Hello one and all! Welcome to officially official week-by-week quarterback rankings post for the 2023 NFL Draft! This is an exciting time ladies and gentlemen, because not only is college football back in full swing, but now I can make lists that will more than likely be irrelevant by the time the draft comes around in April.
Though this list will look at least somewhat different by that time, it doesn't take away from the fact that this is my favorite thing to do throughout the college football season. Now, this is the second year we have done this, but as opposed to last year, this year's draft is pretty solid, especially when it comes to the top top quarterbacks in this class, i.e. Bryce Young and CJ Stroud.
With Young and Stroud pretty much being the consensus top two guys in this class, at least for the time being, the players that follow them are pretty up in the air. Could Florida's Anthony Richardson sit at number three after an impressive performance against Utah? Will the SEC dominate these rankings? Will there be any 'small' conference quarterbacks in here? You'll just have to find out!
Please, I beg you, take the time to read through the list, and I'll apologize in advance if a player you like is ranked lower here than what you have them. I must remind you, I host a podcast. All that being said, without further ado, let's get into the list!
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Pictured: Anthony Richardson, Florida; Bryce Young, Alabama; KJ Jefferson, Arkansas
1. Bryce Young, Alabama
Wk 1 - 18/26 195 yds 5 touchdowns 0 interceptions/5 carries 100 yds 1 touchdown v Utah State (55-0 W)
Season - 18/26 195 yds 5 touchdowns 0 interceptions/5 carries 100 yds 1 touchdown
Yep, Bryce Young is still 'him' at the college level. Yes, I am well aware that Alabama played Utah State on Saturday, but this is an Aggies team that finished last season with an 11-3 record and a Mountain West title, so this isn't the usual smaller conference push over Alabama usually plays week one, but hell, they sure made them look like it. All in all, Bryce Young just had his way with the Utah State defense, registering his first 100 yard rushing game of his career while also totaling a career high six total touchdowns, with five coming by way of the pass and one by way of the run. Like, I just think it was fun to finally see Bryce Young run the ball. We all know he has the skills to be an effective runner, but he's just not asked to do that all too often. Coming out of high school, Young was compared to Heisman winner Kyler Murray and Super Bowl champ Russell Wilson, and Saturday was really the first time we have seen Young this willing to run. If you just looked at Young's rushing stats last year, you would think he couldn't move at all, posting 0 yards on 81 carries, but dude can move, as he had a couple 'big' runs in the game, including a nice 63 yard scamper. As far as the passing game was concerned though, Young just as calm and composed as ever, which is how he showed look against normal lower level conference teams. He was very open to spread the wealth, per se, in the passing game, with three receivers registering five catches in the game. Like we said at the beginning, as far as I'm concerned, Bryce Young is still 'him' in college football, and a road game against Texas next week should hopefully provide a decent test for Young and the Crimson Tide.
Pre-Season - 1
Wk 1 - 1
Wk 2 - @ Texas
2. CJ Stroud, Ohio State
Wk 1 - 24/34 223 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/3 carries 1 yd 0 touchdowns v no.5 Notre Dame (21-10 W)
Season - 24/34 223 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/3 carries 1 yds 0 touchdowns
Maybe this is bad of me, but I was pretty surprised that Ohio State didn't just beat the breaks off of Notre Dame on Saturday. Maybe it's a bit cynical, but given how much talent Ohio State has at their disposal I thought it'd be a walk in the park, especially since Notre Dame had a new quarterback, running back, and, apart from Michael Mayer, new weapons on the outside. Yes, I am aware they won by 11, but Ohio State was losing 10-7 at halftime and didn't regain the lead until the last 17 seconds in the third quarter. All in all though, Ohio State got a double digit dub against a top five team, which will always feel good. For CJ Stroud, he can chalk this up as a very solid performance. Though he probably didn't put up the insane stats some people were looking for, he did manage to complete a high percentage of his passes with a couple of touchdowns. Now, if you've listened to my show before, you know how I feel about competition percentage as an accuracy metric, but Stroud showed very good ball placement on a couple of throws along the sideline, pretty much making something out of nothing for the Ohio State offense. He also was deadly against Notre Dame's blitz, going 11/12 with 128 yards and two touchdowns. Not to mention that he put forth this solid game really without the influence of star wide out Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who left the game injured, and totaled just two catches for three yards on Saturday, which is a far cry from the last time we saw the Stroud-JSN connection, as the pair combined for 347 yards and three touchdowns. I think this is a performance Stroud can definitely build upon, and we should see him put up some very nice numbers against Arkansas State next weekend. Again, for this game, just a solid performance from Stroud.
