The 10 most college football quarterback-y names ever

Football has legends just like any sport but does any other sport have player’s names that match their skills quite like football does?

For instance, Jack Youngblood was born to be a football player.  Being born with that name pretty much guaranteed he was going to be destined for greatness at Florida and with the NFL’s Rams or he was going to be a professional boxer.  There wasn’t another option.

What about quarterbacks specifically though?  Which have had the most quarterback-y sounding names in the history of college football?

I ask because Oklahoma just landed a commitment from JUCO transfer General Booty and although I can think of a few other job titles a name like that could hold, being quarterback at a college football powerhouse sounds somewhat fitting.

It got me thinking of the best college quarterbacks based solely on their names and nothing they actually accomplished on the field.

Here’s my top ten:

Bonus - Pop Culture Quarterback

Seemingly every quarterback in a movie or TV show has the name of a quarterback that, well, belongs in a script.

Matt Saracen, Joe Kane, Reno Hightower, and Johnny Moxon are just a few of the great names we’ve been blessed with seeing.  Has any ever topped that of former Florida State commit, quarterback Lance Harbor, though?

If only Harbor didn’t break his leg as a high school senior would Chris Weinke have ever won the Heisman Trophy?  And would Florida State have beaten Oklahoma in the 2000 BCS National Championship?

Onto the list and real college quarterbacks…

10. Reggie Ball - Georgia Tech

With a name like Reggie Ball it shouldn’t be a surprise that the man played in 49 games for Georgia Tech between 2003 and 2006.

What should be surprising is that he completed just 48.6% of his 1,363 career pass attempts despite having Calvin Johnson to throw to for three of those seasons.

9. Zac Champion - Louisiana Tech

Teammates probably thought they were unbeatable being led by a literal Champion, but in two years as Louisiana Tech’s starter, the Bulldogs went just 8-17.

Champion bounced around the Canadian Football League from 2008-2013 with stops in British Columbia, Calgary, and Winnipeg.

8. Peyton Ramsey - Indiana, Northwestern

Peyton Ramsey sounds like a young man who was born wearing a letterman’s jacket and holding a football.

The quarterback wrapped up his collegiate career in 2020 after throwing 54 career touchdown passes in three years at Indiana and in a final season at Northwestern, where he also helped guide the Wildcats to a Citrus Bowl win over Auburn.

7. X'Zavier Bloodsaw - Texas College

It might not have been at the highest level of college football but has a quarterback ever had a more intimidating name than X’Zavier Bloodsaw?

His name is that of a legendary movie villain and sounds like someone you’d hate to ever let down.

Fitting that he was a college quarterback and now coaches the position at Nimitz High School in Texas.

Bloodsaw played quarterback at Texas College from 2006-2009 and averaged over 270 yards of offense his senior season.

6. Steele Jantz - Iowa State

Shoutout to Iowa State who has *three former quarterbacks that deserved discussion about making this list, but ultimately who I only included one of.

Steele Jantz sounds like a quarterback who can not only stay in the pocket and deliver a pass while about to be blasted by a blitzing linebacker but also like a powerful runner who could bulldoze an opponent in the open field.

Jantz threw for 3,122 yards and 23 touchdowns during his two seasons quarterbacking Iowa State.

Unfortunately, he threw 23 interceptions in that time, too.

*-Spoiler Alert: Sage Rosenfels and Seneca Wallace were both mentioned but didn’t ultimately make the list

5. Major Applewhite - Texas

It still angers me that one of the best names in the history of college football was replaced by one of the most boring ones.

Major Applewhite is either a star quarterback or a war hero, that’s the bar when you’re born with that name.

Chris Simms is the name of an insurance salesman that can’t wait to tell you about breaking 90 on the golf course on how great of a fantasy draft he had three years ago.

Applewhite completed over 600 passes as Texas’ quarterback between 1998 and 2001 but was ultimately replaced by Simms his final season.

Applewhite is currently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at South Alabama.

4. Kliff Kingsbury - Texas Tech

The only thing besides a starting quarterback at a Texas program that you could be with a name like Kliff Kingsbury is a power-armed pitcher that throws 102 and strikes out every other batter he faces.

This KK went the football route though and after record-setting college career, eventually became the head coach at his alma mater before being fired and eventually named the Arizona Cardinals head coach.

3. Brock Berlin - Florida, Miami

As with Kingsbury above, bonus points for the alliteration.

We can’t confirm that the first shirt Brock Berlin ever wore had a popped collar we have a feeling it probably did.

Berlin was a Parade All-American in high school and named USA TODAY’s National Offensive Player of the Year in 1999.

One of the most-heralded recruits of all-time, Berlin was never able to pass Rex Grossman on Florida’s depth chart, ultimately deciding to transfer to Miami where he played the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

Berlin led Miami to a mighty-fine 20-5 overall record those two seasons but after following in Ken Dorsey’s footsteps, it felt quite disappointing compared to the heights Miami football had just experienced.

Berlin bounced around NFL practice squads for a few years but only appeared in two NFL games, both for the Rams in 2007 and 2008.

After not being able to unseat Rex Grossman as Florida’s starting quarterback, Berlin transferred to Miami

2. Sonny Sixkiller - Washington

It wouldn’t have been quite the same had Sonny Sixkiller’s last name was Eightkiller or Ninekiller, but being a quarterback, Sixkiller is perfect.

Sixkiller was an instant hit on the University of Washington’s campus, guiding the Huskies to a 6-4 record his first year as quarterback, a year after they went just 1-9.

Sixkiller was born in Oklahoma as a member of the Cherokee Nation and moved to Oregon at a young age where his father worked in a lumbermill.

Sixkiller helped lead the Huskies to 8-3 marks his final two seasons (missed four games his final year) but never played in the NFL, instead playing in the World Football League for two seasons.

Washington missed him as soon as he was gone, falling back to a 2-9 mark in 1973.

1. Colt McCoy - Texas

Was it ever a question who was going to be number one?

If Colt McCoy’s name was put in a movie script it’d be scratched out immediately for being too perfect for the real-life tale the Texas quarterback lived.

McCoy was met with the daunting task of replacing a legend in Vince Young and all he did was throw for over 33,000 yards, 112 touchdowns, and lead the Longhorns to a national championship appearance in his four years.

I’m fairly certain the only way Colt McCoy could have a more quarterback-y name is if his middle name was Landry.

He’s easily the top choice for this list, a race McCoy wins by Secretariat type lenghts.

(Sidenote – Colt is actually his middle name, Daniel is his first name)

Story originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire