By: Brandon Carr
The college football season is only a few months away (hopefully). It is never too early to start to talk about some of these players and in this article, I wanted to touch upon some of the top quarterbacks in the nation for the upcoming season. Here are my top 5 college football quarterbacks for the 2020 season.
5.) Kedon Slovis or JT Daniels (USC)
At number 5 we have two quarterbacks from USC. True freshman and 5-star recruit JT Daniels going into last season was the starting quarterback for USC but had suffered a season-ending ACL injury in USC’s opener against Fresno State. After the news broke, head coach Clay Helton named fellow true freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis USC’s starter for the rest of the season. From there, Slovis had himself a great season for the Trojans.
Slovis threw for 3,502 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions with a completion percentage of 71.9% this past season with the Trojans which all ranked 2nd in the PAC-12 only behind Anthony Gordon from Washington State. Slovis was also the first quarterback in school’s history to throw for 500 yards in a single game when he did so against UCLA. Slovis had suffered a few injuries that took him out of games this season. Most notably in the Holiday Bowl against Iowa but in the games where Slovis had played the entirety of the game, Slovis had a record of 6-3 with the Trojans.
JT Daniels had previously entered the transfer portal but the NCAA had voted against the one-time transfer rule that allowed players to not have to sit out a season upon transferring. This makes Daniels more likely to have an opportunity to play this season if he can win the job against Slovis at camp.
I believe whoever wins the job at camp, will end up having a top 5 quarterback season for the Trojans. The Trojans did lose Michael Pittman Jr. to the draft but still come into the season with one of the best wide receiver trios in the country with junior Amon-Ra St. Brown, senior Tyler Vaughns, and sophomore Drake London. Whoever is under center for the Trojans are bound to take a step forward in their second season and will make the Trojans a threat to win the PAC-12 with a prolific passing attack.
4.) Sam Ehlinger (Texas)
My number four quarterback heading into next season is Sam Ehlinger. Ehlinger decided to return for his senior season with the Longhorns. Elingher is coming off of his best season yet as the quarterback for the Longhorns in a season where Elingher set career highs in every statistical category with 3,663 passing yards, 32 touchdown passes with 10 interceptions. Elingher also continued to show his rushing ability with 663 rushing yards and 7 rushing touchdowns. Ehlinger once again led the Longhorns to a winning record with an 8-5 record and an Alamo Bowl victory against Utah.
Ehlinger and the Longhorns did take a step back this past season because, during the preseason, they were given high expectations after a 10 win season the year before. This year they appear to be in position once again to have a shot at winning the Big 12 with the departures of key players and coaches from some of the top schools in the conference.
Ehlinger this season will be without his top two wide receivers from this past season in Devin Duvernay and Collin Johnson. However, I do expect Jake Smith and Brennan Eagles to take another step forward in the passing game for the Longhorns to help Ehlinger to continue his sustained success.
I have Ehlinger slotted in at number four because I do expect the Longhorns to be in contention this season and Ehlinger once again will have another fantastic season where he will put up great numbers and take the Longhorns to another winning record for the fourth straight season as one of the best quarterbacks to come out of this program.
3.) Sam Howell (North Carolina)
Another true freshman from last season cracks the top 5 list. Last season Sam Howell came in and turned the Tar Heels program around. The Tar Heels went from a 2-9 record the previous season to a 7-6 record this past season with Howell and new head coach Mack Brown taking over the program. This past season was UNC’s first winning season since 2016. Sam Howell was named the ACC’s offensive rookie of the year and the ACC’s overall rookie of the year this past season. Excluding championship and bowl games, Howell led the ACC in passing yards with 3,347 passing yards and 35 touchdown passes. The 35 touchdown passes are an FBS single-season record for a true freshman. Howell in the Military Bowl against Temple led the Tar Heels to a blowout victory 55-13 which was UNC’s first bowl win since 2013.
