This week, Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell starts a series ranking the best position groups in college football. He starts today with the quarterbacks, arguably the toughest group to rank, where a capable backup is essential.
FACT OR FICTION: Deion Colzie won’t end up at Georgia
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022: Top 100
1. GEORGIA
Wait, what? Georgia has two untested quarterbacks battling for the starting job and I have them ahead of two clear-cut Heisman contenders? Yep. Actually, neither UGA quarterback is untested as Jamie Newman was very solid in the ACC and JT Daniels showed great promise at USC. I’d much rather be Ohio State or Clemson with their elite starters, but this is a great 1-2 punch in Athens.
2. OHIO STATE
I like Trevor Lawrence slightly more than Justin Fields, but I like Gunnar Hoak as a backup for the Buckeyes in case Fields gets injured. Hoak has had limited opportunities to prove himself, but what I’ve seen has been solid.
3. CLEMSON
Trevor Lawrence is the best quarterback in college football and if Chase Brice was still his backup, this would be easy to put Clemson at No. 1 on this list. But the inexperience of Taisun Phommachanh gives me pause here. Freshman DJ Uiagalelei could come in and be the No. 2 but that's hard to project given that the team didn't finish spring practice.
4. FLORIDA
I’m torn on Kyle Trask. I don’t believe he’s the next Joe Burrow like many Gators fans believe, but he’s also not as low as I had initially ranked him (No. 9) nationally. I’ve looked him over again and again and he had some very good games last year. His backup, Emory Jones, has become more of a runner, which is odd because he has a cannon for an arm. This is a very nice duo.
5. NORTH CAROLINA
Everyone knows how much I love Sam Howell, so his presence alone puts North Carolina at No. 5 here. But things get iffy after Howell. Vincent Amendola has thrown four passes in his college career. I have to assume that there is a huge drop from Howell if he gets injured.
Odds and ends: I like Minnesota with Tanner Morgan and Texas with Sam Ehlinger but the backups are concerning. ... As for Oklahoma, Spencer Rattler will likely be amazing but with not much to go on, I can’t exactly put the Sooners on this list. ... Brock Purdy at Iowa State, D’Eriq King at Miami, Kellen Mond at Texas A&M, Ian Book at Notre Dame and Kedon Slovis at USC are others that come to mind that are good leaders for their teams with questions at backup.
