5 Mind-Blowing College Quarterbacks Who Dominated the Last Decade
College football has produced some fantastic quarterbacks over the years. However, the last decade or so has been truly outstanding in terms of quarterback talent. Most of them have gone on to have great NFL careers. There have been some misses as well but overall, it has been a great time to follow college football.
From Baker Mayfield to Joe Burrow, Marcus Mariota to Caleb Williams, every CFB season has produced multiple quarterbacks with exceptional campaigns. So, let’s try the impossible and rank the best five college quarterbacks of the last decade. The obvious criteria for the list are the overall production of the player, statistics, on-field play, and of course…winning. So let the fun begin!
5. Deshaun Watson, CLEMSON (2014-16)
Deshaun Watson, in his three years with Clemson, won a national title and went to another while putting up massive numbers. He also helped his coach; Dabo Swinney win his first national title. During his tenure with the Clemson Tigers, Watson became one of the most highly touted college football players as he highlighted his impressive talent daily and was also named the Consensus All-American in 2015.
Deshaun’s final season with the Tigers was brilliant, to say the least, as he completed 67% of his passes for 4,593 yards and 41 touchdowns against 17 interceptions and helped the Tigers to a national championship win over the Alabama Crimson Tide.
4. Bryce Young, ALABAMA (2020-22)
Bryce Young was the first overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft after a fantastic two-year run with the Alabama Crimson Tide. After playing just seven games in the 2020 season, the former 5-star recruit became Alabama’s starter in 2021 after Mac Jones transitioned to the NFL. Young quickly established himself as one of the country’s best young college Quarterbacks as he won the Heisman Trophy that year and led his team to a 13-2 record. He became the first Alabama quarterback to win the award.
His 2021 season saw him complete 67% of his passes for 4,872 yards, 47 touchdowns, and just 7 interceptions. Young’s numbers saw a dip the following year, but he still put up more than 3,300 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions and had a rating of 163.2. Although Young struggled in his debut season in the NFL, the potential is still there to become a star in the league going forward.
3. Lamar Jackson, LOUISVILLE (2015-17)
Lamar Jackson is a curious quarterback. His passing statistics might not match up with other quarterbacks on this list, but he was still one of the best at his position over the last decade. So how did Jackson manage to grab the third spot on this list? His legs. Jackson tore up CFB with his unpredictable speed and ran away with the Heisman Trophy in 2016. He was also named the ACC Offensive Player of the Year twice in 2016 and 2017.
Jackson though, was more than decent with his arm throughout his tenure with the Louisville Cardinals. During his Heisman season, Jackson had 3,543 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. He bettered his passing yards the following season as he threw for 3,660 yards, 27 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. However, his running statistics were out of this world as he ran for more than 1,500 yards in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons.
2. Joe Burrow, LSU (2018-2019)
Joe Burrow had a weird college career. The Cincinnati Bengals’ star quarterback spent his first three years on the sidelines with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Then, in 2018, Burrow transferred to LSU and the rest, as they say, is history! Burrow went on to have, in my opinion, the greatest individual quarterbacking season in NCAA history in 2019 as he broke several records en route to winning the NCAA title and the Heisman Trophy.
Burrow threw for 5,671 yards, 60 touchdowns…yes, 60!! and just 6 interceptions. He had a ridiculous rating of 202 and completed a staggering 76.3% of his passes. Burrow led LSU to an unbeaten 15-0 record and won the title against Clemson. He was outstanding in his final college game, throwing for 463 yards and 6 total touchdowns, and was named the game’s offensive MVP. The Cincinnati Bengals selected Burrow first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft and he has been balling out for them ever since.
1. Baker Mayfield, OKLAHOMA (2013-17)
Baker Mayfield’s numbers speak for themselves. The former number-one overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft put on an absolute show during his time with the Oklahoma Sooners. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2017 as he led his team to an 11-2 record. In his last three seasons with the Sooners, Mayfield threw for more than 3,500 yards and 35 touchdowns every single time.
In his Heisman season, Mayfield completed 70.5% of his passes for 4,627 yards and 43 touchdowns against just six interceptions while getting Oklahoma as close to a national title as the Sooners have gotten in recent years. Oklahoma was outlasted by Georgia in a double overtime thriller for the national title.
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