College Football's Best Quarterbacks In 2022: Players 11-15
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 looks at quarterbacks 11-15 as well as players that fit into other categories.
15. DILLON GABRIEL, OKLAHOMA
Class: Redshirt Junior
2020 Stats: 3,570 pass yards, 60.0%, 8.6 YPA, 32 TD, 4 INT, 156.29 rating
Gabriel is a new face in a new place, transferring to Oklahoma this off-season after being a standout for UCF in 2019 and 2020. Gabriel was off to another strong start in 2021 before being lost to a season ending injury in game three.
Gabriel excelled under former head coach Josh Heupel while a part of the Golden Knight program, Gabriel falls into a similar scheme under offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. An ultra productive passer while at UCF, Gabriel lit up the stat sheet after the gruesome leg injury that McKenzie Milton endured, throwing for 8,037 yards and 70 touchdowns in 23 games. The fit makes a ton of sense considering Gabriel’s experiences in the past.
The biggest question mark is the supporting case around him. After Lincoln Riley bolted for USC this off-season, several of the Oklahoma pass catchers also left the campus, most notably Mario Williams, who also left for USC. Fortunately, junior wideout Marvin Mims is bringing back a lot of big play ability. The impact that Lebby can have early, combined with maturation of pass catchers, will determine just how good Gabriel can be this season.
14. SPENCER RATTLER, SOUTH CAROLINA
Class: Redshirt Junior
2021 Stats: 1,483 pass yards, 74.9%, 7.9 YPA, 11 TD, 5 INT, 155.54 rating
Rattler appeared on the verge of becoming a star after passing for 3,031 pass yards (67.5%, 9.6 YPA) and 28 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2020.
Heading into the 2021 seasons, there were a lot of expectations swirling around Rattler, who was expected to put up massive numbers and be among the first quarterbacks selected in last year’s NFL Draft. That campaign at Oklahoma did not go his way, with Rattler eventually being replaced by five-star freshman Caleb Williams. In effect, Rattler opted to hit the transfer market this off-season, eventually landing with South Carolina and his former coach Shane Beamer.
While South Carolina has been down for a couple of years, the Gamecocks are bringing back several talented pass catchers, including Austin Stogner who joins Rattler after also transferring from Oklahoma. He will be a part of one of the more dynamic tight end rooms in college football with standout Jaheim Bell. Add in the return of wide receiver Josh Vann and there should be a lot of optimism for Rattler to put together a comeback season in his first year in Columbia. I expect a quietly productive year that could go somewhat under the radar.
13. MALIK CUNNINGHAM, LOUISVILLE
Class: 6th Year Senior
2021 Stats: 2,941 pass yards, 62.0%, 8.7 YPA, 19 TD, 6 INT, 150.38 rating - 1,034 rush yards, 6.0 YPC, 20 TD
Cunningham was a solid quarterbacks in his first two seasons as the starter, flashing strong running skills with the occasionally strong performance in the pass game. Last season we saw Cunningham minimize the erratic production and ups and downs he showed the previous two seasons.
As Cunningham became more productive in the pass game his ability to make plays with his legs also improved. Cunningham had between 482 and 609 rushing yards in his three previous seasons at Louisville, but last fall he went for 1,034 yards and racked up 20 touchdowns, which included 134 yards and a pair of scores against Clemson's vaunted defense.
Cunningham ranking here is a projection that he becomes an even more consistent player in his final season, one that continues to use his experience to make better decisions. He'll have a lot of talent returning around him, and Cunningham will take advantage with another strong season.
12. TANNER McKEE, STANFORD
Class: Junior
2021 Stats: 2,327 pass yards, 65.4%, 7.4 YPA, 15 TD, 7 INT, 138.72 rating
McKee took over the quarterback role last season after taking a two-year mission (2018-19) and playing just one game as a freshman in 2020. The tall pocket passer showed off a big arm last season, and despite limited production and a dreadful season for his team, McKee is getting a lot of first round projections from draft analysts on twitter.
That first round talk is way too early, but there is a reason some are falling in love with McKee. The former Top 100 recruit has a really big arm, and when he's on he is really, really good. McKee went through some growing pains last season, and when teams could pressure him he struggled, which isn't a surprise considering his lack of mobility and inexperience, but he should improve in 2022 with better line play and more experience.
Stanford's offensive skill players were ravaged with injuries last season, but the Cardinal return a lot of talent and size at wide receiver, and Benjamin Yurasek will be one of the top tight ends in the country. If his supporting cast stays healthy expect McKee to see a big jump in production and impact performances.
11. SAM HARTMAN, WAKE FOREST
Class: 6th Year Senior
2021 Stats: 4,228 pass yards, 58.9%, 8.3 YPA, 39 TD, 14 INT, 148.59 rating - 363 rush yards, 3.1 YPC, 11 TD
This might seem like a low spot for Hartman, especially when you look at where he is ranked by others. Make no mistake, Hartman is a quality college quarterback, and he'll finish his career by continuing to put up impressive numbers. We saw that last year when he passed for 4,228 yards and accounted for 50 touchdowns.
Hartman ranks this low for a few reasons. One, he is the product of a system more than his production comes from him putting the offense on his shoulders. He finished fifth in the nation last season in pass attempts but ranked just 35th in yards per attempt. Two, Hartman has struggled in big games against quality defenses.
Despite those criticisms of Hartman as a player, he's still fun to watch, he's a leader and as we said, he'll put up big numbers. He'll have plenty of talent to throw to this season, and if Hartman can play better against the better opponents on the schedule (Clemson, at Florida State, at Louisville, at NC State, UNC) he'll move way up this list and Wake will have a shot to compete for a conference title.
BREAKOUT QB: TYLER BUCHNER, NOTRE DAME
Buchner showed he was an impact runner last season, finishing second on the Irish offense with 336 rushing yards and three touchdowns while averaging an impressive 7.3 yards per carry. Buchner must improve his ability to make plays from the pocket, something he hasn't done much of since 2019, but he has a lot of talent.
Despite his lack of experience, Buchner still completed 60% of his passes and averaged 8.5 yards per attempt, both of which are better than what Bryce Young (Alabama) produced as a true freshman. He'll have some ups and downs, but by the end of the season Buchner will be looked at as a breakout player.
BOUNCE BACK QB: TANNER MORGAN, MINNESOTA
The last time we saw Morgan running an offense led by Kirk Ciarrocca he passed for 3,253 yards and 30 touchdowns while completing 66% of his passes and averaging 10.2 yards per attempt. He was brilliant in an upset win over 11-2 Penn State, completing 18-20 passes for 339 yards and a pair of scores.
Morgan had very little success in 2020 and 2021 while playing under Mike Sanford Jr., who has a history of turning good quarterbacks into not very good quarterbacks. The good news for the Gophers is Ciarrocca is back in charge of the offense and Morgan is back for a sixth season. If the line can hold up Morgan will get back to being the gamer he was in 2019.
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