7 College Football Quarterback Battles You Should Be Watching In 2023 Spring Practice

College football spring practices are underway, with spring games coming up in the coming weeks for fans to get to know their favorite teams for 2023. So before spring game schedule really does, Let’s take a look at the hottest topic in any college football program, as applicable: The quarterback battle.

In the era of transfer portals, it is to the advantage of coaches to make the competition as open as possible – at least without being unfair. Lincoln Riley isn’t going to say Caleb Williams is in danger of losing his job at USC, and the same can be said of Drake Maye at North Carolina, Jordan Travis at Florida or Bo Nix at Oregon. However, there are instances where the presence of new talent, whether from high school or the transfer portal, has shaken up quarterback outlooks. Those battles, along with those where the departure of an NFL player has left a hole at the most important spot on the field, highlight a strong collection of quarterback battles to watch during spring practice.

We’ve picked down seven quarterback battles to kick off one of the most storied programs in sports.

Competitors: Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning

We have open races in Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State, but this one is arguably the one with the most interest. Manning is one of them most rated prospects in recruiting history and probably the most famous true freshman of the modern era. Manning’s commitment to Texas was a huge win for coach Steve Sarkisian, as it likely bolsters the team’s offensive prospects through at least 2025.

But the fame, intrigue and expectations don’t mean Manning is necessarily ready to lead the Longhorns on the field. And Sarkisian has an established starter who also happened to be the No. 1 player in the country coming out of high school in 2021. Ewers’ blue chip status 247Sports gave him a perfect grade out of Southlake, Texas, and many are missing out. compared to Manning. Ewers has both the physical and mental benefits of being a part of high-level college football programs for the past two years.

One reason for Manning this offseason is because of Ewers’ performances against Texas’ best teams of the season. Ewers went 1-4 against ranked opponents, totaling five touchdowns to four interceptions for a 52.8% completion rate. this spring, Texas will be looking for Ewers to tighten up the game and make a leap, possibly even starting the summer as the team’s starter. If not, Manning will enter fall camp lurking in the competition and creating interesting storylines with a massive showdown against Alabama on the Week 2 schedule.

Georgia

Competitors: Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff, Gunner Stockton

Kirby Smart told us at the start of Georgia spring ball that Beck and Vandagriff will share first-team reps with Stockton, who is also in the mix. All three have spent at least one year with the program, with Beck having the most playing experience as the backup to Stetson Bennett IV. There seems to be a good amount of confidence in either Beck or Vandagriff to lead the offense, which is now under Mike Bobo with Todd Monken moving back to the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens. That confidence comes not only from the high level both players display as quarterbacks, but also from the immense collection of talent that Georgia surrounds its signal callers with each fall.

It will be interesting to watch how the quarterback decision might inform what Bobo wants to do with the Bulldogs’ offense in 2023. Beck has the experience advantage and has been perhaps unfairly pigeonholed as more of a downfield pass option, while Vandagriff has a more impressive recruiting profile as one of the top quarterbacks in the 2021 cycle , due in part to his athleticism and ability to play the run. Smart has knocked some down, arguing that Beck is also an athlete and that Vandagriff believes in his arm strength as much as anyone else in the room. Regardless, that’s the story surrounding this battle as a result of the significant turnover on the offensive side of the ball.

Alabama

Competitors: Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson

Like Georgia, Alabama’s spring practice storylines include not only a quarterback battle, but an offensive setup period with a new offensive coordinator. Unlike the Bulldogs, this hire came from outside the program and therefore brings less certainty about what to expect from the Crimson Tide offense in 2023. Tommy Rees, brought in from Notre Dame, has two options at the top of the depth chart that present an interesting decision for Alabama to take care of business on offense.

Milroe is entering his third year with the program and started last season against Texas A&M when Bryce Young was injured. In all, Milroe finished with five touchdowns and three interceptions in eight games. He had his most notable performance in the second half against Arkansas after Young’s shoulder injury when he added 263 yards. Alabama’s play selection when Milroe was in the game at contested snaps leaned more toward the ground game than it did when Young was healthy, but it also came under the guidance of another offensive coordinator with different skill points on the field.

Simpson has a much higher recruiting ranking out of high school, was a five-star prospect, ranked as a top-three quarterback in 2022, but as a third-string quarterback in 2022, he has no experience in critical game situations. college level.

Nick Saban said this week that he likes the players they have around the quarterback position heading into 2023, so continued development will be the name of the game. Both players will have a chance this spring to make an impact on Rees as he begins to shape Alabama’s offense for 2023, which could go a couple different ways depending on which quarterback has the edge in the competition.

