This has a chance to be one of the best years of quarterbacking in college football in quite some time. Even though we just saw six signal-callers go in the first 12 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, there is still so much remaining talent in the college game. To limit this at just 10 was quite the challenge, as there are plenty of quarterbacks who could be sensational, but they just have not played a ton yet.
There are a handful of first-time starters I am quite bullish on, but guys like Nico Iamaleava, Miller Moss and Garrett Nussmeier aren't making this list. It would not shock me if they are top-10 quarterbacks at the college level next year. There are also players like Drew Allar, Garrett Greene and Will Howard who are firmly on my radar. It ultimately comes down to who I have seen thrive the most.
So what I am going to do today is give you my 10 favorite quarterbacks entering this season. These are the 10 I suspect could be up for major awards at season's end. One of them could win the Heisman Trophy. Another could be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Who knows? All I know is these 10 quarterbacks I have listed are proven commodities in the sport, ones that I trust.
Here are the 10 best returning quarterbacks in college football heading into the 2024 season.
Jalon Daniels fascinates me. He is the straw that stirs the drink for Lance Leipold's Kansas Jayhawks offense. He has already set the Big 12 on fire with his dual-threat playmaking abilities. While he may be an incredibly likable guy, he is very injury-prone. For that reason, I wonder if his football career extends beyond that of starring at KU. In the meantime, I am so excited to see how good he can be.
The new Big 12 is the wild, wild west in the new Power Four. There are upwards of seven or so teams that I think have a great shot at winning the league and making the expanded College Football Playoff. Kansas is absolutely one of them. However, Daniels needs to prove that he can make it through an entire season under center at a place like Kansas for him to be anything more than just a great watch.
Daniels could either be a Heisman Trophy finalist or a quarterback who does not start four games...
9. Utah Utes QB Cam Rising
And the black smoke rises! I see a bad moon rising over in Salt Lake City. Old as sin, but damn good at football, you better believe Cam Rising will be back for his sixth season of college football. For a guy who was on the 2018 Texas team, he has quickly become a living legend for the Utah Utes. Although he didn't play at all last year when Kyle Whittingham said he could Week 1 vs. Florida, he's back, baby!
Rising might be able to rent a car soon, if not already, but he is a huge reason why Utah has a fantastic opportunity of not only winning the Big 12 next year, but emerging as the league's new superpower. Utah has long been a lesser version of Georgia and Michigan, which may be the perfect combination of power and skill to handle just about anyone. Rising is the perfect conductor for this crazy train.
He could be totally shot, or he could be the greatest thing to happen to Utah since ... Jerry Sloan.
We have arrived at the first quarterback I think has a legitimate shot at being a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Cam Ward previously declared for last year's draft after leaving Washington State, but reconsidered, withdrew and ended up transferring a second time to go play for Miami. With Damien Martinez coming over from Oregon State to play running back, it could be all about The U!
To me, Ward has all the arm talent to be an NFL quarterback. What it comes down to is his consistency and whether he has the winning edge to separate vs. the best of the best at the professional level. His arrival in Coral Gables is a huge reason why I am so bullish on the Hurricanes this season. They are one of four or five teams in the ACC I think could realistically make the expanded playoff.
Ward has done enough at Washington State to have him firmly on my radar now that he is at Miami.
7. Colorado Buffaloes QB Shedeur Sanders
I would love to be proven wrong, but the idea of Shedeur Sanders is not quite the real thing. While he has shown us that he can throw for a ton of yards at Colorado, the Buffaloes aren't the least bit good. Given his NFL pedigree and intensely competitive nature, I would venture to guess that Sanders will be a first-round pick next spring. If five quarterbacks are taken in the first round, he'll be one of them.
The reason I cannot have him any higher than No. 7 on this list is I need to see him elevate his teammates around him better. Colorado went 4-8 last year with only one win in Pac-12 play. If the Buffs can get to being bowl-eligible during their first year back in the Big 12, that might be enough to convince me. If CU can get to 8-4 and push for a spot inside the top 25, he could be a top-10 pick.
Sanders has the throwing abilities to shine in college football, but will any of it amount to more wins?
Either we are all getting sucked up into the Lane Kiffin hype train, or Jaxson Dart is going to have one of the best seasons in Ole Miss quarterback history. The Rebels are virtually a College Football Playoff lock. Dart returns with weapons galore around him, and potentially a fantastic defense to back him up. As long as the Rebels can navigate a manageable schedule, Ole Miss could be going places.
