-Originally published 8/7/20-

Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) and Justin Fields (Ohio State) have already received exhausting coverage as the top college quarterbacks going into 2020. Both juniors will leave early and be top-5 NFL draft picks next season. What I find more exciting, is the freshmen quarterbacks that were trusted to perform last season and will be in the college game for at least two more seasons.

Bo Nix – Auburn

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn entrusted Box Nix against #11 Oregon in the 2019 opener and never looked back after a 27-21 victory. Nix only threw for 2 TDs, 2 INTs and 177 yards on 41% completion rate and rushed for 42 yards, but drove Auburn down the field for the game-winning touchdown. Nix finished the season with 2,542 yards passing 57% completion rate, 16 TDs, 6 INTs. He also rushed for 313 yards and 7 TDs. In 13 games he only broke 200 yards passing four times and 300 yards twice. He threw half of his interceptions in a losing effort against the Florida Gators. The stats don’t reflect the potential. Nix looks like a veteran and was trusted to throw the ball downfield in critical situations. He looks the part of a leader on the field when commanding the offense and shows good awareness. Game planning as a whole should open up and the Auburn offense should rely less on the run as he continues to develop. He cut his teeth against a brutal schedule last season that included Oregon, Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia, and bowl opponent Minnesota among yearly divisional contests against Alabama and LSU and was able to guide the Tigers to a 9-4 record. He could be a star quarterback in a conference that hasn’t been known for sending much QB talent to the NFL recently. Auburn isn’t “must-watch” football yet, but the big matchups should be circled on your calendars every Saturday. Fellow super sophomore Sam Howell and the North Carolina Tar Heels are on the schedule 9/12, Georgia 10/10, Texas A&M 10/17, LSU 11/21 and Alabama 11/28.

Dillon Gabriel – UCF

Central Florida will again be top of the non-power 5 and have a shot at a BCS game. QB Mackenzie Milton was a stud for UCF in 2017 and ’18 but missed 2019 due to an injury that nearly cost his leg and probably won’t get his starting job back from Dillion Gabriel who stepped in and passed for 3,653 yards 29 TDs, 7 INTs, and 4 rushing TDs, with a 59% completion percentage. Gabriel’s a lefty, that isn’t a “duel” threat but will scramble around if he’s got an opening. He’s got a nice arm and is trusted to air it out, putting the ball in the air 30+ times 8 games last season and going over 200 yards 12 of 13 games and over 300 yards 4 times. All seven of his interceptions came in UCF’s three losses @ Tulsa, @ Pittsburg, and @ Cincinnati. UCF finished the season 10-3 with a win over Marshall in the Gasparilla Bowl and second in the AAC to Cincinnati. It’s possible Milton could step in and take the job back, but Gabriel is the future and he’s ready to push UCF for its fourth straight double-digit win season after going winless just five years ago in 2015.

Hank Bachmeier – Boise State

Ol’ Hank got knocked on his ass multiple times his freshman year and only logged time in a little over seven games due to injuries, but has potential going into 2020. Bachmeier went 6-1 in games he played and completed his greatest accomplishment a 36-31 comeback victory over Florida State in the season opener. Boise State finished the season 12-2 with a stinker performance by Bachmeier in the Las Vegas Bowl with a 15/26 for 119 yards, 2 INTs and a 57% completion percentage stat line in Bachmeier’s only loss. His season stats: 1,187 passing yards, 9 TDs, 6 INTs, 62% Completion, 69 rushing yards and 1 TD. He only put it in the air 30+ times in 3 games and broke 200 yards in 6 games. His only 300+ yard game was the 407 yard performance against Florida State. Boise State will have a parade of offensive weapons for Bachmeier to work with in his second year and Boise will have real competition in the Mountain West conference with Air Force and San Diego State as viable threats. If you’re on the east coast, stay up late and catch Boise @ Air Force 9/12 and against Florida State 9/19 as a barometer on how Bachmeier’s season will go. If they get off to a hot start other highlights include a shootout against high powered Hawaii 10/24 and always feisty BYU 11/6 will be good watches as well.

Kedon Slovis – USC

Kedon Slovis sounds like a Slovakian Rugy player, but he is indeed the starter for the USC Trojans in 2020. Slovis stole the job for JT Daniels in 2019, when Daniels was injured in the opener and lost for the season. Daniels himself is a former high school Gatorade player-of-the-year, but struggled in his freshman year in 2018 and announced he’s transferring to Georgia in 2020 after Slovis’s tremendous success in 2019. Slovis did get roughed up himself, and missed the majority of the time against big opponent Utah and the entire game against Washington, but The Trojans finished the season 8-5 with much credit owed to the freshman QB. He finished the season with 3,502 passing yards, just shy of a 72% completion percentage, 30 TDs, and 9 INTs. He didn’t manage a signature win with close losses at BYU and Notre Dame, and bigger losses to Oregon and Iowa in the Holiday Bowl. He’s a true pocket passer, but has phenomenal pocket presence and can move around to keep the play alive and keep his eyes downfield. He has a great arm and could is set for a monster season as a healthy-full year starter in the fluid Pac-12. He put the ball in the air 30+ times in 9 of the 10 full games he played and threw for over 300 yards 5 times. He completed over 75% over his passes in 3 games.  The season opener against Alabama will probably be a loss for Kedon Slovis, but it could get the eyes of the nation on the young QB, and the often-left behind Pac-12, right out the gate in 2020.

