The only 2022 Big Ten quarterback rankings you need to read
The Big Ten is known for a lot of things. Long storied programs with a bevy of success and tradition? Check! Hard-nosed style of play? Of course. Elite quarterback play? Meh.
There are a lot of aspects of football that Big Ten teams do very well at. The average team has a good running game and can make stands on defense. However, the quarterback play is a lot more sporadic across the conference, ranging from a Heisman candidate to barely playable. Here is every starting quarterback in the Big Ten ranked.
Ryan Hilinski, Northwestern
Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports
Consider the bottom two quarterbacks to be about even. Rank them however you’re feeling today. Northwestern is desperately looking for a bounceback season, dropping from a Big Ten championship game appearance against Ohio State where they gave Justin Fields more trouble than any other team to a 3-9 record in 2021.
Likely starter Ryan Hilinski is also looking to take a big step forward in the upcoming season, his 2020 campaign not providing much success. In his nine appearances, he threw three touchdown passes to four interceptions and only completed 54% of passes.
Noah Vedral, Rutgers
Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Many will want four-star redshirt freshman Gavin Wimsatt to get the starting gig this year, but most likely Rutgers will let him gain some more seasoning and start the returning Noah Vedral.
Vedral has been in the league forever now, starting his career in 2017. Arriving to Rutgers after stops at UCF and Nebraska, Vedral proved to be a step up from recent Scarlet Knights quarterbacks, but that really isn’t saying much. Last year he was even on touchdowns and interceptions with seven apiece and completed passes at a 59% clip.
Rutgers did trust him to throw the ball a lot more than Northwestern did Hilinski. He’s not unplayable but there certainly are a good amount of better options out there.
Tommy DeVito, Illinois
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
DeVito transferred to Illinois this year and looks to be the starter despite not starting the past two years. So why does he rank above Hilinski and Vedral?
He had a pretty solid season back in 2019 at Syracuse where he had 19 touchdown passes. He’s shown he can be a serviceable quarterback before. Sadly, due to injuries, we haven’t been able to see it in quite some time. Can he get back to a starter quality level? Or will Artur Sitowski push him for playing time midway through the season?
Connor Bazelak, Indiana
Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Connor Bazelak has a lot more intrigue than his No. 11 ranking suggests. Despite not having the best stats, a lot of people in the draft community saw Bazelak as a potential breakout candidate last year.
It sadly never came to be, though. Now at Indiana, he is tasked with reviving a pretty much dead offense that only scored a measly 17.2 points per game in 2021. That mark ranked No. 123 nationally. There’s some talent there and flashes on film, but Bazelak needs a lot more consistency in his game.
Spencer Petras, Iowa
Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports
Sorry Hawkeye fans, but Spencer Petras pretty much is who he is at this point. He’s a game manager who tries his best at not messing the strengths of Iowa up.
He won’t wow you with his arm or anything and certainly won’t with his legs, but he’s proven to be a quarterback the Hawkeyes can win with. Before people start to protest that wins aren’t a quarterback stat, it certainly shows that a game manager is doing enough to help his team win.
Petras usually isn’t the reason Iowa wins games, but again over his two years as a starter he has a 13-6 record. His stats aren’t pretty but, hey, he does enough.
Tanner Morgan, Minnesota
Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports
What the heck happened to Tanner Morgan over the past two years? In 2019, he was one of the best in the Big Ten and was seen as a potential draft prospect down the road. He threw 30 touchdowns to seven interceptions and had a 66% completion percentage.
Why did his numbers suddenly drop off soon after? He has a combined 17 touchdowns to 14 interceptions and the passing yards were way down to only 3,418 over the past two seasons combined. That’s not even 200 yards more than his 3,253 in 2019! It seems that this is who Morgan is now, falling into the mediocre category for the Golden Gophers.
Graham Mertz, Wisconsin
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
People like the idea of Graham Mertz better than who Mertz currently is. So many people are fixated on the five passes he threw against Illinois in his starting debut, a game that happened at the start of 2020. They ignore just how dreadfully mediocre he’s been since.
If you take out that massive game against Illinois where he could do no wrong, he only threw for four touchdowns in five games. He took a step back in 2021, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns. Yes, he is never going to be asked to do much in that Wisconsin offense, especially with the emergence of Braelon Allen, but that’s probably a good thing.
Sean Clifford, Penn State
Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
Sean Clifford is pretty much what every game manager before him strives to be. In no way is he the best quarterback out there, but people give him too much hate, especially when you consider who else is in their conference.
He can win Penn State games, but Clifford just doesn’t elevate them to the platform the team deserves to be at. He’s a serviceable at best quarterback, which makes him a mid-tier quarterback in the Big Ten.
Casey Thompson, Nebraska
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Casey Thompson has the potential to finish way higher than sixth best at the end of the season, but it’s all potential for now. Thompson was an above-average quarterback for the Longhorns with 24 passing touchdowns and four on the ground, but the Big Ten is a sizable leap on defense from the Big 12.
There’s a good amount of talent there and he’s definitely a step up from Adrian Martinez, but let’s see him against stiffer competition before handing him the crown.
Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
We’re starting to enter the “Hey, he’s actually pretty good” portion of the list! There are two sides of Tagovailoa’s game. At times, he looks like a great college quarterback who can make plays on the move and is one of the better passers out there.
However, there are also times such as his five-interception performance against Iowa where he actively hurts the Terrapins’ offense. Luckily for Maryland, we saw a lot more of Tagovailoa’s good side, a massive step up from his inconsistent 2020. Can he take another step further?
Cade McNamara or J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
Junfu Han via Imagn Content Services, LLC
This ranking could change at the end of the season depending on who starts for the Wolverines in 2022. I feel extremely confident in McNamara’s placement. He’s a solid quarterback who doesn’t mess things up and can make the occasional good throw.
J.J. McCarthy is more volatile of a placement, though. He has a ton of talent and will most likely be the future of Michigan, but he is young and unproven. Certainly a situation to monitor.
Payton Thorne, Michigan State
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
Payton Thorne is a massive breakout candidate for 2022. In his first season as a starter, he looked really good, throwing 29 touchdowns and leading a potent Michigan State offense.
Logically, he will take a step forward as he grows mentally. However, as we’ve seen with some players on this list, that is not always the case. Michigan State is also losing running back Kenneth Walker, which is a massive hurdle that Thorne and the Spartans will have to overcome.
Aidan O'Connell, Purdue
Bryon Houlgrave/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK
There is a clear top two in the Big Ten this year. Finally earning the starting job in 2021, O’Connell was very good for the Boilermakers. He completed over 70% of passes and threw for 28 touchdowns.
He might not have been a Heisman Trophy level quarterback, or an elite level quarterback for that matter, but he was very good and a big cause for Purdue’s big year in 2021. Purdue is very lucky he’s back for another season.
C.J. Stroud, Ohio State
Joshua A. Bickel / USA TODAY NETWORK
Who else was it going to be? At this point, it should be a given that an Ohio State quarterback is going to be at the top of the list, and Stroud might be the best the Buckeyes have had.
While he struggled a bit early in the season—some fans wanted him benched after barely losing to Oregon—he rebounded quickly and was a Heisman Trophy candidate. His stats were elite and his film is phenomenal: 44 touchdown passes and only six interceptions. There is a reason Stroud is in strong contention for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Jacob on Twitter: @Jacobkeppen
Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.
