NCAAF · 1 year ago

Ranking the Top 5 Big Ten Quarterback Rooms for Spring Football

Danny Mogollon

Host · Writer

5) Wisconsin Badgers
2024 Starter: Tyler Van Dyke | Backup: Braedyn Locke

Wisconsin QB Depth: Nick Evers, Cole LaCrue, Mabrey Mettauer

Coming off a redshirt freshman season that saw Tyler Van Dyke throw 25 TD passes (6 INTs) and average 9.0 yards per pass, many had the former Miami QB pegged as a future first-round pick. Then came a sophomore slump where his yards per attempt dropped to 7.3 with a 2-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio (10-5). He was better last season when the redshirt junior completed a career-high 65.8% of his passes and was at 8.1 YPA. Physically gifted, Van Dyke has a plus arm and an NFL frame (6'4"/230 pounds), a combination that makes one wonder if there's more talent to squeeze out of the transfer with proper coaching.

He joins Braedyn Locke (Mississippi State) and Nick Evers (Oklahoma) as transfers who were once four-star recruits. Luke Fickell has not landed a four-star quarterback on the high school recruiting trail, although true freshman Mabrey Mettauer (top 500) is a high three-star. Locke stepped into the starting role when Tanner Mordecai was injured last season and is the presumptive backup. He led the Badgers to a comeback win over Illinois but struggled against Ohio State and lost to Indiana. Locke threw five TD passes to one INT but completed just 50% of his passes.

Wisconsin Spring Start: March 15 | Wisconsin Spring Game: TBD

Wisconsin Regular Season Wins 2024: 6.5 | OVER -106 | UNDER -114 | B1G Odds: +8000
1) Oregon Ducks
2024 Starter: Dillon Gabriel | Backup: Dante Moore

Oregon QB Depth: Austin Novosad, Brock Thomas, Luke Moga

The Oregon Ducks crushed it in the transfer portal with the additions of Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore. Gabriel comes to Eugene with 14,865 passing yards, 125 touchdown passes (26 INTs), 1,060 rushing yards, and 26 rushing touchdowns in his career, which he has accumulated over five seasons at Oklahoma and Central Florida. Like Bo Nix before him, Gabriel is a super senior entering his sixth season. He is a dual threat and a playmaker, the most proven quarterback in the Big Ten, and our highest-rated quarterback in the conference. The southpaw is coming off his best season yet: career-bests with 10.4 yards per attempt and 12 rushing TDs. The one downside is he will have just one season to adjust.

That's why some would consider the addition of Moore an even better coup. While not as accomplished, Moore has elite talent and was a top-five recruit in the country a year ago, originally committed to the Ducks before flipping to UCLA. The growing pains suffered as a Bruin probably led Moore to Oregon despite Gabriel's likely status as QB1. This will allow the Detroit native to learn the system before taking over in 2025. In the meantime, he provides quality and experienced depth as QB2.

The talent at quarterback is a big reason why the Ducks are the second favorite to win the Big Ten this season. Oregon's quarterback room is in a good place for 2024 and beyond. Redshirt freshman Austin Novosad is a four-star recruit in the same class as Moore.

Oregon Spring Start: March 14 | Oregon Spring Game: April 27

Oregon Regular Season Wins 2024: 10.5 | OVER +100 | UNDER -122 | B1G Odds: +250
2) Ohio State Buckeyes
2024 Starter: Will Howard | Backup: Devin Brown or Lincoln Kienholz

OSU QB Depth: Julian Sayin, Air Noland, Mason Maggs, Chad Ray

With 2023 starter Kyle McCord off to Syracuse, Ohio State looked towards the transfer portal to land an experienced passer and landed former Kansas State QB Will Howard. Howard's 2023 was a mixed bag as he set career highs with 2,643 yards, 24 TD passes, and nine rushing touchdowns, but he also saw a drop in his rating and yards per pass (7.4) while matching his career worst with ten interceptions. Those numbers won't satisfy the Buckeye faithful, but Howard will have better talent around him. His mobility should fit in with Chip Kelly's offense; however, a lot will be expected in Year 1, which can be bumpy for transfer quarterbacks.

How much they've upgraded over McCord is debatable. What isn't is OSU's overall talent and depth in the quarterback room. Their last three signees, Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz, and Air Noland, were all four-star recruits, with Brown and Noland ranked in the top 100, while former Alabama signee Julian Sayin was the sixth overall recruit in the class of 2024. The future is bright. Sayin and Noland are true freshmen, leaving Brown and Kienholtz the more likely QB2 candidates.

Ohio State Spring Start: March 5 | Ohio State Spring Game: April 13

Ohio State Regular Season Wins 2024: 10.5 | OVER -150 | UNDER +120 | B1G Odds: +155
3) Penn State Nittany Lions
2024 Starter: Drew Allar | Backup: Beau Pribula

PSU QB Depth: Jaxon Smolik, Ethan Grunkemeyer

Junior quarterback Drew Allar has the highest ceiling for 2024 of any quarterback in the Big Ten. Supremely physically gifted, the Ohio native is blessed with a prototypical frame (6'5"/241 pounds) with a cannon arm and excellent mobility. The former five-star recruit also has experience coming off a sophomore season in which he threw 25 touchdowns to just two interceptions. So why isn't he rated higher? Despite his big arm, Allar averaged only 6.8 yards per pass and wilted in Penn State's biggest games: 18 of 42 (42.9%) for 191 yards at Ohio State and 10 of 22 (45.5%) for 70 yards vs. Michigan. OSU basically kicked Kyle McCord to the curb, and he was better than Allar last season. That doesn't mean he can't make a big jump in Year 2 as QB1. The talent is there, and he will enter the season among our top 20 quarterbacks in CFB.

