The 2023 college football season is coming soon and here’s a look at the top 15 quarterbacks that are probable starters.
We have now lived through the last week without college football for the calendar year of 2023 and with Week 0 on the horizon, the world is almost back to normal.
There are plenty of predictions for the 2023 college football season. Everyone has an opinion after all, and college football fans are particularly passionate about theirs.
But one opinion that shouldn’t be considered too bold or outrageous is that the 2023 college football season will be defined by the quarterbacks.
It’s becoming harder and harder to win big in college football without an elite, or at least highly-proficient quarterback. The transfer portal has certainly changed things too as teams have realized there is a scarce amount of elite talent at the position available.
Sam Hartman (Notre Dame), Devin Leary (Kentucky), Hudson Card (Purdue), Cade McNamara (Iowa) Jeff Sims (Nebraska), and Tanner Mordecai (Wisconsin) are all going to have the chance to make a big impact on their teams this season.
But only one of those guys made our top 15 ranking of college football’s probable starting quarterbacks for this season.
That shows just how loaded things are at the position heading into the 2023 season and without further ado, here are college football’s top 15 QBS for 2023.
15. Kyle McCord, Ohio State
Remember, this is “probable starters” and I still feel like McCord is going to start. This list is also a projection of who the best quarterbacks are going to be and even though all of the names above could be mentioned here or maybe even Drew Allar of Penn State or Grayson McCall of Coastal Carolina, I’m confident that McCord will be more productive than just about all of them in 2023.
McCord was a top-100 quarterback coming out of high school for a reason. Ohio State lost Justin Fields to the NFL draft and the offense didn’t skip a beat. Devin Brown is also in the mix but I think folks are making too big a deal out of the fact that Ryan Day hasn’t named a starter.
J.J. McCarthy wasn’t named the starting quarterback for Michigan until after Week 2. Marvin Harrison Jr. is the best wideout to play college football, maybe since Randy Moss, and with all the other weapons surrounding him, McCord will be just fine this season for OSU.
14. Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma
Things didn’t go all that well for Oklahoma last season, but it wasn’t the fault of Gabriel who was pretty damn good for the Sooners in 12 games last season.
Gabriel missed one start due to injury and another game in which he was knocked out. That contributed to the 6-7 overall record. Yet, he still completed 62.7 percent of his passes and threw 25 touchdowns compared to six interceptions.
That was in addition to 315 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Anytime a quarterback accounts for over 30 touchdowns, it’s hard to be too critical.
The fact is that Oklahoma has a legit chance of winning the Big 12 this season because Gabriel is back in the fold. For his career, the lefty has 95 touchdown passes compared to just 20 interceptions.
13. Joe Milton, Tennessee
If this was a list of the college football quarterbacks who can throw the ball the farthest, Joe Milton would easily win. His arm strength is incredible.
The former Michigan quarterback transferred to Tennessee and after two years of biding his time, Milton is going to be the guy this fall and after throwing 10 touchdowns compared to zero interceptions, the hype train is off the charts.
Milton was stellar in limited action. He did start and win the Orange Bowl. He also competed 64.6 percent of his passes and averaged 11.8 yards per attempt.
The former four-star recruit has started games in the Big Ten and SEC. In Josh Heupel’s offense, he seems to have found a home. Heupel likes to throw the ball downfield and that’s Milton’s forte.
I’m interested to see if he can be as accurate all season, but if he does what he did a year ago and translates it to 12 games, he might be in New York for the Heisman ceremony.
12. Carson Beck, Georgia
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart hasn’t named a starting quarterback yet for the 2023 college football season, but all signs are pointing to Carson Beck.
Beck was the No. 2 last season behind Stetson Bennett and he was solid whenever he got his chances, which were limited in terms of actual competitive situations.
Beck was a four-star recruit out of high school. He’s not a former five-star or No. 1 overall like Arch Manning, but the kid can play. He’s also had years to develop in the UGA system, and with all of the talent around him, it’s hard to imagine Beck struggling.
I believe the Georgia offense won’t skip a beat. The offensive line is elite and so are all the skill positions. I don’t know if Beck will be elite, but he’ll play like a top-15 college football quarterback in 2023, that’s my prediction at least.
11. Quinn Ewers, Texas
There’s plenty of hype about Arch Manning down in Texas. Some have even suggested that Arch could unseat Quinn Ewers this season.
That’s a realistic possibility. Yet, it’s not what I foresee happening this season. Ewers had some really good moments last season and people forget, he was supposed to be a true freshman.
Ewers re-classified and spent his senior season of high school on the bench at Ohio State. He’s gotten plenty of coaching and if he was healthy last season, his play would have been better.
