Who's the Best QB in College Football?

StI'll waiting to see if someone coming out of that college football system can make it in the pros. RG3 ran a more run oriented version of the air raid and had some success early on. I like Goff, but when I see him in that offense I'm reminded of Bradford and Tim Couch; two highly touted, first overall picks fissle in the pros. I doubt Lott's claims about Goff being better than Kap or Carr for that matter.

Originally posted by vrabbit:

Originally posted by NorthBay49er:
Well Ronnie Lott just had some high praise for Jared Goff saying he's not just the best QB in college but also better than both Kaepernick and Derek Carr.
I don't watch college ball but I found that very interesting.

Let me correct myself. Lott said Goff is they best "thrower" of all QB's (college & pro) in the bay area. Says Goff is special.

Originally posted by NinerSickness:

Originally posted by 9moon:

Best Pro Prospect? - the kid from Penn State

That's what I was getting at. Best pro' prospect.

Why do you think Hackenberg is a better pro' prospect than Cook or Goff?

He's not. I've seen every snap of Hackenberg's career. Has all the physical ability in the world but gets happy feet and feels ghost pressure and rattles frequently. Last year we had a terrible O-line, but he still did not impress me. Reminds me of a cross between Cutler and Gabbert coming out

as I understand it Hackenberg is the guy who has all the tools but his performance hasn't come anywhere near to matching his skill set. That's troublesome. To me he has to right a lot of wrongs this season but he's so skilled even putting himself half way on the right road will make scouts put him high on their lists.

For those who don't know I'm a Cal fan so you can take my opinion of Goff with all the suspicion you want but he's not just a product of the system. Yes his stats are aided by the system but you only need to watch him to realize he's much more than stats. I love his footwork and I like the Brees comparison in that he has pretty good accuracy and an arm strong enough to make all the throws. He doesn't have Kap's gun though but to me that's fine when you pair it with his accuracy. Not a runner but not a statue. A good leader. He improved A LOT from year 1 to year 2 (another thing I like about him: starter since being a true frosh) and with the weapons he's gonna have this season and perhaps the best O-line play he's had in his career he's set to have a really good season and solidify himself as possibly the top QB.

Main concerns with him for me are needing to bulk up to withstand NFL hits (though he's never missed a college game due to injury **KNOCK ON WOOD**) and his decision-making needs to improve (only 17 INT's in 1040 attempts but he's gotten away with more than a handful of should-had-been picks). Also just because I like his footwork doesn't mean he always uses it correctly, he can get lazy with it at times, but that's also something I'm expecting him to correct this season.

When it's all said and done Cardale Jones will be the best COLLEGE QB, but IMO Christian Hackenberg will be the best PRO READY QB.

My sleeper pick for both best college QB and pro ready is Patrick Towles of Kentucky.

Originally posted by vrabbit:
as I understand it Hackenberg is the guy who has all the tools but his performance hasn't come anywhere near to matching his skill set. That's troublesome. To me he has to right a lot of wrongs this season but he's so skilled even putting himself half way on the right road will make scouts put him high on their lists.

For those who don't know I'm a Cal fan so you can take my opinion of Goff with all the suspicion you want but he's not just a product of the system. Yes his stats are aided by the system but you only need to watch him to realize he's much more than stats. I love his footwork and I like the Brees comparison in that he has pretty good accuracy and an arm strong enough to make all the throws. He doesn't have Kap's gun though but to me that's fine when you pair it with his accuracy. Not a runner but not a statue. A good leader. He improved A LOT from year 1 to year 2 (another thing I like about him: starter since being a true frosh) and with the weapons he's gonna have this season and perhaps the best O-line play he's had in his career he's set to have a really good season and solidify himself as possibly the top QB.

Main concerns with him for me are needing to bulk up to withstand NFL hits (though he's never missed a college game due to injury **KNOCK ON WOOD**) and his decision-making needs to improve (only 17 INT's in 1040 attempts but he's gotten away with more than a handful of should-had-been picks). Also just because I like his footwork doesn't mean he always uses it correctly, he can get lazy with it at times, but that's also something I'm expecting him to correct this season.

