College Football: Top 10 traditional option quarterbacks of all-time

The triple option offense has always been a traditional part of college football. Here are the ten greatest traditional option quarterbacks of all-time.

College football is a special form of the sport that we all love because of the pageantry and tradition of the game. While the NFL has remained stagnant and a copycat league, college football has always had the diversity in campuses, schemes and styles that have made it more endearing to fans.

One of those traditions is the under center option offense. In today’s game, the option includes shotgun zone reads, run-pass options, and even screen-pass options. The era of option we’re discussing is far more traditional and spans the 1980’s through the early 2000’s.

Barry Switzer’s wishbone offense, Bill McCartney’s I-Bone, and Tom Osborne’s I-Option are the types of offenses that made the option quarterbacks households names. While Army, Navy, Air Force and Georgia Tech run the flexbone triple option in today’s game; many programs focused on the triple option back when Barry Switzer invented it in the 70’s.

The Miami Hurricanes and Jimmy Johnson have always been attributed with “breaking the bone” and converting the college offenses to a more pro style approach and the defenses to a speed-focused 4-3 defense that brought titles to Lincoln, NE, Tallahassee, FL, and Gainesville, FL.

If you’re a college football historian or even someone just looking to study a fun time in college football, you’ll enjoy learning about the top ten option quarterbacks of all-time.