Who is the best quarterback in college football right now?
Week 1 of the 2022 college football season is less than three months away, and with nine quarterbacks taken in this year's NFL Draft, there's a new crop of signal-callers ready to take charge this fall.
Let's take a look at the top-tier quarterbacks heading into the upcoming campaign.
Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, guided Alabama to a national title in his first year as a starter. He completed just shy of 67% of his passes for an eye-popping 4,872 yards and 47 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. Young had three five-touchdown games during the regular season, with two of them coming back-to-back late in the season.
In the SEC West title game, Young shattered a school record by completing 31 of 40 passes for 559 yards for five touchdowns and zero interceptions in a dramatic win against Arkansas. The 20-year-old shows brilliant vision and accuracy to all levels of the field, as well as the confidence and clutch ability to attempt and complete high-pressure throws.
Stroud, 20, emerged as an absolute superstar in his first season as the Buckeyes' starter, completing just under 72% of his passes for 4,435 yards and a 44:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio despite not registering a single throw the season prior. He capped off his redshirt freshman season with a Rose Bowl-record six touchdowns in a thrilling, come-from-behind victory over Utah.
Caleb Williams, USC
The former Sooners QB, who followed newly minted Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma, quickly rose to fame last season after taking over for Spencer Rattler midway through the 2021 campaign. Williams completed 64.5% of his passes last season for 1,912 yards and 21 touchdowns to just four interceptions in 10 regular-season games. He exploded for 402 yards and six touchdowns against Texas Tech late in the season before closing out the year with back-to-back three-score games.
The 19-year-old then transferred to USC earlier this year amid the departures of Kedon Slovis (Pittsburgh) and Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss) through the NCAA transfer portal.
Levis, a talented, quick-triggered passer and tough runner with an NFL-ready frame and game, was a grad transfer who started two games in three years at Penn State before exploding onto the SEC scene last year, scoring 33 touchdowns overall (24 passing, nine rushing). The 22-year-old QB completed 66% of his passes for 2,826 yards and picked up another 376 yards on the ground on 107 rushes last season for the Wildcats.
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma
The former UCF QB started three games for the Knights last season before sustaining a season-ending collarbone injury. Prior to his injury, the 21-year-old completed 70 of 102 passes (68.6%) for 814 yards and nine touchdowns to three interceptions. He also rushed 24 times for 125 yards and two scores.
Gabriel transferred to Oklahoma earlier this year, replacing Williams (USC) and Rattler (South Carolina), both of whom transferred following the departure of former Sooners head coach Riley.