5. Colorado State
High ranking: 3rd | Low ranking: 10th
Projected depth: Clay Millen, Jackson Stratton, Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, Giles Pooler
Millen’s first year in Fort Collins wasn’t for the faint of heart: He absorbed 54 sacks, the most among FBS quarterbacks, but his 7.3% big-time throw rate paced the Mountain West and he set a FBS record with a 72.2% completion rate. Despite the often-ugly results, Millen is for real.
Should he be beset by injury again, though, getting more out of the quarterbacks behind him will be paramount. Fowler-Nicolosi and Pooler each started once in Millen’s stead and neither impressed while Stratton had his own crash course under center across four games. All in all, it’s a group with considerable potential, but they’ll need much more help up front to reach it.
4. Fresno State
High ranking: 3rd | Low ranking: 9th
Projected depth: Mikey Keene, Logan Fife, Jayden Mandal
After entering the spring with nearly a half-dozen options to replace Jake Haener, the field has narrowed with the departures of both Jaylen Henderson and Matt Robinson through the transfer portal. Fife was thrust into the fire when Haener went down with injury last year and improved over the course of his four-game audition, but Keene brings a strong track record with him from UCF (65.6% completion rate, 23:7 touchdown-to-interception rate in two seasons). Mandal also turned some heads this spring as a true freshman, so the drop-off to a new quarterback may not be as steep as you’d first think.
3. Utah State
High ranking: 2nd | Low ranking: 10th
Projected depth: Cooper Legas, Levi Williams, Chase Tuatagaloa
The Aggies ranking so highly here might look like a surprise, but both Legas and Williams have flashed QB1 bonafides over the past two seasons and, unlike many other areas on the current roster, give Utah State experienced depth.
Health remains a concern for both, but the bigger question is whether Legas can overcome his erratic play. His 4.5% interception rate was far too high and needs a lot of positive regression if USU wants to re-establish themselves as conference title contenders.
2. San Jose State
High ranking: 1st | Low ranking: 4th
Projected depth: Chevan Cordeiro, Walker Eget, Jay Butterfield
Cordeiro’s transfer from Hawaii to San Jose went about as well as everyone expected… which is to say it went very well. Under Brent Brennan’s tutelage, he tallied career highs in passing touchdowns, passing yards, and 20-yard pass plays. Though his wide receiver cohort is undergoing a makeover right now, Cordeiro is still in the conversation as the Mountain West’s best quarterback.
Eget has only seen limited action over the last two years, but he’s a backup that knows the offensive system. Butterfield, on the other hand, joins the fray as a former four-star recruit who transferred in from Oregon. It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll supplant Cordeiro as the starter, but there’s little doubt that the Spartans have depth at the game’s most important position.
1. Boise State
High ranking: 1st | Low ranking: 2nd
Projected depth: Taylen Green, Maddux Madsen, Colt Fulton, CJ Tiller
Green’s time as the starter in 2022 wasn’t a flawless one, but his redshirt freshman provided just about everything the Broncos faithful could reasonably ask for and provided the necessary jolt to what had been a moribund offense. He struggled at times with accuracy down the stretch, but it’s also really hard to complain too much about a 61% completion rate, a respectable 2.2% interception rate, and the athleticism to do things like run for 91-yard touchdowns.
Who will be QB2, though? There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the trio of other quarterbacks on the current roster, especially Tiller, but Madsen and Fulton only got a handful of snaps each last season. It’s not the most important question facing the Broncos at present, but they’ll want to make sure they have confidence in an answer by the end of fall camp.
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