ESPN ranks Top 10 quarterbacks ahead of 2024 college football season

Ahead of college football season ESPN has released its list of the top 100 players in the country. From that, we can pull out the top 10 quarterbacks nationally as we enter the 2024 campaign.

There are some good ones, with 10 quarterbacks ranked in the top 56 players nationally for the Worldwide Leader.

Let’s take a look at ESPN’s rankings inside to see which quarterbacks might be dealing the most damage come Saturdays this fall. We start with a quarterback most should be familiar with: Georgia’s Carson Beck.

1. Carson Beck, Georgia

ESPN ranks Beck as the No. 7 overall player in the country heading into his senior season. He’s coming off a tremendous year in which he helped captain the Bulldogs back to the SEC Championship Game, essentially keeping the program from missing a beat after losing veteran leader Stetson Bennett.

Beck himself has said that he slowly developed over the course of the season last year and was seeing things much more clearly by year’s end. That’s scary news for the rest of college football, because even so Beck threw for 3,941 yards with 24 touchdowns. He’ll have to work with a retooled receiving corps, but the Bulldogs hit the transfer portal hard to give him options.

2. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon

Perhaps the most high-profile transfer of the entire offseason, Gabriel goes from Oklahoma to Oregon, where he’ll look to be a plug-and-play replacement for the departing Bo Nix. He’s a different player, though Oregon will likely be able to do many of the same things offensively.

Gabriel is coming off a season in which he threw for 3,660 yards and 30 touchdowns. Moreover, he’ll have some of the most dangerous weapons in the sport this fall, with the Ducks’ duo of Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart one of the nation’s best.

3. Jalen Milroe, Alabama

Milroe checks in as ESPN’s No. 22 ranked player going into the season. Like Beck, he developed considerably over the course of the season, perhaps even more drastically. He was benched after just two games, then came back to lead the Crimson Tide to an SEC title and a College Football Playoff berth.

If Milroe can continue to improve as a passer he could be downright lethal, because he’s already one of the nation’s best dual-threat quarterbacks. He threw for 2,834 yards and 23 touchdowns a year ago, against just six interceptions.

4. Quinn Ewers, Texas

Like Milroe, Ewers is coming off a season in which he led his team to a conference title and a College Football Playoff berth in 2023. He’s now got 22 starts under his belt, so he’s also one of the more experienced quarterbacks on this list of the top 10 signal-callers.

Ewers, of course, will have to deal with life in the SEC this fall, which should be a new challenge. Still, Texas’ talent is on par with its new SEC peers, which should make the transition easier. Ewers threw for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns a year ago, but he might have to do more with the Texas backfield ailing due to injuries in fall camp.

5. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

The Colorado quarterback is perhaps one of the most difficult prospects to get a handle on, if only because the talent he was surrounded by last season was so subpar. Ask coach Deion Sanders, though, and he’ll tell you Sheduer has helped attract more quality talent in the trenches that could help the talented quarterback considerably this fall.

Sanders just needs to be kept on his feet. When he has a chance to set and throw he is quite good, flashing that by throwing for 3,230 yards and 27 touchdowns despite playing behind one of the nation’s most porous lines. If he gets a little more help, watch out.

6. Jalon Daniels, Kansas

Injuries, injuries, injuries. Those have overshadowed Daniels’ career. But they haven’t cast a shadow over the immense potential he has, which has been evident in the short bits of work he has gotten over the past two years.

Daniels is one of the nation’s best dual-threat quarterbacks and has routinely displayed remarkable playmaking ability. He’s coming off a season in which he threw for 2,014 yards and 18 touchdowns despite facing back problems starting just four games into the season. If he can stay healthy, he can compete with anyone on this list for the top accolades given to quarterbacks.

7. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss

Despite losing Quinshon Judkins to the transfer portal, few programs have stacked talent around their quarterback quite like Ole Miss has around Dart — on both sides of the ball. Coming off an 11-win season in 2023, the Rebels will be looking to make a playoff run this fall and it starts with Dart.

Dart’s no slouch with his legs, rushing for almost 400 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago. He also threw for 3,364 yard and 23 touchdowns, while throwing only five interceptions. With some quality targets now a year older, Dart could exceed those numbers in 2024.

8. Noah Fifita, Arizona

Fifita is the only quarterback on ESPN’s top 10 list that didn’t already have significant starting experience or start the whole season in 2023. He came in a handful of games into the campaign and was immediately a revelation for the Wildcats, who were the surprise of the Pac-12.

Of course, now Fifita will have to prove he can do it without coach Jedd Fisch, who took his system to Washington this offseason. Still, Fifita churned out 2,869 yards passing and 25 touchdowns in less than a full season of work, so he’s got the potential to do some serious damage this fall.

9. Cam Rising, Utah

Few quarterbacks have as much experience at the college level as Rising, who missed all of the 2023 season with a knee injury sustained late in the 2022 campaign. He’s had plenty of time to get healthy, though, and that should scare the rest of the Big 12.

Rising has both running ability and passing ability, having guided the Utes to back-to-back Pac-12 titles in 2021 and 2022. In his last full season of action, Rising threw for 3,034 yards and 26 touchdowns while also rushing for 409 yards and six scores.

10. Cam Ward, Miami

Miami fans have waited a long time for a quarterback as talented as Ward to grace the roster, and the Washington State transfer looks set to deliver in 2024. ESPN ranks him as the No. 56 overall player in the country heading into the year.

And if you want to talk about capable, Ward threw for 6,963 yards and 48 touchdowns at Washington State, while also rushing for 13 touchdowns. It’ll be interesting to see how he fits into the Hurricanes offense this fall.

So there you have it, the top 10 quarterbacks in the country heading into the 2024 season. As you can see, it’s a loaded list and one that should produce massive numbers this fall. It’s a good bet some of the best national title contenders will be captained by some of the guys on this list. Luckily, we don’t have to wait much longer for the action to begin.