Season preview: Ranking a challenging group of QBs Clemson will face

NC State's Devin Leary is back after topping the Tigers last year in Raleigh. (Photo: Rob Kinnan / USATODAY)

by Ryan Kantor - Contributor - Tue Aug 30 07:00:05 GMT-05:00 2022

The Big Ten is the most profitable conference with their new 7-year $7 billion media rights deal. The SEC is still the toughest on the field with No. 1 Alabama and defending champion Georgia leading the charge. The ACC? It is the league of quarterbacks. Clemson will go to battle against a slew of tough quarterbacks that will put their defense to the test time and time again. Clemson won’t play Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong, who may be the best of the bunch, and could miss Wake Forest's Sam Hartman due to injury. Despite that, the Tigers will face several dangerous QBs throughout the season.

(Note: QBs for Furman and Louisiana Tech were excluded from this ranking for brevity. Wake Forest’s QB is TBD based on Sam Hartman’s injury status and was not included in the countdown.)

9. Garrett Shrader, Syracuse (Fourth-Year Junior)

2021: 12 games, 124/234 (52.6%), 1,445 yards (6.2 Y/A), 9 TDs, 4 INTs, 781 rushing yards, 14 rushing TDs

Garrett Shrader gives Syracuse a major running threat at the QB position. Last year, they coupled his running ability with heavy doses of star RB Sean Tucker to average 214.3 rushing yards per game.

As a passer, Shrader still has room for growth. He completed just 52.6% of his passes and had only 9 passing TDs compared to 14 rushing TDs. Last year, Clemson was able to force him to throw the ball 37 times. He finished with just 191 yards, 1 passing TD and 1 INT while running for 6 yards and another TD in a 17-14 loss to the Tigers. He will need to take some major strides as a passer to give Syracuse a chance to score 25+ against this Clemson defense.

8. Jeff Sims, Georgia Tech (Third-Year Sophomore)

2021: 8 games, 113/188 (60.1%), 1,468 yards (7.8 Y/A), 12 TDs, 7 INTs, 372 rushing yards, 4 rushing TDs

Jeff Sims was a four-star recruit that came to Georgia Tech and immediately hit the ground running. In 2020, Sims became the first true freshman to start an opener for the Yellow Jackets since Reggie Ball in 2003. He had enough success to be named ACC Rookie of the Year three times that season. In 2021, he cut down on his interceptions and improved his passer rating but was limited to eight games after injuring his arm in the first game of the season. He has plenty of potential but could be limited by some deficiencies around him on offense.

7. Tyler Buchner, Notre Dame (Sophomore)

2021: 10 games, 21/35 (60.0%), 298 yards (8.5 Y/A), 3 TDs, 3 INTs, 336 rushing yards, 3 rushing TDs

Buckner went to high school in California where they unfortunately canceled his senior season of football in 2020. Last season, he shared time backing-up Jack Coan with Drew Pyne, whom he beat out this year. As such, he doesn’t have much game experience.

He was a high four-star prospect that ranked 65th nationally across all positions. He is a speedy runner who can make plays happen with his feet as illustrated by his over 300 rushing yards in limited time last season. He will start in a football game for the first time in over two years when Notre Dame opens their season at Ohio State. He may not be ready for that, but by November’s game against Clemson, there’s a good shot he will be a very good QB and by his 2023 trip to Death Valley he could develop into a big time player.

6. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina (Fourth-Year Junior)

2021: 9 games, 140/187 (74.9%), 1,483 yards (7.9 Y/A), 11 TDs, 5 INTs, 77 rushing yards, 3 rushing TDs

Rattler was a five-star prospect out of Arizona that signed with Oklahoma and then transferred to South Carolina after Head Coach and QB whisperer Lincoln Riley left for Southern Cal this offseason. As a redshirt freshman in 2020, he tossed 28 touchdowns and racked up over 3,000 passing yards. Last year he wasn’t as effective. He was pulled from their rivalry game against Texas after a lost fumble. Caleb Williams, a five-star QB prospect from Washington DC, entered the game with the Sooners trailing 35-17 and led them to a comeback victory. After that, the QB job was his. Although Williams followed Lincoln Riley to Southern Cal, Spencer Rattler left Oklahoma for South Carolina.

It will be very interesting to see how much of his 2020 success was due to the system he played in and the talent around him. South Carolina isn’t bereft of offensive talent, especially after adding Rattler’s former OU teammate, tight end Austin Stogner, but they don’t have the weapons the Sooners do. If he can recapture his past success, the Gamecocks may very well have their best QB since Connor Shaw a decade ago.