Pre-Season - 2
Wk 1 - 2
Wk 2 - v Arkansas State
3. Anthony Richardson, Florida (+2)
Wk 1 - 17/24 168 yds 0 touchdowns 0 interceptions/11 carries 106 yds 3 touchdowns v no.7 Utah (29-26 W)
Season - 17/24 168 yds 0 touchdowns 0 interceptions/11 carries 106 yds 3 touchdowns
What a performance Anthony Richardson put on against Utah on Saturday. As a home underdog against the seventh ranked team in the country, Richardson showed off his dual threat ability by going for a couple Benjamin's both in the pass game and the run game. Now, I don't think this kind of performance should've shocked people, as we have talked about Richardson's ability since last season, but the way he did it against a top defense was truly impressive. When you see someone who has immense ability, all you really need to see from them is if they play smart, which Richardson did. He took what the Utah defense gave him and didn't try and force the issue, making smart reads in the pass and run game. Like, on his 45-yard touchdown run, he waited for the defense to set up, noticed no one was open, and then took off for a pretty uncontested touchdown to put Florida up late in the second quarter. He even flashed some of his arm talent, throwing some absolute darts throughout the game, namely in the first quarter on the third and 15. For some, this type of performance put Richardson on the map, and for others, like myself, this performance confirmed what we already thought, that Richardson is a problem and has all the tools to be an absolute beast at the next level. I'm really excited to see what he does the rest of the season. Next week against Kentucky should provide another good test for Richardson and the Gators.
Pre-Season - 5
Wk 1 - 3
Wk 2 - v no.20 Kentucky
4. Will Levis, Kentucky (-1)
Wk 1 - 21/32 303 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interceptions/7 carries -18 yds 0 touchdowns vs Miami (OH) (37-13 W)
Season - 21/32 303 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interceptions/7 carries -18 yds 0 touchdowns
I'm not going to lie, I was kind of nervous going into this season for Will Levis. Not because of what he can and can't do, I have no doubt the ability is there, but just the fact that his leading receivers from a season ago in Wan'Dale Robinson and Josh Ali are both gone. Even outside of those two, who were far and away Kentucky's top two options out wide last season, four out of five of Kentucky's top receivers are gone, whether it's to the NFL or transferring to a new school. I had the same concerns going into last season for North Carolina's Sam Howell, who lost not only his top two wide outs, but his top two running backs as well. And look, I know the same happened to Bryce Young and CJ Stroud, to a certain extent, but I'm sorry, Kentucky doesn't usually have a massive pull in the transfer portal nor five stars waiting in the wings, you lose talent out wide, it can be kind of hard to replace. Now, Kentucky did manage to pry Tayvion Robinson away from Virginia Tech, and he seems to be Levis' favorite target early on, going for 136 on six catches in Saturday's win over Miami (OH). Now, for Levis and the Wildcats this game wasn't as easy as most would've expected, with Kentucky only leading 13-10 at halftime, courtesy of a last second field goal. For Levis individually, it didn't start off as well as he would've liked. Yes, he threw a touchdown in the first quarter, but in the second, Kentucky struggled with finishing off drives with touchdowns, with both drives stalling out in the red zone. In one of those drives, Levis threw a pretty lazy interception at the two yard line trying to find Keaton Upshaw by the pylon. That being said, Levis did show off his arm talent on a few throws in the game, his best arguably coming in the third quarter when he found Barion Brown for a 38-yard gain. All in all, Levis played solid, posting only his third career 300 yard passing game. Though I'm sure he'll definitely want his rushing numbers to go up as the season goes on, I do expect him to have a solid performance against a somewhat suspect Florida defense who gave up 446 yards last week. Should be a very fun game in Gainesville come Saturday.
Pre-Season - 3
Wk 1 - 4
Wk 2 - @ no.12 Florida
5. Tyler Van Dyke, Miami (FL) (-1)
Wk 1 - 13/16 193 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/1 carry -3 yds 0 interceptions v Bethune-Cookman (70-13 W)
Season - 13/16 193 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/1 carry -3 yds 0 interceptions
This was a fairly easy game for Van Dyke and the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday, coming away with a very impressive 70-13 win against Bethune-Cookman. Now, am I surprised Miami had their way with the Wildcats? A Wildcats team that is fresh off a 2-9 season? No not really. Maybe by how many points they scored but a team with the aspirations of Miami should be putting down lower level FCS opponents down with relative ease, which they did. It was just one of those games where whatever Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes threw at them, more often than not, they'd have a successful play, and though Van Dyke didn't have to do too much with the rushing attack working as well as it did, he still put up very good numbers in the passing game, completing a high percentage of passes and throwing for two touchdowns. In games like this it can be kind of hard to pin point what you need to improve on, but I'm sure Van Dyke would love to avoid another fumble in Miami's next game against Southern Miss, especially since it's one that drives the coaches the most crazy, fumbling the snap, made even worse by the fact that Miami was in the red zone. All in all though, despite the fumble, Van Dyke showed great touch on his passes and didn't really force anything in the pass game, putting forth a very solid performance.
