first start against TCU and he shredded Texas Tech. Williams was also quite good in the bowl win over Oregon, but he had rough performances in losses to Iowa State and Oklahoma State, and he went just 8-18 for 87 yards in a loss to Iowa State.
That was all as a true freshman, so those performances are going to happen. Williams has a big arm, he's athletic, he shows a good feel for the game and there is no disputing his potential. If the line can protect him there is little doubt that Williams will have a major jump as a sophomore from both a consistency and production standpoint. A big key will be improving his downfield accuracy and success.
4. DEVIN LEARY, NC STATE
Class: Fifth Year Senior
2021 Stats: 3,433 pass yards, 65.7%, 8.0 YPA, 35 TD, 5 INT, 157.05 rating - 2 rush TD
It looked like Leary was going to have his breakout season in 2020, but a broken fibula in his third start of that season ended his campaign. That meant the Wolfpack fans had to wait until 2021 to see him have a breakout season, and it was worth the wait. Leary quietly put together an elite passing performance, ending the season with 3,433 yards and 35 touchdown passes. He was also a clear decision maker, only throwing five interceptions on the season.
Leary has a chance to cement himself as the top senior signal caller in the nation. Part of what impressed us in 2021 was Leary's consistency as a passer. He threw for at least 232 yards in each game and never had more than 408 yards in a game. His numbers weren't padded with monster performances, and Leary threw for at least 303 yards in six games, and he threw for at least two touchdowns in all but one game.
The Wolfpack also return several talented pass catchers from the 2021 squad, including Devin Carter, Thayer Thomas and Porter Rooks. With the team losing their top two rushers from last season, you should expect Leary to drop back early and often. He has a chance to best his own single season NC State touchdown pass mark that he set in 2021.
3. HENDON HOOKER, TENNESSEE
Class: Sixth Year Senior
2021 Stats: 2,945 pass yards, 68.0%, 9.7 YPA, 31 TD, 3 INT, 181.41 rating - 613 rush yards, 5 TD
After wasting away as a part of a strange quarterback carousel for Virginia Tech, Hooker hit the portal last off-season and eventually landed with Tennessee. He began the season as a backup to former Michigan quarterback Joe Milton, but Hooker took over as the starter in week three. From there, Hooker took the most of his opportunities, quickly becoming one of the more productive passers in all of college football.
Selected as an All-SEC performer, the talented signal caller threw for 31 touchdowns while adding another five scores on the ground. He did all that while only throwing three interceptions and completing 68 percent of his passes. Hooker battled in losses to Alabama and Georgia, and he was brilliant in a road win at Kentucky.
Hooker is now back for his sixth year after flirting with entering the 2022 NFL Draft. His leading receiver Cedric Tillman also returns, giving the senior signal caller one of the more physically gifted pass catchers in all of college football. In his second year under Josh Heupel, Hooker now has a coach who firmly believes in his talents. The sky's the limit for how dynamic this Volunteer passing attack can be.
2. BRYCE YOUNG, ALABAMA
Class: Redshirt Sophomore
2021 Stats: 4,872 pass yards, 66.9%, 8.9 YPA, 47 TD, 7 INT, 167.52 rating - 3 rush TD
Calling Young’s sophomore campaign dynamic would be a massive understatement. After attempting just 22 passes as a true freshman (2020), Young broke out in a big, big way, shattering the school's single-season passing yards record (4,872) and also throwing for more touchdowns (47) than any quarterback in school history. He was also a very efficient passer, completing 66.9 percent of his passes despite Alabama receivers dropping almost twice as many passes last season as they did in 2021. Young was also picked off just seven times in 15 games (547 attempts).
Young enters the 2022 season as the early favorite to be the first quarterback selected in the 2023 NFL Draft next April. An incredibly smart quarterback with a tremendous feel for the game, Young should benefit from having an additional season of experience in Bill O'Brien's offense. He might not repeat the numbers he put up last season, but Young should be an even better decision maker and he'll be another year older and stronger.
Turnover at the skill position is a major talking point for the Crimson Tide offense. With former star winning back Brian Robinson Jr. and wide receivers Jameson Williams, John Metchie and Slade Bolden now set to make plays on Sundays, the team will be depending on a group of transfers to make plays in 2022. Fortunately for Young, the trio of running back Jahmyr Gibbs (Georgia Tech) and wideouts Jermaine Burton (Georgia) and Tyler Harrell (Louisville) is exceptionally talented. The Alabama staff has an eye for talent so you should expect for the new faces to hit the ground running with Young behind center.
1. CJ STROUD, OHIO STATE
Class: Redshirt Sophomore
2021 Stats: 4,435 pass yards, 71.9%, 10.1 YPA, 44 TD, 6 INT, 186.56 rating
Stroud finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting last season after a brilliant first season as a starter. Even more impressive, Stroud came into the season without having attempted a single pass during his freshman season (2020). Stroud's 4,435 passing yards were the second most in school history, but he averaged over 20 more yards per game than the record holder (Dwayne Haskins).
Stroud passed for at least 305 yards in eight of his last nine games and he threw for at least four touchdowns in seven games, including games of six (twice) and five (three times) touchdown tosses. Stroud was incredibly efficient running the Ryan Day offense, completing 71.9-percent of his passes last fall. He was incredibly productive down the stretch, passing for 440 yards per game and completing 79.8-percent of his throws to go with 19 touchdowns in the final four games of the season.
The California native will have to deal with not having first round picks Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, but he won't be without big-time talent on the perimeter. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of the nation's best pass catchers and rising sophomores Marvin Harrison Jr. (6 catches, 71 yards, 3 TD) and Emeka Egbuka (3 catches, 46 yards) looked good in the bowl game without Wilson and Olave and both are quite talented.
Our staff at IB went back and forth on Stroud vs. Young, but one of the reasons we went with Stroud was our prediction that he adds more to his game from a running standpoint. Stroud is actually a good athlete, and he showed that when he sprinted for a 48-yard touchdown in 2020. If he does in fact add his legs to the repertoire he'll be the nation's best quarterback.
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