PFF Rankings: College starting quarterback rankings for 2019, August 13, 2019
21. Tennessee: Jarrett Guarantano
During the 2018 season, Guarantano's performance against Kentucky was the highest-graded single-game outing among returning quarterbacks. He showcased what made him such a highly-touted recruit as the No. 1 dual-threat QB from New Jersey and the No. 2 player overall from his state. His marked improvement from 2017 to 2018 gives reason for hope of a big season in Knoxville this year.
PFF Rankings: Final college football starting quarterback rankings, January 14,2020
80. Jarrett Guarantano, Brian Maurer – Tennessee
Preseason Rank: 21; Week 6 Rank: 115; Week 12 Rank: 87
Someone with all the talent in the world, Guarantano couldn’t quite get things rolling in a consistent fashion in 2019. He all too often followed up an amazing game with a dud, and not once this season did he have a repeat performance of the two game grades above 66.0. His highs were among the best in the country with two games above 90.0 overall, but some of his lows rivaled those among the worst in the nation, as he saw four single-game grades lower than 48.0. He’s a career 60.0% completion percentage kind of guy, and that was similar in 2019, but he’s yet to finish a season with a passing grade in our elite grade range despite teasing it in multiple games during his career. If he plays a full season at his highest capacity, Guarantano breaks the top 10 among all quarterbacks. Can that happen in 2020, please?
PFF - 2020 College Football Quarterback Rankings: Projected starters on our schedule including JG.
3. JAMIE NEWMAN, GEORGIA
There might not be a more underrated player in college football than Newman, who is set to join Georgia from Wake Forest. Wake didn't cater to Newman's arm talent as much as it should have, as they instead relied heavily on his athleticism in the ground attack. Newman's mobility is a great attribute, but his arm talent is far superior. His touch downfield is arguably the best in the country, and it was instrumental in him producing the second-best deep (20-plus-yard throws) passing grade among Power 5 quarterbacks. The new Georgia signal-caller wasn't necessarily in an ideal situation at Wake Forest, given his usage, the RPO-heavy offense and the lack of separators in the receiving unit. He actually had to throw into a tight window at a higher rate than any quarterback in the country, yet he overcame that and earned the second-best passing grade on such throws. Now, Newman will go to a Todd Monken-led offense at Georgia that will cater to his strengths and is boosted by an incredible supporting cast. Dawg nation is in line for a lot of success with Newman — and not J.T. Daniels — under center.
16. KELLEN MOND, TEXAS A&M
Mond plays exceptionally well on the move. He's put up a 75.0 rushing grade and 1,368 yards on the ground since 2018, and he has also produced the fourth-best grade in the FBS when throwing from outside the pocket. That said, he falls to 16th here due to his inconsistencies from inside the pocket. Mond has actually earned a higher grade outside the pocket than inside the last two years, which isn't common at all. Perhaps we will see an improvement in this regard as he enters his third year in Jimbo Fisher's difficult pro-style offense.
24. MAC JONES, ALABAMA
Jones is no Tua Tagovailoa, but he's more than capable of leading Alabama's loaded offense to success. He is a sharp decision-maker — he had only four turnover-worthy throws last year — and he has the ability to tie his feet and eyes together to get through reads. There is, however, one glaring concern we have with Jones going into his first year as the Crimson Tide starter: His negatively graded play rate on throws from a clean pocket (screen passes excluded) ranked 131st of 150 FBS quarterbacks. It's a relatively small sample, but it is something to keep in mind.
36. JARRETT GUARANTANO, TENNESSEE
Accuracy is a massive issue with Guarantano — in terms of accuracy rate, he actually ranks last among FBS quarterbacks with at least 160 pass attempts that traveled 10 or more yards since 2018. He has, however, taken very good care of the football. Since 2018, his turnover-worthy play rate ranks 11th of 90 FBS quarterbacks. Just as we said in the PFF College Magazine, Guarantano commands the offense and understands timing and footwork; he just needs to find some consistency within his play. His accuracy is likely going to remain unchanged at this stage in his career.
48. KYLE TRASK, FLORIDA
Trask displayed dependable accuracy (11th in FBS in accurate pass rate beyond the line of scrimmage), which again is the top trait you want in a quarterback, but also had really poor decision-making. He had a -13 differential in big-time throws and turnover-worthy plays last year (9:22), which was tied for fourth-worst in the country. For perspective, only two other SEC quarterbacks had a negative differential, and they both sat at -1. In terms of big-time throw rate and turnover-worthy play rate, Trask ranked 116th and 110th in the FBS. He got extremely lucky on most of those turnover-worthy plays, which made his box score stats look better than he actually was.
53. FELEIPE FRANKS, ARKANSAS
Franks is no top-tier quarterback, he will certainly make the offense remarkably better in tandem with incoming offensive coordinator Kendal Briles — specifically within the deep passing attack (Franks had a 14-to-3 big-time throw to turnover-worthy play ratio on deep passes in 2018). Keep in mind, though, he did that with a great slew of receivers at Florida. While Arkansas will have an improvement at the quarterback position in Franks, it’s a marginal change and he will likely be at best an average quarterback considering the supporting cast.
76. TERRY WILSON, KENTUCKY
Wilson could help boost a passing game that slowly slipped away in 2019. However, last year's Lynn Bowden-led offense generated more EPA per play than the Wilson-led one of 2018, and we still have concerns with Wilson's ability as a passer. His performance under pressure was frightening (he ranked 129th in passing grade in 2018), and his downfield passing was inconsistent. Wilson is dynamic as a runner but nowhere near the level of Bowden.
95. BO NIX, AUBURN
Nix may have won SEC Freshman of the Year, but he really didn’t play like it. When kept clean, Nix earned a 69.2 passing grade, which ranked 107th among 130 FBS quarterbacks. As said in the PFF College Magazine, he struggled to move the ball on schemed plays and has suspect downfield accuracy. Nix may have been a five-star recruit and the No. 1-ranked dual-threat quarterback coming out of high school, but we just haven’t seen enough from him to make us believe he will ever live up to that hype.
100. RYAN HILINSKI, SOUTH CAROLINA
Hilinski was one of the most conservative quarterbacks we saw last season. He had an average depth of target of just 7.1 yards, the third-lowest mark in the FBS. In turn, South Carolina had a lethargic offense that ranked 115th in expected points added per pass play. And when Hilinski did throw it downfield, the results weren’t pretty. He had an uncatchable pass rate on throws 10-plus yards downfield of 53.3%, the third-worst in the FBS. No risk it, no biscuit.
104. KEN SEALS, VANDERBILT
Seals is not a lock for the job, but the incoming true freshman might be the best choice to helm Vanderbilt's offense. He was a three-star recruit who ranked 510th nationally in the 2019 class, according to 247Sports. Regardless, Vanderbilt can't be much worse in 2020. The Commodores ranked 125th of the 130 FBS teams in expected points added per pass play and 128th in team passing grade (39.7). They may have lost a bevy of key skill position players, but Seals should outperform their 2019 quarterback situation.
110. SHAWN ROBINSON, MISSOURI
The Eli Drinkwitz era will likely kick off with Robinson under center after he had to sit out 2019 following a transfer from TCU. Robinson started seven games in an injury-plagued 2018 season for the Horned Frogs and had some serious ball protection issues. He had a 6.9% turnover-worthy play rate, ranking 130th among 139 qualifying FBS quarterbacks. Robinson can make some big plays with his legs, but he has to improve his decision-making. Otherwise, SEC defenses will shred Missouri's offense.