Football in the Big Ten has always featured some of the greatest players and has had some of the best competition in college football since the conference’s inception in 1896. With the 2019 season around the corner, here we rank the best starting quarterbacks each team has.
1.) Shea Patterson (Michigan)
The senior has a lot of pressure on his shoulders as the 2019 season arrives. Last season Shea Patterson put some solid numbers for the Wolverines offense, but he did have his moments where he looked like he shouldn’t even be on the field. Some of Patterson’s 2018 numbers include 2,600 passing yards along with 22 touchdowns which ranked fourth in the conference and only seven interceptions.
Patterson has a new face taking the offensive coordinator position this coming season in Josh Gattis. Gattis spent the 2018 season as the offensive coordinator for the University of Alabama where he helped Nick Sabban and the Crimson Tide to a College Football playoff appearance. Patterson will also have some dominant weapons on the ends with Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins as the main receivers.
Patterson has a lot of talent with using his arm and his legs to move the offense if he can stay poised under pressure and hit the open targets he will surely be one of the main faces of the Big Ten in 2019.
2.) Adrian Martinez (Nebraska)
Martinez is a young phenom that looks like he can flourish in division one football for the duration of his collegiate career. Last season he looked to be efficient through the air and on the move.
In his freshman season, he threw 17 touchdown passes and ran in eight touchdowns and he completed 64 percent of his passes while throwing over 2,600 passing yards.
Nebraska wasn’t a powerhouse in the Big Ten as they only racked up four wins, but as long as he is able to stay healthy and keep up his level of playing he could wind up being one of the biggest offensive weapons in the conference.
3.) Justin Fields (Ohio State)
The only reason Justin Fields doesn’t rank number two is that he has never started in a collegiate game, but he deserves the third spot in the rankings just based off of raw talent and little spurts of greatness he showed last year.
Fields so far has thrown for 328 yards, has a completion percentage of 69% and averages 8.4 yards per pass. Even in limited action, Fields looks like to be an immense threat in the Big Ten and in college football.
Even though he has only thrown 39 passes in his career, it is worth mentioning he has yet to throw an interception and has thrown four touchdowns.
4.) Josh Jackson (Maryland)
Maryland acquired a diamond in the rough with Josh Jackson transferring to their football program. Last year for Jackson was cut short after he broke his fibula during week three of the 2018 season.
However, during his redshirt freshman season in 2017, Jackson was one of the top quarterbacks in the ACC. During his 2017 campaign, Jackson amassed 2,991 passing yards while throwing 20 touchdowns and only throwing nine interceptions and also carrying a 135 passer rating.
Jackson will also have Virginia Tech teammate, Sean Savoy, join him at Maryland.
Assuming he comes back from his injury and can play at a high level as he did just a couple seasons ago, Jackson should be a threat to Big Ten defenses in 2019.
5.) Nate Stanley (Iowa)
Nate Stanely had a solid 2018 season as he helped his team to a nine-win season and a bowl appearance. In 2018, Stanley threw for 2,852 yards, threw 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Stanley isn’t someone who sticks out well enough to have conference offensive player of the year mentions, but he has the ability to help a team succeed. If he stays on pace and his abilities carry over into 2019 from Last year, Iowa could do some damage in the conference.
6.) Peyton Ramsey (Indiana)
Peyton Ramsey was quite under the radar last year and has a pretty solid season. He completed 66% of his passes while throwing 2,875 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions while averaging 6.4 yards per pass. Stanley has also shown an ability to score on the ground as he has rushed for 580 yards and seven touchdowns in two seasons.
While there is no question that there is room for Stanley to improve his game, he is only entering his junior season which gives him time to up his talents. If he continues to improve and gets the interceptions down and racks up a few more yards per pass, he could an immense dual-threat quarterback in the Big Ten in the future.
7.) Hunter Johnson (Northwestern)
Hunter Johnson seems to have fallen off the face of the earth since he only made seven appearances and throw for a total of a minimal of 234 yards. He transferred to Northwestern and sat out the entirety of last season.
Let’s not forget in 2017 Johnson was a five-star recruit and ranked 30th nationally on 247 sports top prospects. Johnson has good size and arm strength along with athleticism which what every team wants in their quarterback. He has a big enough package to shock the Big Ten in the upcoming season.
