CBS Sports ranks the top 10 CFB quarterbacks following spring practice

I know some people who don’t believe it’s a lock Daniels will be LSU’s starter to begin the season. I don’t buy that; he was too good for the Tigers last season to lose his job. That doesn’t mean he’s incapable of losing it eventually, but he’s a huge reason LSU will be ranked so highly in the preseason polls and a “dark horse” to win the natty next season. I must show the proper respect.

I have to keep a Group of Five — sorry, Mike Aresco — QB in here to maintain my street cred. I don’t want to get labeled a casual who only cares about the Power Five, even though 85% of college football fans only care about the Power Five. Thankfully, Michael Pratt makes it easy to include him in these rankings because he’s awesome. The fact he purportedly turned down a shot at playing at an SEC school to remain at Tulane only makes him more awesome.

OK, hand up: I’ll admit I got too caught up in Florida State hype a couple of months ago. That doesn’t mean I’m off the Florida State bandwagon, because I’m not. I have the Seminoles winning the ACC and getting to the playoff. That said, I will pump the brakes slightly on Jordan Travis. I still love him and believe he can be a top-five QB in the country next season, but I need to make him earn it.

Imagine that you were the starting QB of the reigning Big Ten champion and a team that reached the College Football Playoff the last two seasons. You’re also the starting QB of the favorite to win the Big Ten in 2023. Yet, for some reason, you aren’t the Big Ten player with the best odds of winning the Heisman. Instead, it’s a player who hasn’t even been named the starter at Ohio State (Kyle McCord). I hope McCarthy has those odds printed out and taped to the weight room wall as he deadlifts a billion pounds.

I’m excited to follow the Bo Nix draft hype all year. While he’s not getting Will Levis-level hype, there’s already disagreement among the draftniks about Nix’s future, and I enjoy watching people fight. Some consider it a character flaw. Anyway, while I was impressed by Nix last season, I have some concerns about 2023 since Kenny Dillingham left to take the Arizona State job. Not enough to remove Nix from the rankings, but enough to monitor the situation.

Hartman has yet to take a snap in a Notre Dame uniform, but he’s already forced two competitors out of town. That’s powerful as hell. Drew Pyne started most of Notre Dame’s games last season and left for Arizona State. Ty Buchner stuck around longer to see if he could take Hartman out this spring, but he couldn’t. Now Buchner’s reunited with Tommy Rees at Alabama. All that remains is one of the most productive players in the country. His beard is going to pop in that blue and gold.

I take no joy in knocking Penix down several spots. He did nothing wrong over the last two months. He’s merely a victim of the gains made by Maye and Ewers. He still has the rocket arm that elicits squeals of delight when I watch him from time to time, and you cannot put a price on that.

Ewers did not appear in our last set of rankings because while it was generally assumed he’d be Texas’ starter in 2023, it wasn’t certain. Well, it is now. Steve Sarkisian announced Ewers as the starter following spring practice, besting Arch Manning and Maalik Murphy for the job. I’m thrilled about it. I love Ewers, and did you see he got a haircut? For some, that’s probably a knock, but for me, it shows he’s maturing. Who was the last QB to win a title with a mullet? Exactly. This is the kind of growth you want to see.

Speaking of those early mock drafts, Drake Maye gets a boost in these rankings because he showed up right behind Williams at No. 2 in many of them. Should that matter? Maybe not. Does it? Yep! There had been some speculation that Maye could leave North Carolina to join a title contender this offseason, but it looks like he’s staying at North Carolina. Let’s pretend that loyalty played a role in this ranking, too. It didn’t, but if we say it did, it makes it look like we have integrity.

I assume I’ll be asked to write another set of these rankings at least once before the season begins, but you can safely assume that Caleb Williams will remain No. 1 in those, too. He’s the reigning Heisman winner and showing up at No. 1 in all those Way-Too-Early NFL Mock Drafts for 2024. And he should be. Until somebody steps up and knocks him from the top of the mountain, he’s the best QB in the country.