One year after the departures of Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow, quarterbacks will again dictate the college football landscape.
The difference is that many of this season’s starting signal callers are elite prospects with something to prove.
Several of the nation’s best programs hinge on the success of their top recruits.
Replacing those three guys mentioned is not the easiest process, but one replacement was a U.S. Army All-American and the Gatorade National Player of the year in 2006, another was the Gatorade and Parade National Player of the Year in 2008, and the third was a Parade All-American in 2007.
It’s hard to argue with those accolades from John Brantley for Florida, Garrett Gilbert for Texas and Landry Jones for Oklahoma, respectively.
Then consider a couple quarterbacks with established credentials and a year or two of experience.
USC’s Matt Barkley, who earned the Gatorade National Player of the year as a junior in 2007 (the first to earn it as a junior), looks to build on his 15 touchdown, 14 interception freshman season.
Then there’s Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor, the overall top ranked prospect in 2007, who will have to duplicate his Rose Bowl MVP performance if the Buckeyes hope to compete for a National Title.
We will have an insane football season if each of these athletes competes up to the level of their credentials.
Add proven quarterbacks like Jake Locker (Washington), Case Keenum (Houston), and Kellen Moore (Boise State) to the mix and analysts start throwing around ‘year of the quarterback’ clichés.
Then again, if several of these new gun slingers struggle, the National Title could be a free for all.
Any lack of powerhouses in the postseason would provide a perfect opportunity for schools like TCU, Boise State or Utah to make a run at the championship.
Could you imagine a year without Oklahoma, Texas or Florida in a BCS game?
It hasn’t happened since the beginning of last decade.
At least one of those teams has made an appearance in either the Sugar Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Rose Bowl, or the BCS National Championships since 2001.
That’s a lot of victories, and a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the new quarterbacks.
Landy Jones and Garrett Gilbert (two of the coolest names around by the way) did get experience last season due to injuries, but this is their first season as the known starter, and these programs have some of the toughest fans.
I hope it all works.
I hope all these quarterbacks lead their respective teams to the highest of their potential.
The Heisman watch could be the longest list in years. We’ve only been talking about the quarterbacks and excluded last year’s winner Mark Ingram, who still gets the ball for Alabama.
As pass-happy as college football has become throughout the last decade, the crazy numbers could increase.
Houston’s Keenum finished last season with 5,671 passing yards.
Again, that was 5,671 passing yards, on 700 passing attempts.
Don’t ever expect that from a quarterback, especially the ones in their first starting season.
But do expect excitement.
Expect surprises, upsets and a more-than-normal chaotic football year.
Those big three quarterbacks are gone, but there will be no shortage of air underneath the football.
Reach the columnist at nathan.meacham@asu.edu
