Behind The Box Score

For the next nine days, I’m going to do an installment on the top position players in the country. Today, I’m going to start with the top quarterbacks. With many coming from the Big 12, fans from the conference will be very pleased as their conference has the best signal callers in the nation. Hope you enjoy the list, keep coming back!

1. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma- Bradford is undoubtedly the top quarterback in the country coming off a season where he threw for 4,720 yards and 50 TD’s!  Nobody has better passing stats, and with a reloaded offense, Bradford looks to have just as good of a season. Using his smarts and great decision making, Oklahoma switched to a no huddle offense which let Bradford throw for even more yards and put OU’s scoring per game over 50. Even losing to Tim Tebow and Florida, Bradford still is the best passer in the nation.

2. Colt McCoy, Texas- Doubling as Texas’ top passer and rusher last season, McCoy has improved tremendously in the passing game. In a conference that runs heavy zone coverage, McCoy exposed opponents passing for 3,859 yards and 34 TD’s. Tearing apart the Ohio State secondary in the Fiesta Bowl, McCoy made a huge case for the 2009 Heisman Trophy, an award he finished second to Bradford last season. With a weak non conference schedule and a little more experience under his belt, McCoy will have an even better season and show the nation just what Texas is all about.

3. Tim Tebow, Florida-Well, what can I tell you about Tebow that you haven’t heard of yet? Tebow is an above average passer but is basically Bronko Nagurski at quarterback. Standing at 6’3″ 245 lbs, Tebow holds the Florida record for career touchdowns, career rushing touchdowns and passing touchdowns. In his Heisman season in 2007, Tebow accounted for 52 TD’s just in the regular season. With two rings, a Heisman under his belt and a 2008 season where he threw for 2,746 yards and 30 TD’s, Tebow looks to battle McCoy and Bradford for the honors as best player in the country. The only thing that may hurt Tebow is that Urban Meyer has said the Gators are implementing more packages where #15 will be under center, something that could be hard to adapt to since Tebow has been in the shotgun his whole career.

4. Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State- One of the most balanced quarterbacks around, Robinson operates a high scoring Oklahoma State offense that passes as much as it runs, something the Big 12 does not do. With his favorite target in top receiver Dez Bryant, Robinson should improve on the 3,064 yards he passed for last season. With Mike Gundy coaching this team, yes he is a man and now he is 43, Gundy, who played QB for the Cowboys, should polish this QB and make him one of the nation’s best. If Robinson can make all the correct plays and limit his mistakes we could be looking at Oklahoma State as Big 12 South champs and the first Heisman winner for the Cowboys since the great Barry Sanders.

5. Daryl Clark, Penn State- In Joe Paterno’s 46th season on campus, he had arguably his best quarterback under center. Clark, a native of Youngstown, Ohio, is a dual threat player who is very efficient in the pocket. Throwing for 2,592 yards last season, Clark may have a tougher time this season. With the top three receivers in Penn State history graduating, the Nittany Lions may rely on Evan Royster more this season which means less yards for Clark. Even with the current situation, Clark and Penn State are still in the Big Ten and will continue to put up points.

6. Jevan Snead, Ole Miss- Snead, a transfer from Texas, is another SEC quarterback that can expose the defense. Sitting behind #2 on this list in 2006, Snead excelled in Houston Nutt’s offense a year ago and that was the main reason for his 2,762 yards and 26 TD’s. Without the nasty Florida defense on the schedule, Snead will improve this season and likely throw for over 3,000 yards. With Dexter McCluster and Shay Hodge returning, the Running Rebels will do a little more passing this season and put up major points in the conference with the best defense. With Snead in the middle of it all, look for an Ole Miss-Florida matchup in the SEC Championship Game.

7. Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State- Coming out of the class of 2008 as the #1 player in the country, Pryor had a great freshman season as the signal caller for the Buckeyes. Although he didn’t have great passing numbers, Pryor rushed for over 600 yards and 5 TD’s. With 1,311 yards and 12 TD’s coming through the air, to some it looks as if Pryor isn’t a great passer, which is the exact opposite. Pryor handed the ball off to Beanie Wells quite often last season, which led to his limited number of passing attempts. With a spread set including WR’s DeVier Posey, Dane Sanzenbacher, Ray Small, Lamaar Thomas and James Jackson, the Buckeyes will pass alot more this season. Pryor has improved trememendously just this year and will show just how far he can take the Buckeyes this year. His competitiveness and perserverance will show as the Buckeyes have a date with USC and their #1 defense on September 13th.

8. Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon- Climbing up from fifth on the depth chart at the beginning of the ’08 season, Masoli showed to be the best player on the Ducks roster, passing for 1,744 yards and also rushing for over 800, and 54 of those coming off the run where he trucked an Oklahoma State defensive back on his way to the end zone in the Holliday Bowl. Masoli, also a sophomore, is the top quarterback in the Pac-10 and will take the Ducks to new heights. Not since Joey Harrington, has the fans of the Ducks had more confidence in their quarterback. A larger version of Dennis Dixon, Masoli will only continue to grow and improve in the passing game. With Jeff Maehl returning as his top receiver, we will know just how good Jeremiah is as the Ducks take on USC for the Pac-10 crown.

9. Robert Griffin, Baylor- One of Baylor’s top track stars, Griffin is essentially Percy Harvin at quarterback. Running a ridiculous 40 yard dash in the 4.3 zone, Griffith is much more than a scrambler. As a true freshman in the Big 12 South, Griffin passed for 2,091 yards and 15 TD’s. Griffin fits the mold of the dangerous dual threat quarterback and his 843 yards and 13 TD’s on the ground back up the statement. With a home run threat taking the snap every down, Baylor could be one of the major surprises this season.

10.Dan LeFevour, Central Michigan- Some call him the “poor man’s Tim Tebow,” LeFevour is another of the long line of MAC quarterbacks to make it big in the NFL including Ben Roethlisberger, Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich. LeFevour is very similar to Roethlisberger in that they are around the same size, both tough players and effiecient passers. LeFevour took the Chippewa offense to a new dimension, passing for 2,784 yards and 21 TD’s last season. LeFevour just doesn’t beat up on the MAC, as the senior completed 23 passes for 250 yards and 2 TD’s in a loss at Georgia last season. If he can get it done against one of the best defenses in the country, just imagine what head coach Butch Jones will let him do this season. Being the top team in the MAC, Central Michigan owes it all to their signal caller who is one of the best in the country and rounds up my top ten.

I hope you enjoyed my list and learned something about college football’s best quarterbacks. On the way is the top running backs tomorrow. Keep reading here on Behind the Box Score!