ProFootballFocus ranked Wisconsin starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke at No. 15 and former Badger leader Graham Mertz at No. 21 on its 2024 Power Five QB ranking list on Wednesday.
Van Dyke will start under center for the Badgers in 2024 after transferring in from Miami this offseason. Mertz, meanwhile, will do so for the second consecutive season with the Gators. He was previously Wisconsin’s starter from 2020-22.
Surprisingly, Big Ten rivals Dillon Gabriel (Oregon) and Drew Allar (Penn State) were the only two Big Ten quarterbacks to land above Van Dyke on the outlet’s latest list. PFF ranked Gabriel as the No. 2 quarterback in the country behind Georgia’s Carson Beck and budding star Drew Allar as the 13th-best QB in the sport.
USC’s Miller Moss (No. 23), Ohio State’s Will Howard (No. 27), Washington’s Will Rogers (No. 30), Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke (No. 36), Purdue’s Hudson Card (No. 43) and Illinois’ Luke Altmyer (No. 47) were included in the top 50 as well.
1. Carson Beck, Georgia
70. Mike Wright, NorthwesternRanking EVERY Power Five QB Ahead of the 2024 Season⬇️https://t.co/VRe1j2LD1Z
— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 21, 2024
Mertz enters his second season at the helm in Gainesville, Florida after recording 2,903 yards and 20 touchdowns a season ago. He and the Gators will square off against Texas, LSU, Georgia and Florida State in a loaded SEC conference this fall. With a few big victories, Mertz can leapfrog several of these quarterbacks with a strong showing in marquee SEC games.
For UW, Wisconsin offensive coordinator Phil Longo named Van Dyke, who transferred from Miami (Florida) to UW in December, the platoon’s 2024 starting quarterback last week.
At Miami, he served as the Hurricanes’ starter for three seasons, including a 2021 campaign that netted him an ACC Rookie of the Year award. With nearly 7,500 passing yards under his belt, Van Dyke will look to sling it in the air-raid style offense during his first season as a Badger.
Van Dyke will receive his first opportunity against Western Michigan on Aug. 30 in front of what will surely be a raucous home crowd.
In total, 70 Power Five quarterbacks were included in PFF’s hierarchy — representing the new Power Four of the Big Ten, ACC, SEC and Big 12. Other notable names above Van Dyke included Shedeur Sanders (Colorado), Quinn Ewers (Texas), Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss), Jalen Milroe (Alabama), Brady Cook (Missouri), Conner Weigman (Texas A&M) and Cam Ward (Miami).