Pre-Season - 4
Wk 1 - 5
Wk 2 - v Southern Mississippi
6. Tanner McKee, Stanford
Wk 1 - 22/27 308 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/0 carries 0 yds 0 touchdowns v Colgate (41-10 W)
Season - 22/27 308 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/0 carries 0 yds 0 touchdowns
Not really a whole lot to see here for Tanner McKee and the Stanford Cardinal, as they took down a pretty below average FCS opponent in Colgate on Saturday 41-10. Now, that being said, you can play some teams you should obliterate and kind of take the day off, but you can't really say McKee did that against the Raiders. Though not the greatest athlete in the world, McKee showed off his arm talent by making some truly impressive throws throughout the game, like when he found Michael Wilson on a couple of occasions, once over the middle for a touchdown on a ball that McKee placed right over the linebacker, and the other coming on a well placed fade route in double coverage to put Stanford up 28-7 right before halftime. The highlight throw for some people though could be the 53-yard bomb to John Humphrey's down the sideline. Though it didn't result in a touchdown on that play, it did set up one two plays later. Again, it's Stanford against Colgate, McKee should not have any problems which, apart from one interception, he didn't. Posting his second 300+ yard game of his career, McKee should be brimming with confidence as the Cardinal host a newly renovated USC team under Lincoln Riley. Both offenses looked good in week one, let's see who can continue the success going into the conference game.
Pre-Season - 6
Wk 1 - 6
Wk 2 - v no.10 USC
7. Jaren Hall, BYU (+1)
Wk 1 - 25/32 261 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/5 carries 15 yds 0 touchdowns @ USF (50-21 W)
Season - 25/32 261 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/5 carries 15 yds 0 touchdowns
After a nice little rain delay, Jaren Hall and the BYU Cougars took it to a struggling USF program that is fresh off a two win season. When I say 'took it to a struggling USF program,' I mean they took it to 'em early, jumping out to a 38-0 lead before halftime, after being up 28-0 after the first quarter. Hell, USF didn't score their first touchdown until there was 14 seconds left in the first half, it was just a dominating performance from BYU from the word go, and Jaren Hall can sleep well knowing he put forth a very good performance in the blood bath. If we had to point out something negative in Hall's performance it would have to be the interception, as he threw a pass into (pretty much) triple coverage in the end zone when there was a BYU receiver standing pretty much by himself in the corner of the end zone. Thankfully for Hall and the Cougars, they were playing USF, so nothing materialized after that, as the ball went over the punters head on the ensuing USF punt for a safety. Apart from the interception, Hall play well, taking what the defense gave him and didn't force the issue, apart from the interception of course. I think Hall and this Cougar offense should cause Baylor some problems next weekend, especially with it being a night game in Provo, one of the toughest places to play in all of college football.
Pre-Season - 8
Wk 1 - 7
Wk 2 - v no.9 Baylor
8. Hendon Hooker, Tennessee (+2)
Wk 1 - 18/25 221 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/5 carries 12 yds 2 touchdowns v Ball State (59-10 W)
Season - 18/25 221 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/5 carries 12 yds 2 touchdowns
There's not really a whole lot to say about Hendon Hooker's performance against Ball State, and I guess you could really say that about the Vols' performance in general as Ball State really posed no threat in the game on Saturday. Like, the very first play of the game the Cardinals tried to get tricky and throw a flee flicker but it was picked off pretty much at the line of scrimmage, it was basically a flee flicker screen play, which kind of looked like something straight out of Iowa's playbook, but I digress. About Hooker though, yeah, it was just an easy game for him. Like, his two rushing touchdowns were each from about five yards out and his two touchdown passes both pretty much came from inside the 20, though both throws were relatively impressive. The first throw came from the left hash, which he threw all the way to the opposite sideline, which is harder than it looks, and his second came rolling out to his left, flipping his hips and turning his shoulders completely around to hit a pretty wide open Walker Merrill in the end zone, with a spying linebacker and everything. All in all, I think this is kind of what we expected from Hooker and Tennessee in week one, though Ball State is not a terrible team. Next week on the road against Pitt should provide a much better test for Hooker, and I'm such he and the rest of his teammates would love to get revenge on a Panthers team that beat them 41-34 last season in Neyland Stadium.