Ohio State

Competitors: Kyle McCord, Devin Brown

The promotion of Brian Hartline to offensive coordinator will bring some change to the coaching staff, but the role of Ohio State’s best quarterback in terms of expectations remains the same for CJ Stroud: Put the ball in the hands of the Buckeyes’ elite receivers so they can make plays. The presence of Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, not to mention top-notch framers TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams, means that even a play-by-play manager can get caught up in one of the nation’s most prolific offenses.

McCord, a former five-star prospect coming out of high school, has more experience than Stroud’s two-year backup, but much of his action has come late in games that were already decided Buckeye wins. He’ll be pushed by Brown, who hasn’t attempted a career in college but has made a good impression in practice that has Hartline excited about the nature of the competition.

One potential wrinkle in this fight is McCord’s past experience with Biletnikoff Award finalist Harrison. They were teammates at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia as part of an offense that was good enough to earn McCord the Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year. It’s a “high school teammates” tidbit that airs mid-season — similar to the classic “roommate connection.” We are just getting ahead of it.

Competitors: Jaxson Dart, Spencer Sanders, Walker Howard

Coach Lane Kiffin has an established starting quarterback from a team that opened 2022 with a 7-0 record and spent three weeks ranked in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 poll in October. On the surface, you’d expect the Rebels to have decided to open spring practice, but that’s not the case at all. Perhaps the way Ole Miss finished the season, losing five of its last six games, prompted Kiffin to dive into the transfer portal to get not one, but two qualified options at quarterback to challenge Dart.

At the other end of the experience spectrum is Spencer Sanders. The four-year starter at Oklahoma State had nearly 10,000 career yards passing and a 30-11 record. On the other side is Walker Howard. The quarterback, touted in the class of 2022, signed with LSU out of high school but decided to hit the transfer portal with Jayden Daniels back for a year and Garrett Nussmeier also competing for playing time. Howard has a longer runway for eligibility requirements, Sanders will likely expect a fair start right away, and Dart has experience in Kiffin’s offense.

Competitors: Collin Schlee, Ethan Garbers, Dante Moore

Coach Chip Kelly picked up two big additions in the offseason: Schlee, a former Kent State quarterback, and Moore, a former five-star recruit who flipped from Oregon during the early signing period. We don’t have much of a track record in terms of expectations for this fight; outgoing fifth-year senior Dorian Thompson-Robinson started 48 of Kelly’s 56 games for the Bruins.

Schlee is rated the No. 4 quarterback on the portal by 247Sports and has two years of eligibility remaining. He was a Third Team All-MAC selection after totaling 17 touchdowns (13 passing, four rushing) and only five interceptions, but he lacks half of Moore as the No. 4 overall prospect in the 2023 class. While Garbers lacks a new addition to the roster, he has the advantage of experience as DTR’s backup over the past two seasons. Garbers was a four-star prospect in the 2020 recruiting cycle who signed with Washington before transferring to UCLA prior to the 2021 season.

Competitors: Joe Milton, Nico Iamaleava

Hendon Hooker showed how Tennessee’s offense under coach Josh Heupel could make a huge leap at quarterback, and that’s exactly what Milton hopes to do in 2023. Milton and Hooker both transferred from Tennessee’s other Power Five programs (Milton from Michigan, Hooker). from Virginia Tech) before Heupel’s first season in 2021. Milton actually won the starting job through 2021, but was injured in the second game of the season, allowing Hooker to handle the QB1 responsibilities. The expectation, or at least the hope of Tennessee fans, is that Milton’s experience in the system will allow him to make the same kind of jump we saw from Hooker from 2021 to 2022.

However, if Milton’s performance falters, then five-star freshman Nico Iamaleava is a very capable option. With a .998 combined rating and 247Sports perfect prospect score, Iamaleava is one of the highest-rated prospects to sign with Tennessee since we started tracking this​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ The 6-foot-6, 200-pound player on Tennessee’s roster represents the true ceiling of Heupel’s offense and the jump from SEC dark horse to true national title contender. Whether that potential is realized in 2023, 2024 or 2025 will largely depend on Nico’s development timeline and whether Milton’s performance gives Tennessee the best chance to win.

Just like true Freshmen Arch Manning at Texas or Dante Moore at UCLA, there are more pragmatic scenarios of having a veteran option starting in 2023 to allow young talent to develop and looking to turn the offense around in 2024. But given the uncertainty of the offense. Long college football season, you can bet the Tennessee staff will do everything they can to push both quarterbacks in spring practice in case both quarterbacks reach their fall goals.