Ranking The PAC-10 Quarterbacks

The PAC-10 has become, arguably, the nation’s best football conference on the shoulders of their quarterbacks. Here’s how we rank them. We’re not going to delve too deep into stats in our breakdown but you can find them here.

1. Jake Locker, Washington - Locker is clearly at the head of the class. It seems strange to label him the best quarterback in the conference even though he plays on one of the leagues worst teams but his athletic ability and decision making are unparalleled. While Luck and Barkley are the hot new kids on the block - Barkley would be Joey, Luck would be Jordan - both would be happy if they grew into Locker’s shoes as he is expected to be one of the top picks in either of the next two NFL Drafts.

2. Jeremiah Masoli, Oregon - Masoli doesn’t have the ceiling of the quarterbacks below him on this list but as far as college quarterbacks are concerned Masoli is as good as you’re going to get. In addition to his ability to find the open receiver, Masoli is also the best runner out of this bunch. He doesn’t have the size, speed or arm that former Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon had but I’d take Masoli on my team over Dixon any day of the week. Nobody in the country can run Oregon’s offense with more precision and put them in position to win on a weekly basis. The kid is eighth in the PAC-10 in rushing, something Chip Kelly dreams of from his quarterback in his system.

3. Andrew Luck, Stanford - The media thought Jim Harbaugh was crazy when he proclaimed he had the best quarterback in the country earlier this season but Luck has made his head coach look like Nostradamus lately. He can make every throw and has a mature poise about him that you don’t usually see in a freshman. The only thing Harbaugh has to do in order to motivate Luck is point to the South and remind him that nobody is going to give him the respect he deserves for the next three years because the accolades will be laid upon Golden Boy Matt Barkley. Hey Drew, we’ll give you a shot (as long as you getting points!).

4. Sean Canfield, Oregon State - Just like his coach, his running back and his entire program, Sean Canfield is one of the most underrated players in the country at the quarterback position. Canfield is rising up NFL Draft boards faster than any other quarterback in the college game but he still hasn’t seemed to become a hot name in Sports Center highlights and All-American teams. That’s fine with Canfield because his resume and stats will speak for themselves once Draft day comes around.

5. Nick Foles, Arizona - Mike Stoops probably lost a lot of sleep wondering how the Iowa game would have ended if he decided to start Foles instead of Matt Scott. Arizona could have been the media’s darling had they won that game on the road but if Foles has any bad blood in terms of Stoops’ decision he’s doing a good job at hiding his distain. Foles and his Arizona teammates have surprised everyone in the country but next season could be even more fruitful because they’ll have the luxury of playing Iowa, USC, Cal, Oregon State and Washington at home next season. If Foles continues to improve at his current pace and Nic Grigsby gets healthy the Wildcats could be a force to be reckon with.

6. Matt Barkley, USC - The Golden Boy has not disappointed the Trojan faithful this season but nobody - not even us - is willing to crown him right now. Everything is there. The tools, the poise, the presence, the arm, the escapability, it’s all there. Pete Carroll will surround him with playmakers - hopefully Joe McKnight returns to leave with a good taste in his mouth - and put him in a situation to succeed. There will also be plenty of hype surrounding Barkley over the next few years too and it might be more of a struggle to stay levelheaded than to find an open receiver.

7. Kevin Riley, California - Jeff Tedford probably didn’t tell Riley he was signing up for a four year roller coaster ride when he made his home recruiting visit a few years back. Riley has handled the situation with as much grace as a young man could and has given Tedford a solid quarterback to rely on. Before this past weekend against Arizona Riley didn’t have a 2-INT game the whole season and realized that his role was to capitalize on the opposing defense’s tendency to overcompensate for the run when Jahvid Best was in the game. It will be interesting to see what Riley does when he doesn’t have Best to turn to for an entire season but he has matured tremendously over the past three years.

8. Kevin Prince, UCLA - Prince showed an amazing amount of sack when led the Bruins into Knoxville and beat the Volunteers on their own turf. He broke his jaw in that contest and missed the next two games but bounced back to have a pretty nice freshman season. He hasn’t racked up the same stats as his contemporaries but he has shown enough promise to give Bruins fans some hope. It’s tough when your two best running backs have combined for fewer yards than the top six rushers in the PAC-10. If Prince gets some help and doesn’t let the early success go to his head he’ll be one of the main reasons the PAC-10 will become the best football conference in the country over the next few years.

9. Danny Sullivan, Arizona State - Sullivan has struggled this season but he also put together a stretch of eight games in the middle of the season in which he threw for at least one touchdown. Unfortunately he threw for more than one only once. As a senior, Sullivan is serviceable but isn’t the type of player you can build around.

10. Washington State’s Quarterback of The Moment - The Cougars have started three different guys and all have failed to impress. What else do you expect from a program that has won three games in the past two years?