5. Jordan Travis, Florida State (Fourth-Year Junior)

2021: 10 games, 122/194 (62.9%), 1,539 yards (7.9 Y/A), 15 TDs, 6 INTs, 530 rushing yards, 7 rushing TDs

Last year, Florida State’s offense was very run-centric. They averaged 28.3 pass attempts to 37.2 rushes per game. QB Jordan Travis was a big part of the running game as he ran it 134 times. Late in the year, we saw Travis begin to blossom as a passer. In the Seminoles’ final three games, he threw for 274, 251, and 202 yards against Miami, Boston College, and Florida, respectively, after failing to top the 200-yard mark all season. Travis isn’t as proven as the top-echelon of ACC QBs but he has a high-ceiling and has given some signs that he could make a splash in 2022.

4. Phil Jurkovec, Boston College (Fifth-Year Senior)

2021: 6 games, 52/96 (54.2%), 914 yards (9.5 Y/A), 7 TDs, 4 INTs, 322 rushing yards, 5 rushing TDs

2020: 10 games, 205/336 (61.0%), 2,558 yards (7.6 Y/A), 17 TDs, 5 INTs, 150 rushing yards, 3 rushing TDs

Jurkovec was a four-star QB prospect that signed with Notre Dame back in 2018. After two years there, the first of which was a redshirt season, he transferred to Boston College. His first year at Boston College was a big success. He threw for 2,558 with a solid 17-5 TD-to-INT ratio. Last year was expected to be his final year before heading off to the NFL, but a hand injury kept him out most of the season. When he returned, his hand wasn’t at 100% and yet he was still somewhat effective. If Boston College’s inexperienced offensive line can keep him upright, he and wide receiver Zay Flowers could post some gaudy passing statistics.

3. Tyler Van Dyke, Miami (Third-Year Sophomore)

2021: 10 games, 202/324 (62.3%), 2,931 passing yards (9.0 Y/A), 25 TDs, 6 INTs, 57 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD

Tyler Van Dyke (“TVD”) didn’t begin last season as the starting QB. D’Eriq King started Miami’s first three games before a season-ending shoulder injury against Michigan State thrust him into the spotlight.

After a blowout win over Central Connecticut, Van Dyke struggled in his first two starts against ACC competition. He was a combined 35/74 (47.3%) with 2 TDs and 3 INTs as the Hurricanes lost to Virginia and North Carolina. Miami was just 2-4.

Their next two games came against two of the toughest defenses in the ACC – NC State and Pittsburgh – and yet he threw for 751 yards and 7 TDs in wins against them. Included those performances, he averaged 370 passing yards with a 74.4% completion percentage and had a 20-3 TD-to-INT ratio over Miami’s final six games of the year. He’ll now look to turn that hot six game sample into a full season of top-level production.

2. Malik Cunningham, Louisville (Sixth-Year Senior)

2021: 13 games, 209/337 (62.0%), 2,941 passing yards (8.7 Y/A), 19 TDs, 6 INTs, 1,031 rushing yards, 20 rushing TDs

Malik Cunningham has played in 46 games. He has amassed 8,092 passing yards, 62 passing TDs, and 38 rushing TDs. Returning for his sixth season in Louisville, he brings a wealth of experience and past success. He’ll be 24 years old by the time he leads the Cardinals into Death Valley.

While he isn’t Lamar Jackson, he may be the closest thing we have in college football right now. He ran for 1,031 yards last season and while they’d like to run him a little less to keep him healthy, that’ll have to play a big part of their offense. If Cunningham continues to improve as a passer, he’ll be one of the most dangerous QBs in the country and could lead Louisville to a high ranking prior to their game in Clemson.

1. Devin Leary, NC State (Fifth-Year Junior)

2021: 12 games, 283/431 (65.7%), 3,433 passing yards (8.0 Y/A), 35 TDs, 5 INTs, -73 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs

It pains me to rank an NC State QB No. 1 on this list, but objectivity requires it. Watching him play didn’t wow me, but by the end of the season he posted excellent passing numbers. He’s not a runner and isn’t especially flashy overall, but he posted an excellent 35-5 TD-to-INT ratio and 3,433 yards through the air. He had five different games with 4 TDs and only one with multiple interceptions (at Wake Forest). NC State lost some key playmakers, but even if he doesn’t improve and just matches last year’s production, it would justify his ranking here.