Here at FL Teams, we recently ranked all of the college teams in the State of Florida. Now, we look at the most crucial position in sports as we rank the top quarterbacks in Florida.
The state is ripe with talent at the QB position, from insane athletes in Florida’s Anthony Richardson and Florida State’s Jordan Travis to traditional pocket passers in Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke and Florida Atlantic’s N’Kosi Perry. In fact, the state of Florida boasts two Davey O’Brien (An award given to the best QB in the nation) preseason watch list players in Van Dyke and South Florida’s Gerry Bohanon.
1. Tyler Van Dyke, Junior, University of Miami
2021-2022 Stats: Ten Games, 2,931 Passing Yards, 25 Touchdowns, Six Interceptions, 62.3% Completion, 160.1 Passer Rating
When D’Eriq King went down with an injury, it seemed like the Hurricanes’ 2021-2022 season was already over, but Van Dyke came in and lit up the college football world, averaging over 300 yards in his final six games along with 20 touchdowns and only three interceptions. His numbers may not be the same, however, because the Hurricanes’ Offensive Coordinator, Rhett Lashlee, is now the head coach at SMU.
As a result, Miami is now switching from an air raid system to a pro-style offense with the hire of new head coach Mario Cristobal and new Offensive Coordinator Josh Gattis. Van Dyke’s numbers may not be as impressive as they were last season, but he’ll still be efficient and produce at a high level. After being gifted with a relatively weak schedule, Van Dyke has an opportunity to take Miami to the top of the ACC, and even to the 2022 College Football Playoff.
2. Gerry Bohanon, Junior, University of South Florida
2021-2022 Stats: 12 Games, 2,200 Passing Yards, 18 Touchdowns, Seven Interceptions, 62.9% Completion, 146.6 Passer Rating, 323 Rushing Yards, Nine Touchdowns
After a successful season at Baylor, Bohanon finds himself at South Florida for his Junior Season. In his lone season as the starting QB for Baylor, Bohanon was extremely consistent and helped lead the Bears to the Big 12 championship. Bohanon played and starred in many big-time games, beating Oklahoma, Texas, and BYU. Standing at 6’3″ and 211 pounds in addition to a strong arm and dynamic legs, Bohanon is a perfect example of a modern-age QB. Bohanon always makes the right play and never forces a bad throw. Furthermore, Bohanon is also unstoppable in the red zone adding nine rushing touchdowns. The Bears had an 87.93% success rate, ranking in the top 30 in the country last season. A big reason for this was Bohanon’s rushing ability. This should be an immediate boost to a USF offense that struggled in the red zone, ranking 92nd in the country. USF should be a lot better in 2022; with steady QB play from Bohanon, I believe we could see this team pull off some big-time upsets. Tune in week one as BYU goes to Tampa to take on Bohanon and the revamped Bulls.
3. Anthony Richardson, Sophomore, University of Florida
2021-2022 Stats: Seven Games, 529 Passing Yards, Six Touchdowns, Five Interceptions, 59.4% Completion, 144.1 Passer Rating, 401 Rushing Yards, Three Touchdowns
We have never seen anyone get the type of hype Anthony Richardson gets with little to no on-field production to back it up. People have Richardson as a future top-ten pick in the 2022 NFL Draft and being a contender for the Heisman Trophy. There are other players on this list with a better season than Richardson but the talent this kid has is mind-blowing, and that alone propels him up to the top. He has a Josh Allen-level arm with incredible power running ability like Cam Newton. If this young man reaches his potential, he’s not only the best QB in Florida, he’s the best football player in the country.