8.) Graham Mertz (Wisconsin)
Graham Mertz was a four-star recruit in 2019 and was ranked 65th nationally on 247 sports top prospects. He also had offers from a handful of other division one programs.
Coming into his freshman season he appears to be the number one candidate for the starting job over veteran Jack Coan who has been a career backup for the Badgers. Over two seasons Coan has only a little over 500 passing yards and five touchdowns along with three interceptions.
The starting job for the Badgers quarterback comes down to what Paul Chryst and his coaching staff want to go with, a seasoned backup or a highly ranked freshman leading the offensive. However, considering all the hype surrounding Mertz, he will definitely get the job at some point during the season if he doesn’t right away.
9.) Brian Lewerke (Michigan State)
The only reason Lewerke is making the top ten is because of the season he had back in 2017. In Lewerke’s 2017 campaign he was a top-three quarterback in the Big Ten putting up impressive numbers. Lewerke threw for 2,793 passing yards, throwing 20 touchdowns and throwing just seven interceptions while completing 59% of his passes.
Last season was a different story for Lewerke as he barely broke 2,000 yards and threw more interceptions than touchdowns throwing eight touchdowns and 11 picks.
As Lewerke enters his senior season, he has a lot of weight on his shoulders. This is the last season to help boost his draft stock and his last chance to bring his team a run to the playoff.
10.) Elijah Sindelar (Purdue)
Sindelar is entering his fifth and final season of eligibility and only has one full year under his belt as a starter. In 2017 Sindelar threw for 2,099 yards while throwing 18 touchdowns and throwing seven interceptions and also completing 57% of his passes.
Although his numbers really don’t do him justice, Sindelar can be a productive quarterback at the division one level. However, with a dominant receiver like Rondale Moore and Jared Sparks, he should put up some solid numbers this season.
11.) Sean Clifford (Penn State)
It is no question that losing Todd McSorely will hurt the Nittany Lions offense, but they do have a reason to be hopeful for the future. They have 2017 four-star recruit, Sean Clifford, stepping in to take over running the offense.
Last season Clifford appeared in four games completing five of seven pass attempts while throwing two touchdowns totaling 195 passing yards.
Luckily for Clifford, Penn State has made themselves a powerhouse in the Big Ten and he should be able to shine given his talents are above average and if he plays at a high level he has a chance to move up high in the rankings.
12.) Zack Annexstad (Minnesota)
As walk-on freshman last season, Annexstad came into the Golden Gophers football program and won the starting job. He played in the first seven games of the 2018 season, but then had to sit out the remainder due to injury.
Annexstad put up some pretty impressive numbers for a walk on quarterback with a team that wasn’t very good and wasn’t stacked with a whole lot of weapons, to begin with.
If Annexstad wants to give his team a chance to contend for the Big Ten title he must step up his game and remain healthy for the duration of the season.
13.) Brandon Peters (Illinois)
As a former top 100 recruit, Brandon Peters hasn’t really lived up to the expectations of what comes of being a top recruit, then again, he wasn’t given much of a chance. During his two years at Michigan, he only played in 10 games while throwing 672 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. Peters also only completed a mere 52% of his passes for his career.
Brandon Peters will, however, have a little bit of competition of going up against true freshman Isaiah Williams who was the number six athlete in the 2019 recruiting class.
Whoever takes over the starting role will have to skyrocket their game up to prevent Illinois from having another last-place finish in the Big Ten West.
14.) Artur Sitkowski (Rutgers)
There is no question why this quarterback on this team is dead last in the rankings. Artur Sitkowski was in the top 400 in the 2018 recruiting class according to 247 sports but didn’t really shine like one.
During his freshman campaign, Sitkowski posted mediocre numbers only throwing 1,158 passing yards, four touchdowns and 18 interceptions. Sitkowski also only completed 49% of his passes while only averaging 4.2 yards a pass.
However, to be a little fair Sitkowski didn’t have weapons or resources around him to give him a helping hand at all last season.
Given everything that was just written about Sitkowski and the Rutgers football program, there is no reason to have him at any other spot than 14.
