NCAA’s Young Guns

By Dustin Snyder
Love of Sports Correspondent

Who says experience is everything?

Maybe more than ever before, coaches are turning to the best player available rather than the oldest guy on the depth chart. This season, there are a number of young guns who are proving experience may not be the best factor when deciding who takes the snaps on Saturday afternoons.

Even at storied programs, the next in line is rarely the next in line. Over a dozen underclassmen are answering the call of duty this season and are amongst the nation’s best at the quarterback position.

NCAA’s Top Young Guns

1. Kellen Moore, Freshman, Boise State

In the 2007 recruiting class, there were four four-star quarterbacks out of the Seattle area: Moore, Jason Munns, Jake Gelakoska and Kellen Kiilsgaard. Munns went to BYU and isn’t even on the team this season as he takes his two-year Mormon mission. Kiilsgaard went to Stanford, switched positions a couple times and is no longer on the team. Gelakoska couldn’t even get academically eligible for Oregon State. Kellen Moore? Well, he’s on a list of the best underclassmen quarterbacks in the country. En route to that, he beat out a number of upperclassmen for the starting spot on a very prestigious non-BCS team. He’s currently 31st in the nation in passing, with 840 yards and five touchdowns for the Broncos of Boise State. He also has a rushing score on his belt. His QB rating of 178.9 is simply amazing, ranking seventh in the country.

2. Case Keenum, Sophomore, Houston

When Art Briles left Houston to take over the enormous job of rebuilding the Baylor program, UH turned over the reigns to first-time head coach Ken Sumlin. He inherited the next great Houston quarterback in Keenum. That list is a stellar one, including first round NFL draft picks Andre Ware and David Klingler and second rounder Kevin Kolb. As a freshman, Keenum alternated starts and ended up with 2,260 passing yards, 14 TDs and 10 INTs. He also rushed for 412 yards and nine scores. So far this season, he ranks first in the nation in passing yards, with 1,925, to go with 19 TDs and five picks, with 399 of those yards coming in last week’s upset of East Carolina. He has a QB rating of 150.2, with ranks 27th nationally, and doesn’t appear to have missed a step through the coaching transition.

3. Omar Clayton, Sophomore, UNLV

Clayton’s quite possibly the best player in the country you’ve never heard of. The Mountain West is having an excellent season so far, and this conference race is shaping up to be a real collision. If any of these teams run the gauntlet, it is pretty safe to say they deserve that BCS bid. Although most experts have Vegas as the fourth-best MWC team, that’s kind of like saying Gisele Bunchen’s the fourth-hottest woman on the planet. They’re both still pretty hot. Clayton’s leading the way for coach Mike Sanford, who’s now reaping the benefits of his first recruiting class. Last year, Clayton threw for 618 yards, four TDs and five picks before ending with season-ending injury. This year, he already has 1,104 yards passing with an awesome 12 TDs against just one interception. He’s also scampered for 103 and a TD. His passing numbers put him 25th in the nation, well ahead of a lot of kids you’ve seen on television.

4. Terrelle Pryor, Freshman, Ohio State

We’ve been beaten over the head with Pryor news to the point where we all feel like the carnival game where you have to smack the critters before they disappear back in their holes. But the reality of Pryor is that he really is the new reality, and is quite possibly the best high school football player since the Taft adminsitration. In some ways, he deserves the hype. In others, we’re headed down a very dangerous path with college football recruiting, and it seems to only get worse every season. Ohio State’s made the effort to try and change their course, which seemed to be headed in a downward spiral under slow-footed Todd Boeckman. You’ll have to explain to me how a team brought back nine starters on both sides of the ball and be worse than they were in the previous season. Not only were the Buckeyes outclassed, they were unmotivated. Pryor will change all that. This dual-threat behemoth has finally taken over the reins in Columbus, and there won’t be any second-guessing that decision. He has 296 yards passing thus far, with five TDs. His big strides look to some like he isn’t running very hard, but he’s already tallied 292 yards on the ground and three scores.

5. Cody Hawkins, Sophomore, Colorado

It’s never easy being the son of a coach, especially one who reminds people of ‘Billy Jack’. Growing up in that house was probably a pretty interesting story, with the coach preaching ancient philosophy. When Dan Hawkins left Boise State to take over a very troubled Colorado program, he had his work cut out for him. And to help alleviate those troubles, he brought his son on board to run the show. It’s worked well for them. In 2007, Cody threw for 3,015 yards with a solid 22 TDs. He also picked up three scores with his feet. So far this year, the Buffs are 3-1 under Cody and are hosting a Texas team this week that’s finally playing inspired football. Heading into this week, Hawkins is 63rd in the nation in passing, with 808 yards, nine TDs and just four INTs. He also has two scores on the ground.

6. Tyrod Taylor, Sophomore, Virginia Tech

Taylor’s one of many recent, excellent Hampton area quarterbacks. Coming into this season, Tech head coach Frank Beamer wanted him to redshirt. Everyone outside of the coaching staff was scratching their heads at the move, and it didn’t take long for Sean Glennon, who’s made interceptions an art form, to find himself on the sidelines. Last season, Taylor threw for just 927 yards and five TDs, but rushed for 429 yards and six scores. His passing stats have gotten off to a slow start in ‘08, mainly because of his lack of participation in the first few games. However, he has 308 yards and two TDs on the ground while leading the Hokies to a pair of gritty wins over UNC and Nebraska.