Pre-Season - 10
Wk 1 - 8
Wk 2 - @ no.17 Pitt
9. KJ Jefferson, Arkansas (NEW)
Wk 1 - 18/26 223 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/18 carries 62 yds 1 touchdown v no.23 Cincinnati (31-24 W)
Season - 18/26 223 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/18 carries 62 yds 1 touchdowns
KJ Jefferson is one of the more exciting quarterbacks in the '23 NFL Draft class. As big as a tight end with a cannon for a right arm, Jefferson has all the physical tools to have a very good season for the Razorbacks, and all those physical tools were on display against Cincinnati on Saturday. Though without his main guy Treylon Burks, who was taken 18th overall by the Tennessee Titans in the NFL Draft, Jefferson looked very calm and collected in the pass game, even showing off his hops with a nice Tim Tebow esq jump pass to Knox to put Arkansas up 14-0 right before halftime. As far as the run game goes, there was nothing too surprising as Jefferson used his size and athletic ability to bully his way to 62 rushing yards, showing off the wheels and balance on a 16-yard read option play that put the Razorbacks up early. Apart from a fumbled snap (that could've been higher) and another Tim Tebow esq play which saw him lose 13-yards on sack, I thought Jefferson played well. He flashed his talent against a solid defense and came away with a dub, that's all you can really ask for in an opening game. Next week against an SEC opponent in South Carolina, I expect Jefferson to have another solid performance, especially in the run game, as the Cocks gave up 200 yards on the ground to Georgia State last weekend. This could be a very big season for Jefferson, and I'm excited to see how he does in the coming weeks.
Pre-Season - H/M
Wk 1 - 9
Wk 2 - v South Carolina
10. Will Rogers, Mississippi State (NEW)
Wk 1 - 39/48 450 yds 5 touchdowns 1 interception/4 carries -16 yds 0 touchdowns v Memphis (49-23 W)
Season - 39/48 450 yds 5 touchdowns 1 interception/4 carries -16 yds 0 touchdowns
If we're looking purely just at the value of yards, Rogers had the best weekend out of all the quarterbacks in this weeks top 10. Dude threw for a career 450 yards with five touchdowns, one of two power five quarterbacks to do so, while also completing an impressive 78% of his passes. Now, a lot of Rogers' passes were checks or just shorter throws, but that was mostly based around the fact Memphis just didn't want to get beat deep, and sometimes, the hallmark of a good quarterback is just nickel and diming down the field and taking what the defense gives you. Now, there were some impressive throws made throughout the game, like his deep ball down the sideline to Caleb Ducking that resulted in a touchdown and his throw towards the sideline to Antonio Harmon, who ran a very clean comeback route, to get a first down later in the game. He also had a nice touchdown pass to Rufus Harvey, which he placed between three defenders, to put them up 42-16 in the 4th. Though his interception he threw wasn't the great throw, Rogers still put forth a very solid performance and again, just took what Memphis was giving him. When they played deep, he threw short, when they finally came up to try and stop the screens, he hit them deep. This game was a far cry from the game last season, where the Bulldogs fell 31-29 to Memphis at the Liberty Bowl. Rogers and Mississippi State dominated this game from start to finish, and I'm excited to see next weeks QB battle between Rogers and former Washington State Cougar Jayden de Laura, should be a very fun outing in the desert come Saturday night.
Pre-Season - N/A
Wk 1 - 10
Wk 2 - @ Arizona
Others
*in order of last name
Brennan Armstrong, Virginia
Wk 1 - 21/33 246 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/10 carries 105 yds 1 touchdown v Richmond (34-17 W)
Season - 21/33 246 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/10 carries 105 yds 1 touchdown
Jake Haener, Fresno State
Wk 1 - 36/42 377 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/6 carries -3 yds 0 touchdowns v Cal Poly (35-7 W)
Season - 36/42 377 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/6 carries -3 yds 0 touchdowns
Devin Leary, NC State
Wk 1 - 17/33 211 yds 1 touchdowns 1 interception/1 carries -2 yds 0 touchdowns @ East Carolina (21-20 W)
Season - 17/33 211 yds 1 touchdowns 1 interception/1 carries -2 yds 0 touchdowns
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
Wk 1 - 12/17 174 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/6 carries 27 yds 1 touchdown v Army (38-28 W)
Season - 12/17 174 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/6 carries 27 yds 1 touchdown
Cameron Ward, Washington State
Wk 1 - 25/40 215 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/5 carries 18 yds 0 touchdowns v Idaho (24-17 W)
Season - 25/40 215 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/5 carries 18 yds 0 touchdowns
Thank you for taking the time to read through the list! Hope you enjoyed it! If you did, give the article a like and comment down below how you felt!
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