We are officially heading into week three of the college football season, although some teams have already played three games, there are some college quarterbacks who have already begun to set themselves apart from the pack in what is already becoming a highly anticipated 2024 NFL Draft quarterbacks class.
Here we’ll look at the top five college quarterbacks heading into the third full week of the season and another five to watch that could insert themselves into this top five next week.
Top 5 College Quarterbacks heading into week : #1: Caleb Williams
There is absolutely no doubt about who was going to be number one on the list of 2023 college quarterbacks, especially this early in the season. Caleb Williams and the #5 ranked USC Trojans are 3-0 after beating Stanford and are going to have even more eyes on them as they draw nearer to Colorado (spoiler alert: more on them coming) and Utah on their schedule.
So far this season, Caleb Williams, who is almost guaranteed to be the first college quarterback off the board in the draft, is at or near the top in many statistical categories.
Williams is first in passing touchdowns and third in passing yards (yes, he’s played three games and has an advantage). However, Caleb Williams is among the best college quarterbacks in several other metrics, first in passer rating, first in yards per pass thrown, first in touchdown percentage and fourth in completion percentage.
Caleb Williams does also offer some rushing upside, he has 61 yards on 12 rushes, a solid 5.1 yards per carry and one rushing touchdown.
As the season goes on and the sample size increases, the expectation is that Caleb Williams will separate himself from the pack. USC plays Arizona State on Saturday.
Top 5 College Quarterbacks heading into week 3: #2: Michael Penix Jr.
Michael Penix Jr. is the left-handed leader of the Washington Huskies who are hot on the heels of Caleb Williams and USC at #8 in the country. Michael Penix Jr. has put up some monstrous stats that has him ranked near the top in several categories despite a handful of his peers having played three games to Penix’s two.
Through the first two weeks, Penix among college quarterbacks ranks fourth in passing yards and touchdowns, seventh in yards per pass, eighth in passer rating and 19th in completion percentage.
Week one against Boise State, Michael Penix Jr. put up 450 passing yards and five touchdowns without an interception! Week two was another 400 yard passing day with three more touchdowns and his first interception.
Penix doesn’t offer the rushing baseline that Caleb Williams or a few other college quarterbacks that will appear on this list but his passing game work and rapport with his receivers negates the necessity to add anything on the ground.
Washington plays Michigan State, a team dealing with a lot of scandal with their coach, what type of team shows up on Saturday to face the Huskies is anyone’s guess.
Top 5 College Quarterbacks heading into week 3: #3: Shedeur Sanders
Shedeur Sanders and his dad, Colorado Head Coach Deion Sanders have rocketed the Buffaloes to relevance, not only in the college football landscape but in the world of sports as a whole. Sanders was very close to being number two over Penix on this list.
Shedeur Sanders, like Penix has played just two games but still ranks second in passing yards and is tied for ninth in passing touchdowns with six. Sanders is also ninth in completion percentage, 14th in yards per pass and 15th in passer rating among college quarterbacks.
Sanders and Colorado got in a shootout with TCU in week one who at the time was ranked #17, Colorado has essentially taken their place at #18 heading into a tense matchup with Colorado State. The head coaches have been jawing back and forth in press conferences and Deion Sanders declared that Colorado State Head Coach Jay Norvell has made the game “personal”. How this quote factors into the gameplan for the elder Sanders and how it translates to the usage and performance of the young quarterback will be seen on Saturday.
After Colorado State, Colorado faces #13 and then Caleb Williams and #5 USC.
Top 5 College Quarterbacks heading into week 3: #4: Sam Hartman
Sam Hartman, to his benefit, has played three games heading into week three of the college football season but has played very good football for #9 Notre Dame who play a relatively easy opponent in Central Michigan this week before facing off with #6 Ohio State the following Saturday.
Hartman is a sixth year senior at Notre Dame and ranks well as second in touchdowns, second in touchdown percentage, fourth in yards per pass and sixth in passing yards. Hartman is also second only to Caleb Williams among college quarterbacks in passer rating.
The biggest draw with Sam Hartman is that he has 10 passing touchdowns across 64 passing attempts, over 700 yards passing and has not thrown a single interception, Hartman has passed for four touchdowns twice this year in three games, the most recent coming against Navy when he threw just 23 passes and completed 19 of them! Hartman is tied for 13th in completion percentage.
Top 5 College Quarterbacks heading into week 3: #5 Quinn Ewers
Quinn Ewers and Texas got off to a somewhat expected start when they beat Rice 37-10. Quinn Ewers had a pretty solid game, scoring four total touchdowns, three passing and one rushing. However, Quinn Ewers in week two faced a test tougher than anyone else on this list has early this season by facing #3 ranked Alabama in week two.
Ewers put up a nearly identical stat-line, throwing three more touchdowns and nearly 100 more yards than the week before against Rice. 349 yards and three touchdowns against the #3 team in the country is what allows Quinn Ewers to crack this top five over some others who will be players to watch this weekend.
Also to his credit, Ewers has not thrown an interception yet, and even with just two games finds himself tied for ninth in passing touchdowns and 16th in passing yards. Ewers made some crazy throws to help the Longhorns upset Nick Saban and Alabama.
Texas, now up to #4, has about a month until they face their next top 25 opponent, Oklahoma. This week, Quinn Ewers will look to keep his place on this list facing Wyoming on Saturday night.
College Quarterbacks to watch:
There are five quarterbacks who I will be keeping an eye on this week and could make it into the top five next week with some strong performances.
Jordan Travis, Jayden Daniels, Jaxson Dart, Cam Ward, JJ McCarthy and Tyler Van Dyke are some interesting players who have had some strong games through the first two weeks of the college football season.
Other players who have some name recognition like Drake Maye, Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and DJ Ugialeilei are others to keep an eye on in the future as well.