Howell coming into this season will have the same wide receiver corps he had last season with returning senior Dazz Newsome and junior Dyami Brown leading the charge. Howell I expect will come into next season taking another step forward in his progression. Howell after the end of last season had committed himself to become an even better quarterback by studying the tape of last year’s Heisman Trophy winner and national champion Joe Burrow. Howell watched every cut-up of Joe Burrow’s tape from every LSU game three times. Howell is committed to winning and making himself a better quarterback. I expect Howell to continue his success this season. He will continue to make the UNC football program grow and when it comes time to the 2022 NFL Draft, he will be a guy among the top of draft boards.
2.) Justin Fields (Ohio State)
Justin Fields, in my opinion, will have the best season out of any quarterback this season. Fields this past season as a transfer from Georgia had an incredible season with the Buckeyes. Fields last season had a dominant season when he threw for 3,273 yards (1st in the Big Ten) with a 67.2% completion percentage (3rd in the Big Ten), 41 touchdowns (1st in the Big Ten), with only 3 interceptions while adding 484 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. Fields took the Buckeyes to a 13-1 record overall and a Big Ten championship which he figures to do again this upcoming season.
Fields comes in according to Vegas as the favorite to win the Heisman trophy with 7/2 odds and he is deserving to be the favorite heading into the 2020 season. Fields does lose running back J.K. Dobbins and slot wide receiver KJ Hill to the NFL draft. However, Ohio State has two promising wide receivers in now sophomore Garrett Wilson and now junior Chris Olave. The Buckeyes could also see one of their two incoming 5-star freshman wide receivers in Julian Fleming and Jaxon-Smith Njibga come in and make an immediate impact in their first year. Ohio State had also fixed their running game for the time being with former Oklahoma running back Trey Sermon transferring for his senior season. Fields once again is set up for success with the Buckeyes.
Fields will end up having the best season out of any college quarterback this season which means that he will end up winning the Heisman Trophy. Fields definitely deserves to be in the top 2 and I have no problem if anyone were to put him at number one because he is super talented. I do however think Trevor Lawrence is still the best college quarterback heading into the 2020 season.
1.) Trevor Lawrence (Clemson)
Trevor Lawrence is my top quarterback heading into the 2020 season. Lawrence last season from a lot of people’s eyes had a down year in terms of his production. Lawrence was inconsistent throughout the season. From Weeks 1-7, Lawrence threw 14 touchdowns on 8 interceptions with a 65.2% completion percentage. Then Lawrence from Week 8 up until the ACC championship game saw his numbers improve when he threw for 21 touchdowns with no interceptions with a 76% completion percentage. Everyone including me thought Lawrence had hit his stride at the right time but in the two college football playoff games, Lawrence again came back down to earth. Lawrence had only thrown for 2 touchdowns and his completion percentage was only 51.6%. Lawrence ultimately finished the season with a stat line of 3,665 passing yards 36 touchdowns 8 interceptions with a 65.8% completion percentage. These numbers are all career highs for Lawrence however, there is not much excuse for his inconsistent play overall. I do expect Lawrence to bounce back this season to silence his critics.
Lawrence has shown time and time again that he is nothing but a winner as his record as the starting quarterback for the Clemson Tigers is 29-1. Lawrence this upcoming season again will dominate the ACC and take the Tigers to the college football playoffs. Lawrence loses Tee Higgins this season however he still comes in with Justyn Ross and I expect now sophomore Joe Ngata to have a featured role in this Tigers offense and to step up. It also helps that one of college football’s top running backs in Travis Etienne returned for his senior year. Lawrence is still primed to be dominant this season.
In my opinion, Trevor Lawrence right now heading into the 2020 season is the best quarterback in college football. I do believe that Justin Fields has a real shot to pass Lawrence in many people’s eyes because I do believe that Fields is going to have a better season than Trevor Lawrence. It will be a tight race but I am sticking with Lawrence this season.
Brandon's Breakdowns 