As it was, Ewers threw just 15 touchdown passes and completed 58 percent of his throws. But Ewers isn’t on this list because of what he did last season.
It’s about what he can do in the 2023 college football season and I expect him to be the best quarterback in the Big 12.
10. Cam Rising, Utah
The Utah starter, Cameron Rising, is probably the most under-appreciated quarterback in college football, at least in terms of outsiders.
There’s no doubt about how much Utah values its star quarterback, who has won two consecutive Pac-12 championships by the way.
Kyle Whittingham said as much at a recent press conference when he said he’d take Rising over any other starter in the Pac-12. The one issue is that Rising is recovering from an ACL injury. It’s looking like he could miss the season opener against Florida and maybe even more games.
That’s worrisome from a Utah perspective. It’s also risky to put him this high on the list, especially because he’s got 499 and 465 rushing yards in each of the past two seasons. Will he be as effective as a runner?
We’ll see. Rising also threw for over 3,000 yards last season. It might take him a minute to get going, but he’s about winning championships and if he’s healthy for all of the Utes Pac-12 games, they have to be the favorite until USC and others prove they can beat them.
Rising is a big part of that and when healthy, I still feel like he’ll be one of the 10 best quarterbacks in college football this season.
9. K.J. Jefferson, Arkansas
It’s pretty easy to explain the ranking of Arkansas quarterback A.J. Jefferson among the elite in college football after two highly productive seasons for the Razorbacks.
Jefferson has thrown for over 2,600 in each of the past two years for Arkansas and also tossed a combined 45 touchdown passes compared to just nine interceptions.
The Razorbacks had a bit of a disappointing season in 2022, but it certainly didn’t have anything to do with Jefferson, who willed the team to a bowl game.
In addition to back-to-back seasons with at least 2,600 passing yards, Jefferson has gone over 600 yards rushing in consecutive seasons with a combined 15 rushing touchdowns in 2021 and 2022.
Jefferson is also a better passer than people realize, completing better than 67 percent in each of the past two seasons. All of that will lead him to be one of the SEC’s best quarterbacks again.
8. Sam Hartman, Notre Dame
The No. 1 transer portal addition at quarterback in my book, was Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman. He’s got a chance to take Notre Dame football to the next level, which means the College Football Playoff.
Really, with Hartman, even more, could be on the table. This is a guy that should be playing in the NFL. He likely would have been drafted on day three of the 2023 NFL draft but instead chose a NIL deal and Notre Dame.
There’s a chance to improve his stock and play among the elite programs in college football. At Wake Forest, Hartman put up incredible numbers. He threw a combined 110 touchdown passes including 38 in 2022 and 39 in 2021.
Yet, last season was the first time Hartman ever completed more than 60 percent of his passes. Accuracy will need to improve. He’s also not a dual-threat but with the upgrade in talent around him, plus an elite Notre Dame defense, Hartman could be the missing piece of a playoff run.
7. Jayden Daniels, LSU
The quarterback coached by former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly makes our list of college football quarterbacks at No. 7.
Daniels, who transferred to LSU from Arizona State, was a pleasant surprise last season and really took a huge step forward. In 2021, he threw 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Last season, under Kelly, Daniels competed 68.5 percent of his throws and had 17 touchdown passes compared to three interceptions.
His impact is hardly limited to his passing. Daniels is one of the best running quarterbacks in college football and had six games with at least 84 yards on the ground for the Tigers. Three times he went over 100 yards.
The 6-foot-3 quarterback rushed for 889 yards last season. He scored 11 touchdowns and if he’s throwing the ball accurately and being productive there, it’s really not fair to opposing defenses.
6. Bo Nix, Oregon
There was very little of the “bad” Bo Nix last season for the Oregon Ducks. Dan Lanning brought the former Auburn starter to the Northwest when he left Georgia for Oregon and outside of the ugly beatdown by Georgia in the 2022 season opener, Nix played really well.
Nix threw 29 touchdown passes for the Ducks compared to just seven interceptions. The returning starter for Oregon had nine games with at least 250 yards passing last season and completed 71.9 percent of his throws.
Only twice did Nix throw more than one interception in a game and he didn’t throw any in pivotal losses to Oregon State and Washington. With 14 rushing touchdowns, he accounted for 43 scores total and should put up similar numbers.
But can he finally win some big games or a conference title? We shall see.
5. Michael Penix, Washington
These Pac-12 quarterbacks are really good and the league is going to have three of the top six quarterbacks heading into the 2023 college football season via our rankings.
