Top 10 True College Football Freshmen Quarterbacks to Watch in 2021 – AthlonSports.com

Quarterback games are always in the spotlight in college football, and with less than 60 days to go, it’s never too early to check out which real newbies have a chance to play right now this season. Georgia Tech’s Jeff Sims, Vanderbilt’s Ken Seals, and Mississippi State’s Will Rogers were just a few of the 2020 signing class newbies that made an impact last fall. The ’21 campaign will also produce its share of standout newbies, with Tyler Buchner of Notre Dame, JJ McCarthy of Michigan and Preston Stone of SMU attracting a lot of off-season attention for the # 1 job at their respective To claim school.

Which real Freshmen quarterbacks could play an important role or start for your team in 2021? Here are 10:

10 real freshmen quarterbacks to watch in 2021

Tyler Buchner, Notre Dame

247 Rating: No. 70 overall; 4-star brochure

Notre Dame landed Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan to fill the void as the inexperienced (but talented) freshman quarterback of the program in Buchner. The native Californian missed most of his sophomore season due to a ruptured cruciate ligament and his senior year due to COVID-19. However, Buchner has all the talent it takes to be successful in South Bend. As a junior in 2019, he threw 4,474 yards and 53 touchdowns, and added 1,610 yards and 28 scores on the ground. Buchner impressed in his first stint on campus with the Fighting Irish, ending the spring by hitting six of nine passes for 140 yards and adding a rousing score in the Gold-Blue game.

Kyron drones, Baylor

247 Rating: No. 278 overall; 4-star brochure

Baylor kicks off the fall with an open quarterback battle for new coordinator Jeff Grimes. Gerry Bohanon (38 attempts) and Jacob Zeno (26) have experience, while Blake Shapen took a Redshirt year in 2020. As a high school graduate, drones missed a few snapshots due to injury, but showed his talent with a productive junior year (3,390 yards and 46 scores and 825 yards and 18 rushing touchdowns). He also signed up for spring training in good time and will have the opportunity in autumn to oust Bohanon and Zeno for the top spot.

Sam Huard, Washington

247 Rating: No. 11 overall; 5-star brochure

Dylan Morris showed promise in Washington’s four-game season in 2020, but coach Jimmy Lake and coordinator John Donovan may find it hard to keep Huard on the sidelines for too long. Huard – the son of former husky greats and NFL quarterback Damon Huard – finished his high school career with 13,214 passing yards (a new record in Washington state) and 153 touchdowns. With Morris and Colorado State facing Patrick O’Brien on the depth table, Sam Huard is not needed to play right away. However, when the offense struggles, the calls for the talented newbie will only increase with each snap.

Related: Ranking all 130 college football teams for 2021

Ty Keyes, Southern Miss

247 Rating: No. 586 overall; 3-star brochure

Keyes originally signed up to Tulane but followed Will Hall to Hattiesburg when he left New Orleans to head coach at Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles are bringing back some quarterback experience with Trey Lowe (59 attempts in 2020), but Keyes should be pushing for game time right now. The Mississippi native won the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year Award in 2019 and ’20 and was responsible for 36 touchdowns and over 3,000 yards of attack as a senior.

JJ McCarthy, Michigan

247 Rating: No. 24 overall; 5-star brochure

All signs point to McCarthy as the future of Michigan football. But is that future coming now or ’22? With two seasoned options in Cade McNamara and Texas tech transfer Alan Bowman also vying for the job, the Wolverines can afford to accelerate McCarthy’s development and not throw the newbie into the fire right away. After playing at Nazareth Academy (2017-19), McCarthy moved to IMG Academy for his senior campaign. In four years of snapshots, the Illinois native threw 7,905 yards and 94 touchdowns.

Kyle McCord, State of Ohio

247 rating: # 27 overall, 5 star view

The Buckeyes have three highly acclaimed and talented quarterbacks vying to start in 2021. However, the two Redshirt newbies to the mix – Jack Miller III and CJ Stroud – played 18 snaps together last year, and McCord didn’t arrive in Columbus until this spring. Despite the general inexperience of the quarterback room, the concern for coach Ryan Day is very little. Regardless of who wins the job, the Buckeyes should be in good hands below the middle. McCord crowned a successful high school career in Pennsylvania with 6,887 yards and 88 touchdown passes. His first jump with the Buckeyes ended with a good performance in the spring game when McCord hit 12 of 17 throws for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Stroud has the inside track to get the job, but McCord’s development should be watched this fall.

Behren Morton, Texas Tech

247 Rating: No. 145 overall, 4-star view

Oregon transfer Tyler Shough is the favorite to start in Lubbock, but Morton is still a name to watch out for this fall. The native Texan completed a successful senior year at Eastland High School, igniting opposing teams for 3,613 yards and 37 touchdowns. He also ran for 893 yards and 19 scores in 2020. Morton’s dual-threat ability and general prowess are fascinating, but Shough or Henry Colombi may have to fight for coach Matt Wells to make the move.

Sawyer Robertson, Mississippi State

247 Rating: No. 133 overall; 4-star brochure

Mike Leach has a couple of interesting options to start quarterback this fall. Will Rogers gained valuable experience as a true freshman last season, and Southern Miss transfer Jack Abraham shone in the spring game. These two are the front runners in fall training, but Robertson cannot be excluded from the competition. On his high school tape, the native Texan shows a good sense of the pocket, accuracy and the ability to pass the passing game at medium distance – all areas required to succeed in an air raid. Robertson threw 11,302 yards and 135 scores during his high school career at Coronado in Lubbock.

Related: College Football’s Top 25 Teams for 2021

Preston Stone, SMU

247 Rating: No. 110 overall; 4-star brochure

Stone is the program’s highest-rated candidate, officially arriving on campus under coach Sonny Dykes, and is slated to battle Oklahoma transfer Tanner Mordecai for the starting job this fall. The Dallas native had numerous offers from Power 5 teams but chose to stay close to his home. This is great news for Dykes as outgoing starter Shane Buechele leaves big shoes to fill under the middle. Stone threw 3,429 yards and 38 touchdowns, adding 536 yards and 10 scores as a senior. If he wins the job, look for Stone, who puts up big numbers in SMU’s high profile offensive.

Ty Thompson, Oregon

247 Rating: No. 39 overall; 4-star brochure

All signs point to Anthony Brown winning the battle to start as quarterback for Oregon in the 2021 season opener against Fresno State. However, Thompson’s fall and in-season development is worth watching. The Arizona native arrived in Eugene this spring after throwing 9,891 yards and 100 touchdowns and running 1,145 yards and 20 scores at Mesquite High School. Thompson has some ground to make up on the depths chart, but even if he doesn’t start in ’21, he could end up front runner to take the job in ’22.

See others
Peter Costelli, Utah
Ethan Hampton, Northern Illinois
Riley Leonard, Duke
Sam Vidlak, State of Oregon

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