5. UNLV – Cameron Friel or Doug Brumfield or Harrison Bailey
It’s anyone’s guess as to who will start for the Rebels in 2022, but the options each have a bit of intrigue to them. Friel, of course, was the conference freshman of the year after completing 62.4% of his throws at 7.1 yards per attempt, the best figures by a UNLV quarterback with at least 100 attempts since at least 2009, while Brumfield flashed potential as a runner (5.74 YPA and two TDs on 19 carries) and Bailey held his own in a brief stint as Tennessee’s starter back in 2020.
There can only be one, though, so Marcus Arroyo still has to make the right decision.
4. San Jose State – Chevan Cordeiro
A familiar face in a new place, Cordeiro will square off with the Bulldogs for the third time in his career this season. He came on in relief of Cole McDonald for brief stints in 2019, then led Hawaii to a road victory at Bulldog Stadium in the 2020 season opener. When healthy, he remains a difficult dual-threat playmaker, having racked up 6,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards, just the seventh Mountain West quarterback to do so.
3. Oregon State – Chance Nolan
Nolan won’t wow you with physical tools, but he stepped in as the starter when Sam Noyer faltered in the Beavers’ season opener and provided a spark to the tune of 8.4 yards per attempt, a 64.5% completion rate and 19 touchdowns on 318 attempts.
One big wrinkle? Nolan was much better at Reser Stadium than on the road in 2021, throwing nine of his ten interceptions on the year away from Oregon State’s friendly confines.
2. Boise State – Hank Bachmeier
Bachmeier wasn’t 100% healthy for most of 2021, so it’s to his credit that he still went out and had perhaps the best overall season of his three-year career. He completed a career-high 62.8% of his passes at 7.7 yards per attempt, establishing a new personal best with 20 passing touchdowns as well.
1. USC – Caleb Williams
The Trojans’ revival under Lincoln Riley is going to depend a lot upon the quarterback he brought with him from Oklahoma, but there are good reasons why expectations are high. After supplanting Spencer Rattler as the Sooners’ QB1 last year, Williams completed 64.5% of his throws while averaging 9.1 yards per attempt, tossing 21 touchdowns against just four interceptions.
Williams also proved he could make plays with his legs, too, chipping in six rushing touchdowns while averaging 5.51 yards per carry (not sack adjusted).
That stretch wasn’t without its challenges, though: Williams struggled in a three-game November stretch that included losses to Baylor and Oklahoma State. When he’s on, however, he can play with any other quarterback in the country and he’ll have plenty of weapons at his disposal in Westwood to do just that.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1370]
[protected-iframe id=”f7652191f99ba13728097498e8a79cd8-137729785-123448869″ info=”https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/show/48681pqFq0kB9dhrtPPoNd” width=”100%” height=”232″ frameborder=”0″]