I’m trying to find the right words to use to describe how I feel about PFF’s recent quarterback rankings. I am not too sure if “dumbfounded” or “flabbergasted” works best, but simply “befuddled” might also do the trick. PFF certainly knows how to move the needle when it comes to college football news, but their contributor Anthony Treash may need to re-evaluate his recent list…
Stop Disrespecting CJ Stroud
Now I have a lot of issues with this list, but my biggest is with Treash’s ranking of CJ Stroud. Last season, Stroud was the second best quarterback in all of college. He passed for 4,435 yards, 44 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions. Treash put him at number 4. Above him is Bryce Young; I have no issue with this as he is the returning Heisman winner and had a hell of a season in 2021.
At number 2, Treash listed Caleb Williams who transferred from Oklahoma to USC. Last season, he recorded 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also played in less games than Stroud last season; I’m not too stressed about this ranking, but I personally would have Stroud over Williams. Stroud has Jaxon Smith-Njigba and TreVeyon Henderson returning and they thrived as second options behind Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave last season. Stroud elevates everyone around him.
While I think Stroud and Williams could be interchangeable at 2 and 3, I think having Spencer Rattler above Stroud is wildly uneducated. Did Treash and I watch different Spencer Rattlers’ last season? Rattler was benched in favor of Williams last year because he underperformed. He passed for only 1,483 yards and 11 touchdowns. While I believe he’ll improve at South Carolina this year, he’s not going to be one of the 4 best SEC quarterbacks. I just find it absolutely absurd that you can look at a side-by-side of both Stroud and Rattler’s 2021 season and then predict that Rattler will be better in 2022. I don’t even think Rattler should be in the top 10.
Rattler Isn’t The Only Player Ranked Too High
When I look even closer at this list I see a handful of quarterbacks in the top 10 ranked higher than they should be. The first to note is Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel. Last season with UCF, Gabriel played in three games against Louisville, Boise State, and Bethune-Cookman. In those games, Gabriel passed for 814 yards and 9 touchdowns; 630 of those yards and 6 of those touchdowns came against Boise State and Bethune-Cookman. When the Knights played Louisville, a real competitor, Gabriel passed for 3 touchdowns and 184 yards in a loss. With a lot of Oklahomas primary weapons from 2021 transferring, Gabriel isn’t set up for success. There is no way he should be ranked number 9.
The other quarterback is Kedon Slovis. Last season, Slovis threw for 2,153 yards and 11 touchdowns with USC. Now he’s on the Pitt roster after transferring this offseason. While Pitt gained Slovis in the portal, they lost one of the nation’s top pass catchers to USC this offseason in Jordan Addison. Addison took home the 2021 Biletnikoff Award after going for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns. Not having one of the nations best pass catchers to go with a poor season last year does not make me think he’s a top 10 QB.
Who Missed The Top 10?
PFF released the full list of Treash’s rankings, and they get even worse. For starters, he neglected to put Devin Leary and Will Levis in the top 10. Leary, is in my opinion, the second best quarterback in the ACC behind Hartman. Last season he passed for 3,433 yards and 35 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions. Now Treash put both Brennan Armstrong AND Tyler Van Dyke ahead of him; I just flat out do not agree with that.
Then, the one that perplexed me the most, was the omission of Will Levis from the top 10. The same website wrote that Levis is a stand out in college football just four days prior. There is no doubt in my mind that Levis is the second best SEC quarterback. He’s one of the most versatile quarterbacks in college football after he passed for 2,826 yards and 24 touchdowns while rushing for 376 yards and 9 scores in his first season with Kentucky. Not only was Levis not in the top 10, Treash had him ranked 19th. Treash put Quinn Ewers above him…EWERS HASN’T PLAYED A SNAP OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
Other players that I think were ranked too low were Jake Haener from Fresno State at 21 & Cameron Rising of Utah at 24.. Both of these guys are “top ten” talents to me. Then Phil Jurkovec from Boston College at 37 should surely be in the top 20.
The List Is Flat Out Lazy
While I have many issues with where certain players are ranked, I have a bigger issue with the effort put into it by Treash. The ranking has Kedon Slovis at USC…he transferred from USC to Pitt. If you’re gong to have him in the top ten, get his school right. Treash also has three quarterbacks ranked at 22. He has the brigade of gunslingers from LSU all at one slot; Myles Brennan, Garrett Nussmeier, and Jayden Daniels. I mean what are we doing. If you think all of them should be ranked on here, rank them individually. I just find this to be very lazy and furthers my opinion of this being a rubbish list.
My Personal Top 10
1. Bryce Young, Alabama
2. CJ Stroud, Ohio State
3. Caleb Williams, USC
4. Sam Hartman, Wake Forest
5. Devin Leary, North Carolina State
6. Will Levis, Kentucky
7. Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
8. Brennan Armstrong, Virginia
9. Cameron Rising, Utah
10. Tyler Van Dyke, Miami