4. Jordan Travis, Junior, University of Florida State
2021-2022 Stats: Ten Games, 1,539 Passing Yards, 15 Touchdowns, Six Interceptions, 62.9% Completion, 148.9 Passer Rating, 530 Rushing Yards, Seven Touchdowns
To see Jordan Travis grow yearly has been amazing to watch, and finally, in his fifth season, he’s the starter going into camp. He doesn’t have to compete against anyone or prove himself; he’s the guy, and I believe he can break out in a big way this upcoming season. The definition of a dual-threat QB, he’ll constantly make plays with his legs. The most significant thing he’s had to learn this season is to take care of his body and know when to get out of bounds and slide. He’s an incredible athlete who can break off a big run at any point in the game and could help lead FSU back to the bowl game for the first time in five years. Weird saying a good season for FSU would be them getting back to a bowl. I expect Travis to average at least 300 yards of offense per game, and if he does that, FSU will be able to make some noise in the ACC.
5. N’Kosi Perry, Senior, Florida Atlantic University
2021-2022 Stats: 12 Games, 2,771 Passing Yards, 20 Touchdowns, Seven Interceptions, 60.7% Completion, 143.0 Passer Rating, 154 Rushing Yards, Four Touchdowns
It seems like Perry has been playing football in Florida for the last 20 years, but he’s finally reached his final year of eligibility, and he’s looking to go out with a bang. He was a highly regarded prospect coming out of high school, a four-star recruit many people had him pegged as the guy to bring the U back to prominence. However, he never quite lived up to the billing, and once he lost the QB battle to D’eriq King, it was clear his time in Miami was done; once he graduated from Miami, he transferred to FAU to play for Willie Taggert. Coming in during fall camp, Perry won the starting job easily and had a good season for the Owls, nearly throwing for 2,771 yards and 20 Touchdowns. I expect bigger things this upcoming season as the Owls have their sights set on winning Conference-USA, and with an entire offseason to practice with the WRs, I expect this team to take a massive jump. Perry may have had a better season than the two QBs above, but the element Richardson and Travis bring with their legs catapult them above Perry.
6. John Rhys Plumlee, Senior, University of Central Florida
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2021-2022 Stats (At Wide Receiver): Nine Rushing Attempts, 72 Rushing Yards, 19 Receptions, 201 Receiving Yards,
UCF decided to start Ole Miss transfer John Rhys Plumlee, who played wide receiver the last two seasons. An incredibly fast man will be tasked to run one of the deadliest run games in the country. He and Isaiah Bowser should be special. I wouldn’t be shocked if both ended up with 1,000+ yards by the end of the season. Based on Plumlee’s history as a thrower, however, I’m not thrilled with the Golden Night’s passing attack. In Plumlee’s one season as a starter, he threw for 910 yards and four touchdowns to go along with 1,000 yards rushing. Plumlee will make big plays with his legs every game. I trust Gus Malzhun to make this work because he loves running QBs, but it’s tricky to rank Plumlee in the top five with him not playing the position in two years. I know UCF fans will jump down my throat, and they’ll ride or die with Plumlee, but I think Mike Keene should have been named the starter. Central Florida’s Week Two Matchup against Malik Cunningham and Louisville will be a good test for Plumlee and the Golden Nights.
7. Gunnar Holmberg, Senior, University of Florida International
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2021-2022 Stats: 11 Games, 2,358 Passing Yards, Seven Touchdowns, Eight Interceptions, 67.0% Completion, 130.3 Passer Rating, 167 Rushing Yards, Six Touchdowns
Holmberg transfers in after an awful season at Duke. Simply put, Duke’s Football Program has just been a mess for the last couple of seasons. Oddly enough, Holmberg decided to transfer to an equally bad football program in Florida International. I think the connection between Coach McIntyre and Dave Cudcleff is why Holmberg transferred to FIU and most likely will start. FIU does have talented young arms in Haden Carlson and Duncanville product Grayson James. Both were highly touted out of high school, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up taking over for Holmberg at any point in the season. Carlson was getting compared to Patrick Mahomes by his old coach Butch Davis for goodness sake. Holmberg seems to be a good game manager with a high completion rate and hopefully can round out the rest of his game playing with the explosive Tyreese Chambers. Holmberg and the rest of the QBs have too many question marks to rank them anywhere but last.