Colleague Ryan McGee recently wrote a story for ESPN The Magazine that called 2016 the “Year of the Running Back” in college football. Based on the returning star power at the position, it’s difficult to argue otherwise.
A related thought: That means it’s a “down year” for quarterback play. But, really, that’s subject to change.
Here are five impact quarterbacks, many of them in their first year as starter, who coaches believe can alter the narrative by mid-October.
1. Lamar Jackson, Louisville Cardinals
An unprompted text from a Power 5 head coach came through to Insider a week or so ago.
“Watched all of Louisville’s season,” he said. “That QB is the next big thing in college football. Phenomenal talent.”
“That QB” is Jackson, who played intermittently last fall as a freshman, coming on late to lock down the job entering 2016. He rushed for 412 yards and four touchdowns in wins against SEC teams Kentucky and Texas A&M to cap the season.
That begs a question: What sort of passer can he become?
“Oh, he can throw it,” the coach said in a subsequent text. “He’s going to blow up this year. Knew he was really good, but he’s a freak show talent-wise.”
Backing the coach, Jackson threw for 519 yards and eight touchdowns in the team’s spring game. Even if the staff manipulated the lineups to aid the offense, those are still eye-popping numbers.
The Cardinals open with Charlotte and Syracuse, but circle a Week 3 matchup with Florida State as the time the nation could learn about Jackson and a sneaky-good Louisville team.
2. Jacob Eason, Georgia Bulldogs
First-year UGA coach Kirby Smart is doing his best to tap the brakes when it comes to his prodigious freshman. But the secret’s getting out.
“I turned on the tape of their spring game the other day, and damn that kid can sling it,” a Power 5 coach told Insider last week. “He’s going to be special. You can see what all the fuss was about. He already looks physically like a junior or senior.”
Even if the 6-foot-5 Eason isn’t the starter for the opener against North Carolina, and Smart has hinted that might be the case, you can bet that you’ll see him early (and likely often) for the Bulldogs. He’s just too good to keep on the sideline, especially compared to the relative competition for the job.
3. Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina Tar Heels
Trubisky nearly wrestled the starting job away from veteran Marquise Williams last season. Who knows, maybe the Heels would’ve beaten South Carolina in the opener and gone undefeated during the regular season if it were Trubisky taking snaps instead of Williams, who threw two red zone interceptions to decide the game.
But it’s certainly the junior’s turn now. All he did last season in limited action was complete 85 percent of his 47 passes, including a 17-for-20 day against Delaware that included four TDs.
Coach Larry Fedora and the staff were loyal to Williams, but Trubisky might be an upgrade at the position. Fedora raved to Insider this spring about his polish. He’ll put up monster numbers in Fedora’s system.
4. Jerod Evans, Virginia Tech Hokies
New Hokies coach Justin Fuente told Insider this spring he was hot on Evans’ trail when Evans was a high school prospect, but it didn't work out for the then-Memphis coach.
Evans eventually landed at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas and flourished.
When Fuente got the Virginia Tech job, he was again in line for the 6-4, 230-pound specimen’s services. He enters the FBS level as the highest-rated junior college QB prospect since someone named Cam Newton.
With standout targets such as Isaiah Ford, Cam Phillips and Bucky Hodges, Evans has an opportunity to take off in his first season.
5. Jalan McClendon, NC State Wolfpack
McClendon hasn’t officially won the job over Jakobi Meyers and Boise State transfer Ryan Finley, but enough people close to the program have spoken highly enough of McClendon that anyone else behind center would be an upset.
When Insider visited this spring with Pitt OC Matt Canada, who was previously the playcaller in Raleigh, he admitted that one of his greatest regrets in the job change was he wouldn’t be able to coach McClendon.
At 6-5 and 212 pounds, size is obviously no issue. Neither is a dearth of leadership ability: Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said that McClendon, a redshirt sophomore, was a sponge in terms of learning from predecessor Jacoby Brissett.