The most important QB names to know in the 2023 Pac-12 season
As we continue our preview of the 2023 college football season in the Pac-12 conference, we are going to shift our focus from individual teams to individual positions. The last several weeks have been spent picking apart each school out west, finding where they improved the most over the offseason, and identifying what realistic expectations should be for them going forward.
You can see them all here: Arizona Wildcats — Arizona State Sun Devils — California Golden Bears — Colorado Buffaloes — Oregon State Beavers — Stanford Cardinal — UCLA Bruins — USC Trojans — Utah Utes — Washington Huskies — Washington State Cougars
Now we’re going to look at position groups as a whole in the conference. Whether it’s a quarterback or a linebacker, a punter or a safety, there are dozens of highly talented players out west. We want to go through them all, position group by position group, and highlight some of the most important names that fans should know at each spot.
It all starts with the quarterback, and unless something abnormal takes place, it usually ends with the quarterback as well. The 2023 season in the Pac-12 is going to be defined by quarterback play, with some of the best passers in the nation getting set out west to try and end the conference drought in the College Football Playoff.
There are three sure-fire Heisman Trophy contenders, with a fourth or fifth hanging around the fringes. There are offensive masterminds scattered throughout the landscape ready to dial up shots down the field. There’s a chance that, in the final year of the Pac-12 as we know it, we are going to see a better display of quarterback play than we ever have before.
So who are the guys that you need to pay attention to and keep on your radar as we get set for fall camp to begin in a couple of weeks? Here’s who we are looking at:
Caleb Williams — USC Trojans
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2022 Stats – 333-for-500 passing (66.6 percent), 4,537 yards, 42 TD, 5 INT
Career Stats – 469-for-711 passing (66 percent), 6,449 63 TD, 9 INT
Notable Accolades: Heisman Trophy (2022) / Maxwell Award (2022) / AP College Football Player of the Year (2022) / Walter Camp Award (2022) / Unanimous All-American (2022)
Why You Should Know Him: Do you need me to list his accolades again? Let’s be real. Caleb Williams won the most prestigious award in college football last year, and he’s attempting to become the second player ever to win it in back-to-back years this season. With the USC Trojans’ prolific offense under Lincoln Riley, there’s no doubt in my mind that anyone who follows college football already knows who Williams is.
Michael Penix Jr. — Washington Huskies
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2022 Stats – 362-for-554 passing (65.3 percent), 4,641 yards, 31 TD, 8 INT
Career Stats – 704-for-1,130 passing (62.3 percent) 8,838 yards, 60 TD, 23 INT
Notable Accolades: Second Team All-Pac-12 (2022) / Second Team All-Big Ten (2020)
Why You Should Know Him: When you talk about the quarterbacks in the Pac-12 who can be absolute difference makers and potentially lead their team to a conference title or the College Football Playoff, Michael Penix needs to be on the list. He will likely be among the top QBs off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft, and the Washington offense — with Penix throwing to both Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan — should be among the best in the nation.
Bo Nix — Oregon Ducks
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2022 Stats – 294-for-409 passing (71.9 percent), 3,593 yards, 29 TD, 7 INT
Career Stats – 922-for-1,466 passing (62.9 percent), 10,844 yards, 68 TD, 23 INT
Notable Accolades: SEC Freshman of the Year (2019) / Mr. Alabama Football (2018)
Why You Should Know Him: Before his late-season injury in 2022, Bo Nix was in line to be a Heisman Trophy finalist, and the Ducks were on a collision course to meet USC in the Pac-12 Championship, with the winner likely going on to the College Football Playoff. That is all possible once again in 2023. Nix’s lack of collegiate accolades is a testament to what an improvement we saw from him last year with Kenny Dillingham as his OC. It will be fascinating to see if he can find the same level of success again this year.
