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Ranking Power Five teams based on QB development

DeShaun Watson
DeShaun Watson (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Player development is always important, as critical as recruiting in many ways. So how have Power Five teams been developing quarterbacks in the last decade? At the conclusion of our weeklong series we look at the grade for every Power Five team from 1-65.

Note: Grades are based on the 2010-2020 seasons factoring star rankings of QBs, transfers and overall development as factors. Oh, and no one gets an F.

THIS SERIES: How Big Ten programs have developed QBs | SEC | ACC | Pac-12 | Big 12

THE RANKING

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Kyler Murray
Kyler Murray (USA TODAY Sports Images)

1. Oklahoma: A-plus — Heisman winners and No. 1 picks win out.

2. Clemson: A-plus — Tajh Boyd, DeShaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence. Nuff said.

3. NC State: A-plus — Russell Wilson and others still in pros.

4. Oregon: A-plus — Marcus Mariota and Justin Herbert were three-stars.

5. Louisville: — A — Teddy Bridgewater and Lamar Jackson are a nice combo.

6. Alabama: A — Starting to produce first-round talent.

7. North Carolina: A — Mitch Trubisky first round Sam Howell next.

8. Texas A&M: A — Johnny Manziel was amazing and Kellen Mond was very good.

9. Michigan State: A — From Kirk Cousins to Connor Cook, Sparty does great with three-stars.

10. Ohio State: A — College results are amazing.

11. Iowa: A — Look closely at the college efficiency and you’ll be impressed.

12. Duke: B-plus — Daniel Jones was a two-star.

13. Texas Tech: — B-plus — Patrick Mahomes was a three-star.

14. Missouri: B-plus — Drew Lock set all sorts of records.

15. USC: B-plus — Highly rated for the most part but Kedon Slovis was a three-star.

16. Wake Forest: B-plus — Dig deep based on the recruiting rankings and you’ll be surprised.

17. Northwestern: B-plus — Clayton Thorson and others were handled well.

18. Arizona State: B-plus — Jayden Daniels continues a solid string of QBs.

19. TCU: B-plus — Andy Dalton wasn’t the only three-star well developed.

20. Washington: B-plus — Some ups and downs but many more ups.

21. Baylor: B-plus — Robert Griffin started it and Charlie Brewer was good.

22. Mississippi State: B-plus — Dak Prescott as a three-star elevates this ranking.

23. Nebraska: B-plus — This may seem high but Taylor Martinez and Tommy Armstrong were three-stars and put up numbers.

24. Florida State: B —After Jameis Winston it got ugly but he won a Heisman and was No. 1 overall.

25. Auburn: B — Cam Newton was one year but Nick Marshall was a three-star who was dangerous.

26. Cal: B — Jared Goff as a No. 1 overall pick makes this grade.

27. Arkansas: B — Ryan Mallett and the Allen’s were all impressive.

28. Washington State: B — Luke Falk and others were not ranked high and did well.

29. Notre Dame: B — Average is a good description of Notre Dame QB development.

30. LSU: B — Joe Burrow saves what otherwise would be a C or lower.

31. Indiana: B — You might be surprised at how well Indiana has done with three-stars.

32. Wisconsin: B — Russell Wilson helps a little as a one-year transfer but overall this is average.

33. Ole Miss: B — Shea Patterson hurts but there have been other QB development going on here.

34. UCLA: B — Josh Rosen actually lowers the grade despite first-round selection.

35. Penn State: B — As a three-star, Trace McSorley is a great development job.

36. Pitt: B – You don’t think of Pitt as a B do you? The Panthers have been.

37. Boston College: B — Hard to name a BC QB right? It still does pretty well.

38. Stanford: B-minus — Andrew Luck helps this grade but a few highly ranked disappointments drop it.

39. Georgia: B-minus — This isn’t about QB roster management so Aaron Murray and Jake Fromm are solid.

40. Utah: B-minus — Utah quarterbacks don’t put up monster numbers but they have been effective.

41. Miami: B-minus — Very up and down for Miami, but Brad Kaaya and others had good moments.

42. West Virginia: B-minus — Geno Smith really gives the Mountaineers this high of a grade.

43. Colorado: B-minus — You’d be surprised at the efficiency here.

44. Georgia Tech: B-minus — Toughest grade to give with the triple option most of the decade.

45. Syracuse: B-minus — You’d think even lower, right? You’d be wrong.

46. Tennessee: B-minus — Some will argue that the Volunteers should be even lower than this but look at the numbers of Josh Dobbs.

47. Iowa State: C-plus — Brock Purdy has been good but the rest have been not so great.

48. Virginia Tech: C-plus — Tyrod Taylor and Logan Thomas both were good but everyone else has been below average.

49. Oklahoma State: C-plus — I expected more from a Mike Gundy team; would be even lower without Mason Rudolph.

50. Arizona: C-plus — Nick Foles and some others had ups and downs and Khalil Tate could have been great.

51. Minnesota: C-plus — A lot of mediocre players but none ranked too highly either.

52. Illinois: C-plus — Surprisingly not too bad for a team that has struggled that much.

53. South Carolina: C-plus — Connor Shaw saves the Gamecocks from an even lower ranking.

54. Florida: C — Kyle Trask was great for a two-star but so many highly rated flops here.

55. Kansas State: C — Collin Klein was terrific but the rest is average.

56. Michigan: C — Denard Robinson starts off the decade but way too many underachievers here.

57. Oregon State: C — Sean Mannion and little else.

58. Kentucky: C — Just not a great job of taking guys to the next level.

59. Virginia: C — It got better under Bronco Mendenhall but it’s still below average.

60. Vanderbilt: C — James Franklin won without elite QBs, I don’t know how.

61. Texas: C-minus — Too many high-profile busts here for any higher grade.

62. Rutgers: C-minus — Gary Nova and a bunch of bad.

63. Purdue: D — Just so bad overall with development of some kids with talent.

64. Maryland: D — Injuries and poor development.

65. Kansas: D — As expected.

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MORE QBS: How things stand with top uncommitted QBs

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CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State

COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series

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