7. T.J. Yates, Sophomore, North Carolina

Last year, Yates was given the reigns to lead the charge in Butch Davis’ quest to make UNC respectable again. He was having an excellent year before a nagging shoulder injury put the kibosh on his 2007 stats. By the end of the year, he had 2,655 yards with 14 TDs and 18 INTs. In the offseason, he had surgery on his shoulder and made it back just in time to retake the starting role. Unfortunately for him, he was injured in the heartbreaking loss to Virginia Tech and missed the Miami agme. He figures to be sidelined about five weeks, but should be the starter again when he returns.

8. Andy Dalton, Sophomore, TCU

Andy Dalton’s actually one of my two favorite Daltons - the other being Patrick Swayze’s DAlton character in Road House. Dalton’s taking snaps for what may be the most underrated non-BCS team of this early 2008 season. The Dalton Gang had an excellent opportunity this past weekend to put TCU back in BCS contention, but fell short to the #1-ranked Sooners in Norman. This is a program who generally plays up to their level of competition … and also down to it. Last season, though, he threw for 2,459 yards and 10 TDs, while running for 232 yards and five more. So far this season, he has 818 passing yards and has rushed for 216 and five scores.

9. Colin Kaepernick, Sophomore, Nevada

Kaepernick won what very well may have been the closest offseason QB battle in all of Division I football. No matter who won the battle, the Wolfpack would’ve been sitting pretty as the WAC spoiler for 2008. Everyone was all over Fresno, despite a track record of laying more eggs than Peter Rabbit. As a freshman, he threw for 2,175 yards, with a ridiculous TD/INT ration of 19:3. Surprisingly athletic for his size, he also punishes opponents with his feet, rushing for 593 yards and six TDs last year on his way to being the 2007 WAC Freshman Player of the Year. So far in 2008, he’s passed for 714 yards and four TDs. He also has 454 rushing yards and an impressive seven scores, three of those coming in last week’s upset of UNLV.

10. Jake Locker, Sophomore, Washington

Locker already has legendary status in the college football world, and his size only adds to it. Even with his giant stature, he’s still a big-time threat with his feet. In 2007, he rushed for 986 yards and 13 TDs, while passing for 2,062 yards and 14 scores. This year, he has 512 yards through the air, but only one TD. However, he does have 180 rushing yards and three trips to the end zone. But the thing he’s most known for this season is the undeserved celebration penalty after scoring what should’ve been a tying touchdown in the final seconds of the BYU game. He has two more years after this season.

11. Mark Cann, Freshman, Marshall

Marshall’s a program that’s seemingly been looking for a spark the past few seasons and may have finally found one in Cann. He’s the latest in a long list of great signal-callers for the Thundering Herd. A South Carolina native, one recruiting site had Marshall listed as Cann’s only college offer. But the folks in Huntington are glad Mark Snyder brought him on board. Once there, he beat out Georgia Tech transfer Jonathan Garner for the starting spot and has orchestrated wins over both Memphis and Southern Miss. This team is tough and showing signs of life. After last week’s rivalry game with WVU, Cann now has 943 yards passing with five TDs, ranking 43rd nationally in passing, with a QB rating of 109.14.

12. Robert Griffin, Freshman, Baylor

New head coach Art Briles is one of the coaches who couldn’t possibly care any less about a quarterback being a youngster. Briles started Kevin Kolb at Houston when he was a freshman and it worked perfectly. He has another great underclassman at Baylor this year in Griffin, who passed on offers to much more prestigious programs in order to stay close to home. Griffin currently 756 yards and seven TDs with no interceptions in his first season, along with 334 yards and five TDs on the ground. He’s currently 10th in the nation in QB rating, at 171.28.

13. Jamie Hampton, Sophomore, Troy

It isn’t easy following a great quarterback like Omar Haugabook, but Hampton’s doing his part to wipe away the sad tears of his predecessor’s graduation. Troy’s once again poised to contend for the Fun Belt championship, even with a new offensive coordinator. Hampton’s 2007 stats are nothing to get very excited about. In very limited duty, he picked up just 45 yards passing with a TD and a pick. On the ground, he fared a bit better, with 161 yards. As conference play is set to get started, his stats are going to skyrocket. So far, he’s having a great season, ranking 44th nationally in passing yardage, with 930 yards, along with nine TDs.

14. Robert Marve, Freshman, Miami

Marve’s career at Miami is already one full of drama. Last season, he was unfortunately involved in a car accident that ended his season, and he was forced to redshirt. With the departure of the much maligned Kyle Wright, and the transfer of Kirby Freeman to Baylor, the door was open for Marve to step through. In his first year as the starter, things haven’t exactly been coming up roses. Through the growing pains, though, he’s shown sparks of complete brilliance that’ll lead this team through the Randy Shannon transition. He does, however, have another young gun in Jacory Harris nipping at his heels.

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