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Bill Connelly
With each passing season, ranking the college quarterbacks of the 2000s gets a little trickier.
The general consensus was that quarterback play was down a little bit in 2024 after the loss of stars such as Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams. But don’t tell that to the five 2024 stars who join this ever-expanding list.
Dillon Gabriel, Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Shedeur Sanders and Kurtis Rourke combined to throw for 73,849 yards and 607 touchdowns at all levels in their respective careers. Gabriel and Rourke led remarkable playoff runs in 2024, Ward and Dart nearly did the same, and Sanders showed up at a one-win school and left with a nine-win season. They all more than earned spots on what is now a 90-QB list.
It’s once again time to update the list of the best quarterbacks of the century. Everything we thought about evolving quarterback play as we were watching Virginia Tech’s Michael Vick, Purdue’s Drew Brees and the wonders of the Mike Leach offense in the late 1990s grew exponentially in the first quarter of the 21st century, but via gaudy passing totals or invigorating runs, dynamite QB play has remained the norm. To the list!
90. Max Hall, BYU
Years: 2007-09
Stats: 11,365 passing yards, 65% completion rate, 94 TD, 40 INT
The post-LaVell Edwards era didn’t start incredibly well at BYU, but thanks to a rejuvenated and prolific passing offense, led first by John Beck and then by Hall, the Cougars ripped off four consecutive seasons with double-digit wins and reestablished themselves near the top of the Mountain West hierarchy.
89. Hendon Hooker, Virginia Tech/Tennessee
Years: 2018-22
Stats: 8,974 passing yards, 67% completion rate, 80 TD, 12 INT, 2,079 rushing yards, 25 rushing TD
He flashed potential in three seasons at Virginia Tech, but no one knew just what Hooker was capable of until he paired up with Josh Heupel at UT. After a solid junior season, he threw for 3,135 yards and 27 TDs as a senior, but those were just 11-game totals — a serious Heisman contender, he tore an ACL against South Carolina, missed the last two games and finished fifth in voting instead.
88. Jake Browning, Washington
Years: 2015-18
Stats: 12,296 passing yards, 65% completion rate, 94 TD, 34 INT, 16 rushing TD
After a solid debut as a freshman, Browning was as responsible as anyone for Washington’s 2016 breakout campaign; he threw for 3,340 yards and 43 scores that year and finished sixth in Heisman voting as the Huskies charged to 12 wins and a College Football Playoff bid.
87. McKenzie Milton, UCF/Florida State
Years: 2016-21
Stats: 9,458 passing yards, 61% completion rate, 75 TD, 28 INT, 1,066 rushing yards, 20 rushing TD
Oh, what could have been. Milton led UCF to an unbeaten season in 2017, throwing for 4,037 yards and 37 touchdowns, and he was on pace for career numbers in the 12,000-yard, 100-TD range. But he suffered a catastrophic leg injury late in 2018, which effectively cut his career short. It took him three years to see the field again, as an FSU backup.
86. Braxton Miller, Ohio State
Years: 2011-15
Stats: 5,295 passing yards, 59% completion rate, 52 TD, 17 INT, 3,314 rushing yards, 33 rushing TD
Miller posted seasons of 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in 2012 and 2013 while winning the Big Ten’s offensive player of the year award both seasons. He also finished fifth in the Heisman voting in 2012. But a shoulder injury altered his career; after missing 2014, he moved to receiver for his senior season in 2015.
85. Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky
Years (FBS only): 2021
Stats: 5,967 passing yards, 69% completion rate, 62 TD, 11 INT
This is an FBS-specific list, so the fact that Zappe threw for 10,004 yards at Houston Christian before even arriving at WKU doesn’t really come into play. But he makes this list on the power of one utterly ridiculous season. Zappe topped 400 yards in eight games and ended up with more career FBS passing yards than Troy Smith. In 14 games.
84. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
Years (FBS only): 2023-24
Stats: 7,364 passing yards, 72% completion rate, 64 TD, 13 INT
After throwing for 6,963 yards and 70 TDs (and winning 23 games) at Jackson State, Sanders moved with his father to Colorado in 2023; the Buffaloes had gone 1-11 before their arrival but rose to 4-8, then 9-4 in the quarterback’s two seasons running the show. Sanders and Travis Hunter became the faces of a Buffaloes turnaround.
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