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Ranking the Big Ten quarterback rooms in 2024

College football is rapidly approaching and after recently diving into the new-look Big Ten, we begin a new series as the season nears ranking positions in the conference. Today, we start with the most important position of them all: quarterback. It is a new age at quarterback in the Big Ten as obviously, the all-time leader in pass yards, Maryland signal caller Taulia Tagovailoa, has graduated -- despite his attempt to play for a miraculous sixth season in college. Of course, there are four new teams from the west coast coming along in Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA. The returning teams are thrilled to hear that these new teams are not bringing along a Heisman winner and tow Heisman finalists to the conference. USC quarterback Caleb Williams went number one overall in the draft and Heisman finalists Michael Penix and Bo Nix left Washington and Oregon respectively. Within the conference there is major change as well as 13 of the 18 teams will bring in a new quarterback. This includes Michigan quarterback, JJ McCarthy, who also went in the first-round parting ways. The new age of Big Ten quarterbacks is not as strong as it was this time last year, however; there is promise for a lot of players. Will high-upside players such as Penn State’s Drew Allar and Michigan State’s Aiden Chiles find their form? Will transfers such as Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel or Wisconsin’s Tyler Van Dyke make a splash? And there is also the wild card that is Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola. It is an interesting quarterback landscape and we will be ranking the situations across the conference.

Tier I: The Elite#1 Dillon Gabriel (Oregon) As mentioned previously, Bo Nix is not walking through that door after his Heisman-level season. Gabriel enters with 49 career starts under his belt between Oklahoma and UCF. Gabriel is a lefty quarterback that has mobility potential and also has a great accuracy arm.  He was All-Big 12 last season and will step in to be the next great Duck quarterback. I am placing him one based on his experience and proven track record alone. Again, this is not the strongest conference for the position this season and Gabriel has proven the most to be a top-10 quarterback in the country.

Tier II: Solid Players in Great Positions#2 Drew Allar (Penn State) Shocking that Allar is this high. Even I did not think he would be this high coming in. You can not deny the potential of Allar though. He rarely made mistakes last year as a redshirt freshman and showed he was tough and can take the ball on runs. He reminds me of JJ McCarthy a lot in that aspects and as much as I did not think McCarthy was great, he was very good and kept the offense churning. Allar, I think will make plays with his feet and protect the football at an elite level and that is enough to place him this high. Will still need to see more consistent arm talent though. #3 Will Howard (Ohio St.) Howard is another case of good, not great quarterbacks in this conference. I really liked his game at Kansas St. as he was a pocket-passer who was insanely accurate. However, his arm strength is an issue and the deep ball was a struggle. With explosive receivers galore in Columbus it could be an issue for Howard to mesh well. I think he is better than McCord from last year and can make the right reads and pretty throws in the intermediate areas. A solid quarterback for perhaps the best team in the country.

Tier III (Proven Players in New(ish) Settings#4 Will Rogers (Washington) Another player I am extremely high on and many of you will complain about this ranking. Rogers was one of the best air-raid quarterbacks in the country two seasons ago but faltered hard last season in a new system at Mississippi State. Rogers does rank second all time in SEC passing yards so there is precedent and experience for him to be exceptional. The flack comes with his last season and perhaps the best is behind him. I still believe in Rogers to be able to sling the ball around with his new Washington weapons and have a bounce back season. #5 Hudson Card (Purdue) Card, who originally came from Texas, has shown flashes of being elite during his career. He is very smart quarterback who can make all of the throws you want and has sneaky athleticism. He has never really taken the next step to be considered elite as his inconsistencies in making splash plays and being conservative show up a lot. A solid quarterback nonetheless at the helm for Purdue. #6 Kurtis Rourke (Indiana) Rourke is a bit of a loose cannon. As a former MAC player of the year, Rourke could chuck it all over the yard with over 7,000 yards and 50 touchdowns while with Ohio. His arm strength is apparent and he is perhaps the best scrambler in the whole conference already. Now, his wild card tendencies could get him in a lot of trouble at this level, leaving him towards the middle of the pack. #7 Tyler Van Dyke (Wisconsin) Another quarterback that at a time was thought as one of the best in the nation. Van Dyke had a ton of hype heading into to the 2022 season where he underperformed expectations and then had an even worse season in 2023. He had stretches where he looked like he could break through with his skill set but it has not been consistent. When he is on, he has one of the prettiest balls in the country.

