On Saturday, the 510-yard debut performance by Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders not only sent Twitter into a tailspin but also gave every NFL draft pundit like myself another player to keep a close eye on for the 2024 NFL draft.
Sanders threw for 510 yards and four touchdowns in a win over TCU and displayed about as pretty of a deep ball as we’ve seen in college football. And despite this being a one-game sample at Colorado, Sanders had two seasons at Jackson State where he did similar things, albeit against lesser competition.
Nevertheless, without being too reactionary, after taking in the first weekend of college football, here are my updated very preliminary quarterback rankings.
1 - Caleb Williams, USC
Not to be outdone by Sanders, Caleb Williams threw for 313 yards and five passing touchdowns and pitched in 42 rushing yards in a win over Nevada.
2 - Drake Maye, North Carolina
Drake Maye was outgunned in the boxscore by Spencer Rattler but came away with the win. Maye had his moments throwing for 262 passing yards and two touchdowns but also threw a pair of interceptions.
3 - Bo Nix, Oregon
Nix came out strong on Saturday with 287 yards and three passing touchdowns in a short day against Portland State.
4 - Jayden Daniels, LSU
Jayden Daniels is one of my favorite prospects and he will make his 2023 season debut with LSU on Sunday night in a huge showdown with Florida State.
5 - Michael Penix Jr., Washignton
The second-best passing game of the weekend came from Michael Penix Jr. who threw for 450 yards and five touchdowns against Boise State. Penix is one of those guys who could really rise this season.
6 - Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
This spot is tenuous but after one week, we slide Sanders into our top six. And it has as much to do with his body of work as it has with that single game against TCU. The key will be for him to maintain that level of play throughout the season.
7 - J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
J.J. McCarthy came out looking poised and pro-ready against East Carolina throwing for 280 yards and three touchdowns.
8 - Riley Leonard, Duke
Riley Leonard comes out of the gate on Monday night taking on a stout Clemson defense.
9 - Quinn Ewers, Texas
Ewers had 290 passing yards, 12 rushing yards and four total touchdowns against Rice. I’m still a bit of an Ewers skeptic but this was a solid first game.
10 - Jordan Travis, Florida State
Jordan Travis gets an excellent first test when he takes on LSU on Sunday night.
Who got the bump?
So which quarterback fell out of my top 10 to include Sanders? It was Arkansas K.J. Jefferson who had 257 yards of offense and four total touchdowns in a blowout of Western Carolina.