Cameron Rising — Utah Utes
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2022 Stats – 249-for-385 passing (64.7 percent), 3,034 yards, 26 TD, 8 INT
Career Stats – 456-for-711 passing (64.1 percent), 5,572 yards, 46 TD, 14 INT
Notable Accolades: Pac-12 Championship MVP (2022) / First Team All-Pac-12 (2021)
Why You Should Know Him: It feels like a lot of people are looking at Utah with some skepticism this year because there is some speculation on whether or not he will be fully healthy by the time the year starts. But when it is 100%, there are few players in the conference better than Rising, who led the Utes to back-to-back Pac-12 titles. If he can be healthy for the 2023 season, then look out.
DJ Uiagalelei — Oregon State Beavers
(Photo by Ali Gradischer/Getty Images)
2022 Stats – (Clemson) 229-for-370 passing (61.9 percent), 2,521 yards, 22 TD, 7 INT
Career Stats – 515-for-861 passing (59.8 percent), 5,681 yards, 36 TD, 17 INT
Notable Accolades: Polynesian High School Football Player of the Year (2019)
Why You Should Know Him: I have a feeling that most Pac-12 fans are aware of D.J. Uiagalelei at this point. After making an early splash at Clemson and then fading out a bit, DJU transferred to Oregon State where he now hopes to turn his career around and propel the Beavers to the next level. At his best, he can be really good, so it will be fun to see what Jonathan Smith is able to do with him.
Cameron Ward — Washington State Cougars
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Career Stats: 887-for-1,390 (63.8 percent), 10,175 yards, 94 TD, 23 INT
2022 Stats – 320-for-497 passing (64.4 percent), 3,232 yards, 23 TD, 9 INT
Notable Accolades: Jerry Rice Award (2020) / Southland Player of the Year (2021) / Southland Freshman of the Year (2020)
Why You Should Know Him: In his first season at the FBS level, Cameron award showed some flashes of what he was at Incarnate Word. Will that success be more prevalent in his second year with Washington State? If the answer is yes, then the Cougars could be interesting in 2023.
Jayden de Laura — Arizona Wildcats
Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Stats – 272-for-435 passing (62.5 percent), 3,685 yards, 25 TD, 13 INT
Career Stats – 577-for-923 passing (62.5 percent), 7,369 yards, 53 TD, 26 INT
Notable Accolades: Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year (2021)
Why You Should Know Him: I think that Jayden de Laura gets overlooked a bit because of the teams that he has played for. He was the freshman of the year with Washington State in 2021, and though Arizona was bad in 2022, de Laura was solid. He could take a step up as far as tiers go this season.
Sam Jackson — California Golden Bears
: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
2022 Stats – (TCU) 5-for-5 passing, 63 yards, 64 yards rushing, 2 TD
Career Stats – 6-for-6 passing, 140 yards, 79 rushing yards, 2 TD
Notable Accolades: N/A
Why You Should Know Him: I’m not really sure what to make of Sam Jackson heading into 2023, and I was close to leaving him off of this list and replacing him with ASU’s Drew Pyne. However, he was a 4-star QB coming out of high school and didn’t get much of a chance at TCU. If he can step in and lift the Golden Bears, they could make some noise this season.
Dante Moore — UCLA Bruins
Career Stats: N/A
2022 Season Stats: N/A
Notable Accolades: Mr. Football Michigan (2021)
Why You Should Know Him: I could have listed any UCLA quarterback here — Ethan Garbers, Colin Schlee, or Moore — but I’m going to go with the 5-star freshman who was the No. 3 overall player in the 2023 class. Moore may not be the starter for UCLA in September, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he got the nod near the end of the year and we can see what he has to offer.
Shadeur Sanders — Colorado Buffaloes
2022 Stats – (Jackson State) 344-for-488 passing (70.5 percent), 3,752 yards, 40 TD, 6 INT
Career Stats – 616-for-901 passing (68.4 percent), 6,983 yards, 70 TD, 14 INT
Notable Accolades: Jerry Rice Award (2021) / Deacon Jones Trophy (2022) / SWAC Offensive Player of the Year (2022) / SWAC Freshman of the Year (2021)
Why You Should Know Him: We saw last year how Cameron Ward was able to do coming from an FCS program to the PAC-12. Will it be any different for Shadeur Sanders? No matter what happens at Colorado under Deion Sanders, it’s bound to be entertaining, so watching Shadeur should be pretty fun.