PSU might have the best backup QB situation in the conference because there's a clear-cut QB2 in Beau Pribula, who saw action in 11 games last season. Moreover, he has a tangible skill that allows him to contribute to the team beyond his backup role. An excellent runner, Pribula rushed for 329 yards (5.9 YPC) and six touchdowns as a freshman. He had eight-plus carries in five games last season. If not Pribula, the QB of the future is likely Ethan Grunkemeyer, who sits just outside the top 100 in the class of 2024.

Penn State Spring Start: March 12 | Penn State Spring Game: April 13

Penn State Regular Season Wins 2024: 9.5 | OVER -172 | UNDER +140 | B1G Odds: +600
4) Washington Huskies
2024 Starter: Will Rogers | Backup: TBD

Washington QB Depth: Camdyn Stiegeler, Teddy Purcell, Demond Williams Jr., Dermaricus Davis

The Huskies must replace two-year starter Michael Penix Jr., backup Dylan Morris (James Madison), depth piece Will Haskell, and top recruit Austin Mack, who is now at Alabama with former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer. But DeBoer did not leave the cupboard empty, sort of. He landed Will Rogers out of Mississippi State in the transfer portal, who joined the team during their playoff run. Rogers re-entered the portal after the coaching change but decided to stick with the Huskies after they hired Jedd Fisch. Rogers started 40 games for MSU and flourished in Mike Leach's offense, setting 30 school records, including 12,315 passing yards and 94 touchdown passes. His best season came in 2021 when he set the SEC's single-season completion record (505). With 1,301 career completions, Rogers is the only SEC QB to crack 1,000. Rogers combined for 71 scoring strikes as a sophomore and junior in two full seasons as a starter but never averaged more than 6.9 YPA.

Returnees Camdyn Stiegeler and Teddy Purcell are walk-ons, which makes depth an issue. The Huskies added two four-star quarterbacks in the 2024 class. Like Rogers, Dermaricus Davis tested the portal waters following DeBoer's departure but withdrew his name. Conversely, Demond Williams Jr. did not stick with his commitment to Arizona and came with Fisch to the great Northwest. Davis and Williams Jr. are enrolled and will have a chance to prove themselves as QB2.

Washington Spring Start: April 2 | Washington Spring Game: TBD

Washington Regular Season Wins 2024: 7.5 | OVER +116 | UNDER -142 | B1G Odds: +5000
5) Wisconsin Badgers
2024 Starter: Tyler Van Dyke | Backup: Braedyn Locke

Wisconsin QB Depth: Nick Evers, Cole LaCrue, Mabrey Mettauer

Coming off a redshirt freshman season that saw Tyler Van Dyke throw 25 TD passes (6 INTs) and average 9.0 yards per pass, many had the former Miami QB pegged as a future first-round pick. Then came a sophomore slump where his yards per attempt dropped to 7.3 with a 2-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio (10-5). He was better last season when the redshirt junior completed a career-high 65.8% of his passes and was at 8.1 YPA. Physically gifted, Van Dyke has a plus arm and an NFL frame (6'4"/230 pounds), a combination that makes one wonder if there's more talent to squeeze out of the transfer with proper coaching.

He joins Braedyn Locke (Mississippi State) and Nick Evers (Oklahoma) as transfers who were once four-star recruits. Luke Fickell has not landed a four-star quarterback on the high school recruiting trail, although true freshman Mabrey Mettauer (top 500) is a high three-star. Locke stepped into the starting role when Tanner Mordecai was injured last season and is the presumptive backup. He led the Badgers to a comeback win over Illinois but struggled against Ohio State and lost to Indiana. Locke threw five TD passes to one INT but completed just 50% of his passes.

Wisconsin Spring Start: March 15 | Wisconsin Spring Game: TBD

Wisconsin Regular Season Wins 2024: 6.5 | OVER -106 | UNDER -114 | B1G Odds: +8000
1) Oregon Ducks
2024 Starter: Dillon Gabriel | Backup: Dante Moore

Oregon QB Depth: Austin Novosad, Brock Thomas, Luke Moga

The Oregon Ducks crushed it in the transfer portal with the additions of Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore. Gabriel comes to Eugene with 14,865 passing yards, 125 touchdown passes (26 INTs), 1,060 rushing yards, and 26 rushing touchdowns in his career, which he has accumulated over five seasons at Oklahoma and Central Florida. Like Bo Nix before him, Gabriel is a super senior entering his sixth season. He is a dual threat and a playmaker, the most proven quarterback in the Big Ten, and our highest-rated quarterback in the conference. The southpaw is coming off his best season yet: career-bests with 10.4 yards per attempt and 12 rushing TDs. The one downside is he will have just one season to adjust.

That's why some would consider the addition of Moore an even better coup. While not as accomplished, Moore has elite talent and was a top-five recruit in the country a year ago, originally committed to the Ducks before flipping to UCLA. The growing pains suffered as a Bruin probably led Moore to Oregon despite Gabriel's likely status as QB1. This will allow the Detroit native to learn the system before taking over in 2025. In the meantime, he provides quality and experienced depth as QB2.

The talent at quarterback is a big reason why the Ducks are the second favorite to win the Big Ten this season. Oregon's quarterback room is in a good place for 2024 and beyond. Redshirt freshman Austin Novosad is a four-star recruit in the same class as Moore.

Oregon Spring Start: March 14 | Oregon Spring Game: April 27

Oregon Regular Season Wins 2024: 10.5 | OVER +100 | UNDER -122 | B1G Odds: +250

Ranking the Top 5 Big Ten Quarterback Rooms for Spring Football

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