Pac-12 Loaded At QB, But Who Is The Best?
BY STEVEN VAUGHAN, 750 The Game
The Pac-12 Conference is returning a line of gifted quarterbacks from last year, including the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. But the conference is also adding a few other productive quarterbacks via the transfer portal.
John Canzano on the Bald Faced Truth ranked the top three quarterbacks in the conference on Thursday. Canzano has USC’s Caleb Williams — the reigning Heisman winner — as the best in the conference.
“In some ways I liked Michael Penix Jr. (Washington) better last year,” Canzano said, “but I’m going to put Caleb Williams No. 1 here by virtue of the fact that when he got hurt in the Pac-12 Championship game USC didn’t have a chance. (When he got hurt) it went from ‘they’re going to win this game, they’re going to the playoff’ to the Trojans getting boat raced by Utah.”
With Williams at one. Canzano ranked Washington’s Penix Jr. second.
“If Caleb Williams is going to be challenged this year,” he said. “It’s going to be because Penix Jr. has a run game around him and can be more effective. In general, I think if Washington can get a run game and a defense — watch out.”
Canzano rounded out his top-three QBs with Oregon’s Bo Nix at No. 3.
“I love what Oregon was doing with Bo Nix and I thought he was as valuable to Oregon as the quarterback at TCU (Max Dugan) valuable to his team last season,” Canzano said. “He was every bit as valuable as Bryce Young and CJ Stroud were to their teams.”
The Pac-12 has so many good quarterbacks in the league. DJ Uiagalelei (Oregon State), Sheduer Sanders (Colorad0), Drew Pyne (ASU), and Dante Moore (UCLA), among them.
Canzano thinks there is one quarterback who could make a humongous impact on his new school — Uiagalelei.
“Last year I kept saying and I kept writing they’re (Oregon State) better then just about anybody at 21 positions,” Canzano said. “They’re better than everybody, they just don’t have the QB. It’s a QB-centric game. You go back to the Washington game. Oregon State at Washington. The Beavers had that game. You swap out the quarterback (Ben Gulbranson) for D.J. I think Oregon State wins that game. Chance Nolan throws a pile of interceptions against USC and the Beavers lose 17-14 at home to USC. Give me D.J. Uiagalelei in that game and Oregon State wins.”
Don’t miss John Canzano deliver the Bald Faced Truth weekdays 3-6 p.m. exclusively in Portland on 750 The Game. Listen to the show using the link below