Tier IV: New Kids on The Block with Something To Prove#8 Dylan Raiola (Nebraska) Pure upside is the name of the game here. Raiola is touted to be the savior of Nebraska football as the five-star dazzled at the spring game. He has incredible passing mechanics and the “zip” on his balls are noticeable. He says to resemble a Patrick Mahomes style and it really comes across on tape. A pure upside pick here but he may be one of the better passers in the conference by season end. #9 Miller Moss (USC) Moss put his name on the map with his six-touchdown performance against Louisville in the Holiday Bowl last winter. Moss showed fantastic accuracy and poise in the pocket in what was really his only appearance in his first two seasons at Southern Cal. Reports from camp say that he has an inconsistent time adjusting to the looks that coaches are giving him. Still, upside is definitely there especially in Lincoln Riley’s offense. #10 Aiden Chiles (Michigan St.) Chiles was one of the most prized possessions in the transfer portal this offseason and he chose to follow his coach, Jonathan Smith, to Michigan St. A former four-star recruit, Chiles appeared in a few games for Oregon St. last season where he shined. Chiles threw for 309 yards, four touchdowns, and added three more scores on the ground. The athleticism and potential are real with this kid and now he has to prove it in a larger sample size. #11 Alex Orji (Michigan) Orji showed himself a little bit on Michigan’s national tile run last season. Orji would come in and almost every know the quarterback would be keeping it for a run. Orji needs to prove himself a lot as a passer and to be fair, we have not seen it a lot. So, I can’t really fully knock him for his passing ability when it hasn’t been fully on display yet. The athletic ability is legit though and it could be tough to stop. #12 MJ Morris (Maryland) Morris enters as Maryland’s potential starter for right now, though Billy Edwards Jr. remains very much in the mix and as we all know, it is still an open competition. As I had mentioned in my film breakdown of Morris, I think he is raw. He can make plays with his feet and has strong zip on the ball but his accuracy is not always there. I have liked what I have seen out of him through camp and think he can be a solid option; however, a lot still to prove. #13 Ethan Garbers (UCLA) Garbers is a solid youngster who saw time last year and threw 11 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions in his limited playing time. From my time checking out UCLA last season, I think Garbers is average. Not going to wow you in any facet of his game but is serviceable.

Tier V: The Rest#14 Cade McNamara (Iowa) Cade McNamara is back after tearing his ACL last season. Iowa’s offensive struggles are pretty well known and McNamara had not really fixed them even when he has been healthy for the Hawkeyes. McNamara is a stiff quarterback whose frame makes him hard to take down in the pocket but I think he lacks elite arm talent and athletic mobility. A solid bridge option but nothing more. #15 Max Brosmer (Minnesota) Brosmer comes over from FCS New Hampshire where he won the Heisman equivalent at that level. He has a strong arm and was used to throwing it all over the yard at the FCS level. A lot less will be asked of him at Minnesota. Reports indicate that he is a strong locker presence and has a lot of confidence in his game. Still, an FCS level player does not bode well for the Golden Gophers. #16 Athan Kaliakmanis (Rutgers) Kaliakmanis transfers in conference where he came from Minnesota this past season. He is definitely an upgrade in the passing department from former quarterback, Gavin Wimsatt, who struggled with turnovers. Kaliakmanis is better at protecting the football but I was never impressed by him. Rutgers will certainly lean on the run game often and Kaliakmanis will be asked to get out of the way. Nothing truly elite about him. #17 Luke Altmeyer (Illinois) As a former Ole Miss transfer, Altmeyer had a lot of issues with turnovers last season. He threw 10 interceptions and was benched for the final three games of the season. Adding only 13 touchdowns, Altmeyer had a underwhelming year. His turnover struggles and decision making are poor and there is not much upside left for the junior. #18 Jack Lausch (Northwestern) Lausch is basically a wildcat style quarterback that only has 78 career passing yards to his name. Lausch has seemingly won the job over Ryan Hilinski, who started a majority of games for the Wildcats but was unimpressive to say the least. Northwestern may be going for a new style with Lausch as his athletic ability is evident. However, this is quarterback and you may need to know how to throw. Related Links

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