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Who are the best quarterbacks in college football right now?
That’s debatable, but it’s easy to declare the Heisman front-runner: Louisville’s Lamar Jackson. Through four games, the true sophomore has already tallied a monstrous total of 1,856 yards (464 per game average) and 25 touchdowns. But after him it gets a little crowded.
Pro Football Focus went ahead and did the work for us, ranking the top 10 best quarterbacks entering Week 5. Not surprisingly, Ole Miss gunslinger Chad Kelly makes the list at No. 9 — but he’s not getting credit for the top spot in the SEC.
Instead, Arkansas’ Austin Allen is. You probably didn’t see that one coming, did you?
Here are the comments made regarding Allen’s lofty ranking:
Allen graded well through the first three weeks of the season but had a breakout performance in the Razorbacks’ 45-24 loss to a very good Texas A&M team. He was 28 of 40 on aimed passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns, grading very well on pass attempts of 10 or more yards and on pressured dropbacks. For the season he ranks third in PFF grades, and has excelled on high-degree-of-difficulty throws. He has been under pressure on 40 percent of his dropbacks, the second-highest rate in the nation, and 63.3 percent of his passing yards have come in the air – the fifth-highest rate in the nation, and a sign that he isn’t just racking up stats with short throws that produce big gains after the catch.
As well as the comments on Kelly:
He ranks fifth in passer rating and third in deep-ball adjusted completion rate – the latter of which is particularly impressive given that 22 percent of his pass attempts travel 20 or more yards downfield, the sixth-highest rate in the nation. Even more impressive: He has performed well despite being under pressure on 36 percent of his dropbacks, the seventh-highest rate in the nation, and 70 percent of his yards have come in the air, the second-highest rate.
Here are the complete rankings:
1. Lamar Jackson, Louisville
2. Patrick Mahomes II, Texas Tech
3. Davis Webb, Cal
4. Deshaun Watson, Clemson
5. Seth Russell, Baylor
6. Austin Allen, Arkansas
7. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
8. Jake Browning, Washington
9. Chad Kelly, Ole Miss
10. Mitch Trubisky, North Carolina
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).