College Football's Best Quarterbacks In 2022: Players 6-10
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, now we move onto quarterbacks 6-10.
10. GRAYSON MCCALL, COASTAL CAROLINA
Class: Senior
2021 Stats: 2,873 pass yards, 73.0%, 11.9 YPA, 27 TD, 3 INT, 207.65 rating - 290 rush yards, 4 TD
There aren’t many quarterbacks returning to more advantageous situations in 2022 than McCall. A dual threat signal caller to the core, McCall runs the Chanticleer option based offense at an extremely high level. He has accounted for 64 total touchdowns over the last two seasons, while only throwing six interceptions and completing over 71 percent of his passes in his career.
While he doesn’t post the most gaudy passing statistics, McCall is one of the most efficient signal callers in the country. He is a headache for opposing defenses.
Turnover on offense is a slight concern for Coastal Carolina. They are tasked with replacing both wide receiver Jaivon Heiligh and tight end Isaiah Likely from the 2021 squad, both of which are currently on NFL rosters. For most quarterbacks, losing over 2,000 yards of receiving production in one off-season would be nearly insurmountable. Luckily, the Chanticleer functions with enough balance that McCall should be able to overcome. If anything, there should be more pressure and expectation for him to carry the offense, which should lead to an even higher impact and level of production.
9. BRENNAN ARMSTRONG, VIRGINIA
Class: 5th Year Senior
2021 Stats: 4,449 pass yards, 65.2%, 8.9 YPA, 31 TD, 10 INT, 156.40 rating - 251 rush yards, 9 TD
Armstrong broke out a season ago, but we should have saw it coming. After throwing for 309.7 yards per game and seven touchdowns in the final three games of the 2020 season, Armstrong became one of the nation's most prolific passers in 2021.
It’s tough to imagine that any quarterback is returning more wide receiver production than Armstrong. In fact, his top three wide receivers from last season are returning with Dontayvion Wicks, Keytaon Thompson and Billy Kemp all coming back. The Cavaliers will also welcome back 6-7 skyscraper Lavel Davis Jr. back from injury that knocked him out of the entire 2021 season. It’s possible that the left handed signal caller could potentially improve on his 4,449-yard and 40 total touchdown (31 passing, 9 rushing) performance from last season.
The major question mark will be the coaching change after former Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliot took over as head coach this off-season. Still, it’s hard to bet against Armstrong picking up right where he left off with so many weapons coming back. The Virginia passing attack is going to be a headache to deal with in the ACC.
8. PHIL JURKOVEC, BOSTON COLLEGE
Class: 5th Year Senior
2020 Stats: 2,558 pass yards, 61.0%, 7.6 YPA, 17 TD, 5 INT, 138.68 rating - 150 rush yards, 3 TD (10 games)
Jurkovec had a strong first season as a starter after transferring over from Notre Dame. He passed for 2,558 yards and racked up 20 total touchdowns (17 passing, 3 rushing) in just 10 games, topping 300 yards passing in four of those contests despite very little help from the run game.
Jurkovec passed for 303 yards in the opener last season before going down with a broken hand just four throws into game two. When he returned he was clearly a shell of his former self, but the Eagles were 4-2 in games he started and 2-4 in games he missed.
Despite the loss of all five starting linemen, Jurkovec is poised for a big jump in his final campaign thanks to the presence of one of the ACC's best playmakers in Zay Flowers, a 1,000-yard back in Pat Garwo, good depth at wide out and the arrival of a former Notre Dame teammate in tight end George Takacs. If Jurkovec is healthy he'll produce big numbers and the Eagles will win a lot of games, but that staying healthy part is the biggest question mark.
7. JAKE HAENER, FRESNO STATE
Class: 6th Year Senior
2021 Stats: 4,096 pass yards, 67.1%, 8.4 YPA, 33 TD, 9 INT, 155.92 rating - 3 rush TD
Covid shortened Haener's first season as a starter, limiting him to just six games, but he was prolific in those contests (2,021 pass yards and 17 total touchdowns in six games). His first full season was outstanding, as Haener racked up 4,096 passing yards and led the Bulldogs to a 10-3 record, including a 40-37 win over UCLA.
After flirting with entering the 2022 NFL Draft and transferring this off-season, Haener is back behind center for Fresno State. Haener also returns his two top targets from last season in Jalen Cropper and Josh Kelly. He is quietly one of the premier passers in college football returning.
While former head coach Kalen DeBoer left to take the head coaching job with the Washington Huskies this off-season, Fresno State did welcome back long time coach Jeff Tedford to lead the program, so the Bulldog offense should keep rolling. Haener is also one of the more talented throwers on the list despite possessing diminutive size. He is already well liked in NFL circles and is poised for a historic sixth year for the program.
6. TYLER VAN DYKE, MIAMI
Class: Redshirt Sophomore
2021 Stats: 2,931 pass yards, 62.3%, 9.0 YPA, 25 TD, 6 INT, 160.10 rating (10 games)
This is one of the bigger projection leaps we are taking with the 2022 quarterback class. Van Dyke did some really good things after stepping into the starting lineup four games into the season, passing for 325.7 yards per game and 25 touchdowns in his nine games as the starter.
Some of his production was volume related, as Van Dyke threw over 40 passes in four of his nine starts. But he also showed impressive feel for the game for such a young player with so little experience (2 career attempts coming into last season). Van Dyke doesn't have a huge arm, but he throws with impressive touch and accuracy, and he's willing to attack down the field.
The big question mark with this projection is the unknown aspects of the offense. Josh Gattis takes over as the offensive coordinator and Mario Cristobal is the new head coach. Both operated run-oriented offenses last season, so I don't know if Van Dyke will get the opportunities for production that he had last season, but if the offense is built around him he'll shine.
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