Over the past 15-20 years, College Football’s offenses have evolved. Some of the most elite offensive minds have taken the next step to be offensive coordinators in the NFL. In some cases, being a head coach.
Leading an offense is obviously the Quarterback, but he has to get some sort of coaching. The most notable QB Guru was Kliff Kingsbury.
He essentially was apart of 3 QB’s that were picked in the first round.
2012 with Johnny Manziel, 2013 with Baker Mayfield and 2016 with Patrick Mahomes. With him in the NFL, it brings the question, who is the best one currently?
David Cutcliffe, Duke
We live in this day in age where it’s a “what have you done for me lately” league. Outside of Daniel Jones, it’s been a long time since Cutcliffe has produced a legit QB.
Obviously, Cutcliffe was apart of the Manning’s with his time in Tennessee and Ole Miss. His newest project, however is Daniel Jones.
Many people had questions in Jones’s ability to be a starting caliber QB in the NFL. Whether that be due to his lack of playmaking ability or his pedestrian stats in College.
A lot of the NFL world was stunned when the Giants selected him with the 6th overall pick.
Was it because of Gettleman’s relationship with Cutcliffe? Or does he believe in Jones? The answer is unsure at this point.
What is known though is that Cutcliffe has done a lot for the sport of Football and produced some fantastic QB talents over the past 20 seasons.
Other notable QB’s: Erik Ainge, Thaddeus Lewis, Heath Shuler.
Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Riley has rapidly become one of the best offensive play callers in College Football. The question is what can he do with a QB that doesn’t fall into his lap?
When Riley took over, he had a dominant player in Baker Mayfield. Kyler Murray was up next at TrasnferU and replicated Baker’s accolades. This season, it’s up to Jalen Hurts to repeat this.
Has it been just luck he’s getting great QB’s or is he truly grooming them? Between the transition from former coach Bob Stoops to Riley, the OU offense was better in just about every statistical category.
Riley is a waiting in progress pick. He flourished with experienced QB’s. We don’t know what will happen if Spencer Rattler has to step on the field in meaningful snaps. Will he be able to duplicate what others did before him?
Scott Frost, Nebraska
Frost has had a rocky start at Nebraska. However, things could be trending in the right direction for the 44 year old mastermind.
Most notably, Frost was apart of the famous Marcus Mariota Heisman season in 2014.
Being apart of the Chip Kelly staff gave him opportunities to explore. When Kelly departed, so did Frost to UCF. After a 0-12 first season, he turned them into 6-6. The season after? Undefeated.
2017 is a season that will go down in history for Black Knight fans. Frost developed McKenzie Milton into a 4,000 yard, 37 TD QB. One that also defeated Auburn in a New Year’s Six game.
Milton was having a similar season until he blew out his right knee near the end of the season in 2018.
With all of that prestige, there is a reason to believe Frost in Nebraska. Adrian Martinez is the one to keep an eye on.
Tom Herman, Texas
Herman has a very flamboyant and brash personality, but can back it up with his coaching. During Herman’s 3 years at Ohio State, he built up QB’s.
The magical Cardale Jones run had a lot to do with Herman. As a 3rd stringer at the beginning of the year, Jones was able to lead Ohio State to a national title.
Defeating Wisconsin in the Big 10 championship game. Then proceeded to beat Florida State and Oregon in the playoffs. Herman also had QB JT Barrett in the same room.
Herman transitioned to Texas and was the Head Coach at Houston. His QB was in the form of Greg Ward Jr.
Greg Ward was a middle of the road QB in the AAC, but elevated his play as soon as Herman showed up. Ward’s passing stats went up over the past 2 years. He also rushed for 21 rushing touchdowns his Junior year (QB record).
Herman is gaining some serious momentum now in Austin. After finding his guy, Herman has flourished and is making Texas a Big 12 contender. QB Sam Ehlinger had 41 total touchdowns last year and over 3,600 total yards.
Mike Leach, Washington State
All the others are very intriguing picks. This is my pick as the QB guru. Leach is a guy that will have an unknown Quarterback and turn him into a household name.
Even though it was early, Leach had an impact on Heisman winner Jason White in 1999 with Oklahoma.
Obviously, Mike Leach is an air raid minded coach and evolved that with his time at Texas Tech. The most notable was obviously in the form of Graham Harrell. Harrell shattered NCAA records and threw for over 15,000 yards.
He decided that his time at Tech was over and took the job at Washington State. When it comes to Harrell’s passing, Luke Falk isn’t far behind. As a freshman, Falk threw for 601 yards against Arizona State. He is the all-time leading passer at over 14,400.
The most notable has been Gardner Minshew. As a ECU transfer, Minshew took the CFB world by storm. From irrelevant to many to over 4,700 yards and 5th place in the Heisman voting.
He might be at it again with another transfer in Senior Anthony Gordon. Gordon has over 1,400 yards in just 3 games.
Leach’s work cannot be overlooked and what he does for QB’s prepares them for an immense amount of success. Which is why I believe he is the best in CFB.
Other Notables: Connor Halliday, Taylor Potts, Seth Doege.
