Kyle Whittingham analyzes quality of quarterbacks in Pac-12

Since Utah joined the Pac-12 in 2011, Kyle Whittingham has seen plenty of great quarterbacks come through league. This year, though, he knows it’s no ordinary season at that position.

“I think you’re right,” Whittingham said when asked about the quality of quarterbacks in 2023, “this is probably the strongest group that we’ve ever had as a whole.”

The most noteworthy returner in the Pac-12 is USC’s Caleb Williams, fresh off a Heisman Trophy. But there are plenty of others. Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. finished ninth in the Heisman voting last year. Bo Nix could be poised for a big second season at Oregon. At Arizona, Jayden de Laura ranked third in the Pac-12 in passing a year ago.

In addition to the big names returning, three highly touted quarterbacks came to the Pac-12 via the transfer portal. DJ Uiagalelei arrived at Oregon State, Sam Jackson is now at Cal and Shedeur Sanders joined his father at Colorado. They came in as the respective No. 4, No. 6 and No. 10-ranked transfer quarterbacks in the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings.

Of course, there’s also Utah’s Cameron Rising, who has led the Utes to back-to-back Pac-12 titles. Whittingham has certainly noticed how much attention goes to the other quarterbacks, too, and he said that shows just how strong the league is at the position this year, comparing it to one of Utah’s first in the conference.

“It is the conference of quarterbacks, without a doubt,” Whittingham said. “Just for an example, our guy, Cam Rising, who led us to the last two Pac-12 championships, is not even honorable mention, which is crazy to me. That speaks to the level of quarterbacks we have in the league. No disrespect to the guys that are the pre-season guys because they’re very deserving, have played exceptional football.

“I think the only time that really compares to where the league is right now is when we first got in the league, it was Marcus Mariota, USC was [Matt] Barkley. There were some really good quarterbacks when we first entered.”

From top to bottom, the Pac-12 has plenty of quarterback talent to wreak havoc on opposing defenses. That makes life tough for defensive coordinators such as Colorado’s Charles Kelly, who detailed the challenges of game-planning against the different QBs.

“First of all, the quarterbacks in this league are just absolutely incredible,” Kelly said. “It’s a very impressive group. And might I say, I’m pretty proud of our quarterback, also. I think Shedeur has done some incredible things in his career and I’m anxious to watch what he can do. I mean, some of the numbers that he’s put up. But to your question, every quarterback in this conference is different.

“And if you watch them play, they have a unique skillset that is a little bit different from week to week. So that puts a challenge on us calling the defense or going into a game with a game plan. We have to be a little bit strategic on how we control each of these guys a little bit different.”