Macon, a redshirt freshman, also is a dual-threat guy. This is Cook’s third season in this offense, which should be an advantage, and he has some dual-threat ability. Cook started Mizzou’s bowl game last season, a loss to Army. The buzz: Two-year starter Connor Bazelak moved on to Indiana via the transfer portal, and there is a wide-open race to replace him. The quarterbacks: Jack Abraham, Brady Cook, Sam Horn and Tyler Macon In short, McNamara may start the opener but that’s certainly not a guarantee he starts the whole season. It’ll be interesting to see how Jim Harbaugh and his staff divvy up the quarterback snaps in those three games. And there’s this: Michigan has a breeze of a nonconference schedule, with Colorado State, Hawaii and UConn. But experience is important, and McNamara wins in that facet. Frankly, he does appear to have more upside than McNamara. McCarthy missed the spring with a shoulder injury and has some catching up to do. But as with national champion Georgia and Stetson Bennett, there are a lot of observers who think the Wolverines’ backup quarterback is more talented than the starter. McNamara, of course, was the starter last season and led Michigan to the College Football Playoff. The buzz: This is going to be an interesting situation all season. All three played well in the spring game, to the point that Kelly told reporters, “ We didn’t clear up anything with the quarterback today we probably made it more difficult.” (Four-star freshman Walker Howard appears certain to redshirt.)

Nussmeier is a former top-100 prospect in the 2021 recruiting class who might have the best arm of the three he played in four games last season but struggled with his accuracy. He was set to transfer, but new coach Brian Kelly urged him to stick around for a sixth season in Baton Rouge. Has he truly stalled, or was that a byproduct of the turmoil surrounding the program? We’re fairly sure Brennan is a former Curley Hallman recruit he has made three starts for the Tigers and also battled a lot of injuries. But he also plateaued in his development last season. Daniels was a three-year starter at Arizona State and brings legit dual-threat ability after LSU grabbed him out of the transfer portal. The buzz: Man, this is going to be interesting. The quarterbacks: Myles Brennan, Jayden Daniels and Garrett Nussmeier Thus, the offense isn’t going to change, and Guidugli has spent more time working with Bryant than with Prater. Cincinnati has changed offensive coordinators, and the new play-caller is Gino Guidugli, who had been quarterback coach. So while the upside is there, the experience is not. Prater, a national top-130 prospect in the 2020 recruiting class, played in seven games last season but only threw 11 passes. But Prater, who has a bigger upside than Bryant, could make things interesting during preseason camp. Bryant transferred back to Cincinnati after the 2021 season. He threw for 3,121 yards and 14 touchdowns as EMU finished 7-6. 2 guy behind Ridder in 2019 and ’20, then transferred and started 11 games for Eastern Michigan last season.

He’s now in the NFL and Bryant seems to be the guy who will replace him. The buzz: Desmond Ridder was a four-year starter at quarterback for the Bearcats, capping off his time by leading Cincinnati to the College Football Playoffs last season.

The quarterbacks: Ben Bryant and Evan Prater He is a physically imposing guy (6 feet 6, 245 pounds) but isn’t mobile. Finley, who transferred in from LSU after the 2020 season, started Auburn’s final three games last season he avoided mistakes but wasn’t that accurate as a passer. Calzada threw nine picks and completed 56.1 percent of his passes in short, he’s adequate – but that may be enough to win the job. But he also was the starter in losses to LSU and Mississippi State. Calzada started the final nine games for the Aggies last season and led them to an upset of top-ranked Alabama. The buzz: Ashford (from Oregon) and Calzada (from Texas A&M) transferred in during the offseason, though Ashford – an Alabama native with dual-threat ability – seems like longest shot in the race because of a lack of experience. The quarterbacks: Robby Ashford, Zach Calzada and T.J. Here’s a look at 10 intriguing competitions. A handful of preseason camps opened Wedneday, and we’re just four weeks away from the start of the 2022 season: There are 10 games involving FBS teams on August 27.Ĭamps open in earnest next week, and there are numerous quarterback battles that will play out in the next few weeks.

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