Jayden Daniels – ASU

You better believe this kid is special. Herm Edwards left his broadcast job and arrived at Arizona State in 2018 for one last hooray at a coaching gig. He missed being around players and hopes to turn ASU into a Pac-12 contender before he hangs it up and calls it a career. He trusted this kid to start as a true freshman, more or less tying him to the starting quarterback job for the three years. Daniels passed for 2,943 yards with 17 TDs, and 2 INTs on 60% completion percentage. He contributed 355 yards and 3 TDs rushing, logging 10+ carries/scrambles in 8 games. Only 4 times was he asked to pass 30+ times and 5 times he went over 300 yards. He was stifled in a road loss against Utah going 4/16 for 25 yards and an interception and rushing for 8 yards on 16 attempts mid-season. On the other hand, he pulled a massive upset over Oregon a month later going 22/32 for 408 yards, 3 TDS, and zero turnovers. He will be fun to watch going forward. He’s got a great coach, doesn’t turn the ball over, wheels to scramble downfield and his delivery looks like he’s throwing darts at a board. He’s got an excellent deep ball that keeps the Sun Devils in games. It would be exciting to see Jayden Daniels and Kedon Slovis fighting for the Heisman in 2021.

Sam Howell – North Carolina

Mack Brown returned to coach North Carolina, where he’d had success in the 90’s, and promptly started to roll in the top recruits. A top-30 class in year 1, top-20 this year, and top-10 class lined up so far for 2021. Sam Howell threw for 3,641 yards, 38 TDS, 7 INTs with a 61% completion percentage. He won ACC Offensive Player of the Year over Trevor Lawrence of Clemson. He nearly beat Clemson, but came up short on a 2-point conversion for the win after a battle. In 6 of his 13 games he threw for over 300 yards and 6 games he put the ball in the air 30+ times. He threw for multiple touchdowns in every game and 3+ in 8 games….while throwing only 7 interceptions. Howell didn’t add anything as a rusher last season, but he can be elusive in the pocket and ad-lib plays when under pressure. He has a great arm and led the NCAA with 21 touchdowns of 20+ yards in 2019. The passing numbers didn’t translate to wins for the Tar Heels; they finished the regular season 6-6, but blew out Temple in the Military Bowl to finish 7-6. If the rest of the team starts to come around then the gaudy numbers will materialize into meaningful wins.

The team was close last season; all six losses were by a touchdown or less including an OT loss @ Pitt and a 6-OT loss @ Virginia Tech. The ACC is wide open, especially the Coastal division for NC to meet Clemson in the ACC championship game. It might not take much to see Sam Howell and Mack Brown in a BCS bowl (or playoffs?) next season. The non-conference schedule opens with a road trip to Central Florida and a neutral site game against Auburn, but those might be the toughest opponents on the calendar with Clemson off the schedule. A road trip to Miami October 23th will be tough. Keep an eye on the Tar Heels.

Trey Lance – North Dakota St I’m not going to pretend I watched any of North Dakota State’s games last season, but perhaps us football junkies should be. ND St has now won 8 of the last 9 Division-I FCS bowl championships with a record of 116-6 the past nine seasons. Last year’s freshman sensation Trey Lance will follow in the footsteps of Bison QB alumni Carson Wentz and Easton Stick in the NFL. Lance passed for 2,786 yards 28 TDs, and ZERO interceptions with just under a 67% completion rate. He also rushed for 1,100 yards and 14 TDs. He only passed 30+ times in one of the Bison’s sixteen games in route to a 16-0 record. He didn’t have to throw much on a roster loaded with talent on both sides of the ball and on offensive that revolves around the run game and takes advantage of his elite rushing ability. The Bison open the season on the road against Oregon for a massive matchup that’ll be must-watch television and an opportunity for Trey Lance to perform on a national stage. If you haven’t watched ND St during their history run the past 9 years, make sure to check them out this year. Trey Lance won’t disappoint. *Note Trey Lance is actually going to be a redshirt sophomore this year and could leave school after the 2020 season. He’s been hyped up since I’ve written this list and that’s looking like more of a possibility.