If you toss in Rising, that’s four in the top 10 because Caleb Williams is obviously making the list. However, the Pac-12 isn’t known for pass defense so the numbers might be a little inflated.
Penix had never thrown more than 14 touchdown passes in a season. He had also never played in more than seven games. A healthy Michael Penix completed 65 percent of his passes and threw 38 touchdown passes.
With the weapons coming back, Penix could throw 40. He’s going to have a strong season before likely heading to the NFL draft, but I could see a slight regression from last season, which will still have him among the best in college football.
4. J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
This might seem a little high for Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, yet, by the end of the season, this ranking will make a lot of sense.
McCarthy threw 22 touchdown passes last season in his first as a starter for the Michigan Wolverines. He also ran for five scores.
Yes, the Fiesta Bowl wasn’t his best moment. He threw two interceptions but also passed for 343 yards and accounted for more than 400 total.
Cut out the mistakes and it would have been a legendary performance. That’s going to be the goal in 2023 and for most of last season, McCarthy was elite at avoiding mistakes. He only threw three interceptions in the first 13 games and also flashed his elite arm down the stretch.
Michigan’s run-heavy offense damps down his stats. Yet, Jim Harbaugh has pledged more balance and if the Wolverines unleash McCarthy, he’ll be a legitimate Heisman contender. I also think he’ll be a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
3. Jordan Travis, Florida State
If college football had a 12-team playoff in 2022, Florida State would have been a dangerous team because the Noles were playing as well as anyone outside of Georiga down the stretch.
Quarterback Jordan Travis was a big reason for that. The 6-foot-1 signal caller took a huge step forward in his development, especially as a thrower.
2022 was his third straight season with at least 400 yards rushing. He also scored seven touchdowns but completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,214 yards, and 24 touchdowns, compared to just five interceptions.
Travis accounted for over 3,600 yards and 31 touchdowns, but just five turnovers. His return is why I see Florida State winning the ACC and reaching the College Football Playoff.
By the end of last season, he looked like an NFL quarterback just in terms of how he processed the defense and made decisions. With his talent and another year under his belt, defending him is going to be extremely difficult.
Florida State brings back his top targets in the passing game too, along with the addition of Keon Coleman from Michigan State. Add him to Johnny Wilson and Kentron Pitier and the Seminoles offense will be off the charts — just like the numbers of Jordan Travis in 2023.
2. Drake Maye, North Carolina
This seems like a no-brainer as Drake Maye was spectacular for North Carolina in his first season as a starter.
After throwing limited passes as a freshman, Maye showed why he was the guy early for the Tar Heels and wound up throwing for 4,321 yards.
The sophomore didn’t have a single game with fewer than 206 yards passing. He also had seven games with 300 yards or more and 10 games with at least 280 passing yards.
Not only that, Maye can run too. By the time the bowl game was finished last year, Maye accounted for 5,019 yards, as well as 45 total touchdowns.
The North Carolina quarterback will have a new offensive coordinator after Phil Longo left for the Wisconsin Badgers, but it’s not hard to figure out what to do with Drake Maye. There are some concerns about the receivers and Josh Downs is now in the NFL.
But great quarterbacks are able to make the players around them better and that’s what Maye will be expected to do for North Carolina this season.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder finished 10th in the Heisman last year. Part of that had to do with the way North Carolina stumbled down the stretch. The talent is there for Maye to be special and if he can lead the Tar Heels to an ACC title, he’ll be remembered as a Tar Heel legend forever.
And heck, he might even win the Heisman Trophy.
1. Caleb Williams, USC
Some college football fans are still upset that Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy last year, complaining that too many voters cast their ballots before championship week.
I don’t understand that logic at all, because while Max Duggan was extremely tough and great for TCU, he wasn’t as good as Caleb Williams who was elite all season long.
Williams finished the 2022 campaign with 52 total touchdowns. 42 of those were touchdown passes to go along with 10 rushing touchdowns and nearly 400 yards on the ground.
Williams isn’t a “running quarterback” but he can run when he needs to and does it really well. His production in the passing game was off the charts. The former No. 1 overall recruit for Oklahoma in the 2021 class, had eight games with at least 300 yards passing, as well as eight games with at least three touchdown passes.
In two of the six games he didn’t throw three touchdown passes, Williams had at least two rushing touchdowns and was held to a single touchdown just once, against Oregon State.
Jordan Addison left for the NFL draft, but USC has reloaded through the transfer portal and high school recruiting as No. 1 tight end Duce Robinson is on the roster at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds.
Williams is also going on his third season with Lincoln Riley calling plays. That’s a big advantage and you have to feel like there’s a decent chance that Williams repeats as Heisman Trophy winner.