Ranking the 10 best small school college football QBs of all time
By Zach Bigalke
Alex Smith had a short but spectacular career that puts him among the best small school quarterbacks in history. He played sparingly as a freshman, attempting just four passes in 2002. Ron McBride was fired as head coach after the season, and Urban Meyer arrived in Salt Lake City. The partnership of quarterback and coach would permanently alter both men’s careers. As a sophomore in Meyer’s first season at Utah, Smith gained the starter role early in the year and went 9-1 as Utah won the Mountain West.
The following year Smith became the original BCS Buster quarterback, leading Utah to a perfect 2004 season. He culminated his career with a Fiesta Bowl MVP performance against Big East champion Pittsburgh. He completed 29 of his 37 passes against the Panthers for 328 yards and four touchdowns. That concluded a year where Smith threw 32 touchdowns against four interceptions and completed 67 percent of his passes.
Smith parlayed his run to the Fiesta Bowl at Utah into the the first overall draft pick in the 2005 NFL Draft with the San Francisco 49ers. He spent eight seasons in the Bay Area before being traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013. In 12 NFL seasons, Smith has thrown for over 29,000 yards and 169 touchdowns in 147 regular season and playoff contests.