That's what happened with Jake Locker

My guess on end of year how I'm going to rank them:

First Rounders

1.Cardale Jones, Ohio State
2. Jacoby Brisset, NC State
3. Paxton Lynch, Memphis
4. Gunner Kiel, Cincinnati

2nd -3rd Round
5. Jared Goff, Cal
6. Trevone Boykin, TCU
7. Connor Cook, Mich St
8. Dak Prescott, Miss State

Late Rounders
9. Kevin Hogan, Stanford
10. Sam Richardson, Iowa State
11. Cody Kessler, USC
12. Christian Hackenberg
13. Michael Bercovici, ASU
14. Marquise Wiliams, UNC

edit: Paxton Lynch is another guy that isn't getting nearly enough love (my other guy is Brissett). Lynch is Flacco 2.0, 6-7 with a cannon

2nd edit: Forgot Boykin

Originally posted by spizzy:
That's what happened with Jake Locker

Jake Locker also got physically destroyed.

Originally posted by Kolohe:

When it's all said and done Cardale Jones will be the best COLLEGE QB, but IMO Christian Hackenberg will be the best PRO READY QB.

My sleeper pick for both best college QB and pro ready is Patrick Towles of Kentucky.

Funny thing is. Cardale probably won't be the starter lol.

The best college QB will be Boykin and the winner of the OSU QB race.

In the end, Jones should be the first QB taken. He is huge, athletic, and has the best arm of the group. I think he edges Barrett, who will return for his junior year and maybe senior year.

... and CJ will flop the way DeMarcus did once in the NFL because of his lack of experience.. this is not the NBA where you can bring in a young talent and watch him play... CJ needs to stay and start for 2 more years in college..

Originally posted by 9moon:
... and CJ will flop the way DeMarcus did once in the NFL because of his lack of experience.. this is not the NBA where you can bring in a young talent and watch him play... CJ needs to stay and start for 2 more years in college..

Generally speaking this has been the historic trend. You want a college QB that has at least 2 years of starting, and at least a career average completion % of 60%.

I'll double check the recent QBs to see if that trend has changed.

Top 25 QBR's from next season and their college starts (Some start numbers may be off by 3-4) and college completion %

1.Tony Romo - 33 starts, 62%
2. Rodgers - 25 starts (also started at JUCO, not included), 63.8%
3. Peyton - 45 starts, 62.5%
4. Brady - 23 starts, 61.9%
5. Brees - 37 starts, 61.1%
6. Roethlisberger - 36 starts, 65.5%
7. Matt Ryan - 43 starts, 59.9%
8. Russell Wilson - 50 starts, 60.9%
9. Phillip Rivers - 49 starts, 63.6%
10. Joe Flacco - 26 starts, 63%
11. Eli Manning - 43 starts, 60.8%
12. Nick Foles - 35 starts, 66.8%
13. Andrew Luck - 38 starts, 67%
14. Colin Kaepernick - 51 starts, 58.2%
15. Mark Sanchez - 16 starts, 64.3%
16. Ryan Tannehill - 26 starts, 62.5%
17. Teddy Bridgewater - 39 starts, 68.4%
18. Ryan Fitzpatrick - 17 starts, 57.5%
19. Alex Smith - 23 starts, 66.3%
20. Cam Newton - 14 starts (not counting JUCO), 66.1%
21. Andy Dalton - 50 starts, 61.7%
22. Matthew Stafford - 39 starts, 57.1%
23. Jay Cutler - 45 starts, 57.2%
24. Austin Davis - 45 starts, 61.1%
25. Geno Smith - 39 starts, 67.4%

edit: I don't think its a coincidence that all top 10 QBR guys started for at least 2 seasons and had 60%+ completion.

It was originally why I was not high on Kap (well not just the stats, but his passes didn't have great accuracy and he didn't throw a "catcheable" ball in college).

Cody Kessler is going to be someone's first round crush... But it won't be mine.

Taysom Hill, as far as college goes. That's "if" he can stay healthy. Not the greatest throwing QB, but as far as playmaking he's deadly.