Dart is well on his way towards being the best Ole Miss quarterback since Eli Manning. Although he did lose his star running back Quinshon Judkins to Ohio State, this is at least a 10-2 team if I ever saw one. More importantly, Dart has complete command of Kiffin's offense. If they can continue to put faith and trust in one another, Dart could be the one who will lead Ole Miss to the promised land.
Luck occurs when timing meets preparation, and Dart is more than capable of creating his own luck.
5. Arizona Wildcats QB Noah Fifita
All hail the short king Noah Fifita! There are two outstanding quarterbacks inside the State of Arizona that are below 6-feet tall, and the Wildcats signal-caller sure is one of them. Although he could have followed Jedd Fisch to Washington, Fifita opted to stay put and should be rewarded playing for Brent Brennan. Arizona may be changing leagues, but U of A is a major contender to win the new Big 12.
Fifita still has so much left to be played in his college career, but there is a chance we could be seeing an all-timer. I am not saying that he will have the best pro career, but we should enjoy him for as long as we have him. Players like Fifita are what make college football so much fun. The fact he has helped turn Arizona around cannot be overstated. We have ourselves a bonafide star in the desert.
The talent and infrastructure at Arizona leads me to believe that this team will win around nine games.
We have arrived at my pick to win the 2024 Heisman Trophy. It may not always look pretty, but Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe has that special something that makes me want to go to war with him. It might be his upbringing in a military household. It may be having to back up Bryce Young for a bit, as well as all of the other adversity he faced during his first season starting under Nick Saban.
To me, the fact he gets to learn from Kalen DeBoer for at least this year does wonders for me. DeBoer has said previously that Michael Penix Jr. is the greatest on-field leader he has ever coached. Not to say Milroe is going to eclipse that, but he oozes that much leadership. As long as Alabama's talent holds up, this team will win around 10 games and could make the expanded College Football Playoff.
We should be thanking our lucky stars that Milroe and DeBoer get to work together for this season.
3. Oregon Ducks QB Dillon Gabriel
I expect extraordinary things out of Dillon Gabriel during his lone year quarterbacking the Oregon Ducks. He may be a sixth-year senior playing at his third school, but there is a lot to like about the southpawed quarterback from Hawaii. Gabriel was the mid-season favorite to win the Heisman Trophy last year. His go-ahead touchdown pass to beat Texas made him into an Oklahoma legend.
Leaving OU for Oregon is not without controversy. Jackson Arnold was too good to have holding a clipboard for another season. While replacing Bo Nix in Eugene should not be overly problematic, Dan Lanning added another high-profile quarterback this offseason in former UCLA starter Dante Moore. Gabriel should win out, but he needs to play at his zenith in Will Stein's offense to reach the summit.
Gabriel is my pick to be the Big Ten Player of the Year and be a finalist for the 2024 Heisman Trophy.
Who doesn't love Quinn Ewers? He will be rewarded for coming back to Texas for one final college season. While he could have been a borderline first-round pick, another year's worth of starts in Steve Sarkisian's system should do wonders for him. Ewers has all the talent in the world, but health and number of starts are the only thing holding him back. He is ready to become a college legend.
Texas is one of a few College Football Playoff locks and barring something catastrophic and unforeseen, Ewers will be a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Honestly, he has a fantastic chance of being the first player taken next spring. Although they are changing leagues, Texas is about as well-equipped as possible to make the leap up in competition from the Big 12 and into the new SEC.
Ewers will be some NFL team's Week 1 starter entering the 2025 season as their top-three pick or so.
1. Georgia Bulldogs QB Carson Beck
Of course, it was going to be Carson Beck. He is arguably the most talented quarterback in college football this season. He just so happens to play for the best program in the country. Although the Georgia Bulldogs did not three-peat as national champions during his first season as the starter, Beck showed us more than enough that he is UGA's best quarterback talent since Matthew Stafford.
Even though Georgia does not have the easiest schedule this season, Beck projects to be a difference-maker again running Mike Bobo's offense. How he grows as a leader will go a long way towards him possibly being the first pick in next year's draft. He may not get the benefit of the doubt of others for Heisman consideration, but Georgia has a special player in Beck, and he knows this.
Georgia is my pick to win the College Football Playoff because they have the best quarterback.
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