QB Questions Linger for Top Teams Next Season

It's been repeatedly said that the most important position on a football team is the quarterback, so logic would say that the best teams in the country have that position covered. However, a quick look at next season's top teams tell us quite a different story.

We'll start with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Most voters will have them in the top 5 preseason polls simply because of the presence of four straight #1 recruiting classes. They're absolutely loaded at each position.

But what about at quarterback?

Even before last season started, no one was really sure who would win the starting job for Nick Saban and the Tide. Would it be the veteran Blake Sims or the newcomer from Florida State Jake Coker? Obviously, Sims won the starting job, but there was always doubt throughout the season concerning his throwing abilities. Fortunately for Sims, he had stud Amari Cooper to throw the pigskin to, a rare receiver who can make any quarterback look better than he may actually be.

Fast forward to 2015...

Now that Sims has left The Capstone, will Coker finally win the starting role that so many last summer were declaring was his job to lose over Sims? Or will one of the younger arms of Cooper Bateman, Alec Morris, or even freshman Blake Barnett be the primary signal caller in 2015?

Ohio State also has a quarterback controversy, although in a much different way than Alabama. The Buckeyes played three quarterbacks last year not by design, but because of injuries. Oh, and they won the first ever College Football Playoffs National Championship with a third string quarterback.

Urban Meyer has an extremely difficult decision to make; should he start the reliable one (Braxton Miller), the one who led the 2014 squad to an 11-1 record (J.T. Barrett), or the one who won the Big 10 Championship and National Championship (Cardale Jones)?

Oregon has been set at quarterback for the past three seasons. Heisman winner Marcus Mariota has been called by some as the best spread quarterback ever, and his performance for the Ducks was nearly flawless during his tenure.

Head coach Mark Helfrich now must decide if he starts veteran Jeff Lockie (Mariota's back-up last season) or recent Division II transfer Vernon Adams, who was an absolute terror while at Eastern Washington.

The Seminoles in Tallahassee, FL are also in a pickle when it comes to quarterback play in 2015. Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston is now gone to play in the NFL and his back-ups from the past transferred elsewhere over the past couple seasons (Jake Coker to Alabama and Clint Trickett to West Virginia).

Sean Maguire is the only QB with any significant experience on the FSU roster, as he had to play the entire game against rival Clemson after Winston was suspended for one game last season. Maguire will be a redshirt junior, but with such a small sample size of playing time, head coach Jimbo Fisher has to be leery about his chances of winning a national championship without a proven quarterback of Winston's quality.

TCU returns Trevone Boykin, one of the most explosive players in the country last season. Skipper Gary Patterson won't have any problem deciding on a starter come September, assuming he stays with the same style of offense that should have gotten the Horned Frogs to the College Football Playoffs. Boykin will have a procedure done to his non-throwing wrist at the end of spring practice, so his progress with the surgery could decide the fate of the Horned Frogs next season.

The Baylor Bears have lost record setting quarterback Bryce Petty to the NFL Draft, but this is an Art Briles' team we're talking about. Just toss in someone who can throw the ball ten yards downfield and Briles can turn them into a 4,000 yard passer in no time.

(By the way, it still feels odd to call Baylor a top football team.)

The first player that should get the most attention to win the Bears starting QB job is junior Seth Russell. Russell was Petty's primary back-up last season, throwing for 804 yards and eight touchdowns. He is a dual-threat quarterback who can absolutely fly. During his redshirt freshman season, he was clocked at a 4.49 second 40 yard dash. Also, standing at 6'3" and 215 lbs, he may put up the most gaudy numbers at the position in the country next season.

Point being - Many top teams are going to struggle at the quarterback position next season, but if recent history is any indication, then it doesn't really matter how much experience a signal caller has. If his coach can put him in a situation with plenty of great players around him, then success is all but a certainty in this day and age of college football.