The Pac-12 can claim it has the best collection of quarterbacks in the FBS for the 2023 season.
There are six quarterbacks who started in the majority of their teams' games last season, and they all passed for at least 3,000 yards. USC's Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy. Cam Rising made a second straight Rose Bowl appearance. Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, Cameron Ward and Jacob de Laura were impact transfer quarterbacks. It led to some fantastic football.
Now, the conference is bringing in more playmakers at the most-important position. Oregon State grabbed Clemson's D.J. Uiagalelei out of the transfer portal. Colorado hired Deion Sanders, who is bringing son Shedeur Sanders with him. UCLA signed five-star freshman Dante Moore.
That's going to lead to some fantastic games in the final season with USC and UCLA in the conference. Sporting News breaks down the quarterback situations at all 12 Pac-12 schools heading into the summer:
RANKING QB SITUATIONS: Big Ten | SEC | ACC | Big 12
Pac-12 QB rankings for 2023
1. USC
Starter: Caleb Williams, junior (21 career starts - 14 at USC, 7 at Oklahoma)
Backup: Miller Moss, redshirt sophomore; Malachi Nelson, freshman
Situation heading into the fall: Williams – who transferred from Oklahoma – emerged as the most-exciting player in college football last season. He passed for 4,537 yards and 42 TDs and added 10 TDs rushing en route to winning the Heisman Trophy. Williams – who is considered the front-runner to be the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft – returns with the task of leading the Trojans to the College Football Playoff. Moss is the backup, but the conventional plan is to develop Nelson – a five-star recruit from Los Alamitos (Calif.) High School – for the 2023 season. USC coach Lincoln Riley has quarterbacks figured out.
2. Washington
Starter: Michael Penix Jr., senior (30 career starts - 13 at Washington, 17 at Indiana)
Backup: Dylan Morris, redshirt junior
Situation heading into the fall: The Huskies are a trendy College Football Playoff pick because of the return of Michael Penix Jr.., who led the Pac-12 with 4,641 passing yards and the FBS in total offense at 364.1 ypg. Penix transferred from Indiana, fit well in Kalen DeBoer's offense, and managed to avoid injuries. Washington won 11 games as a result, and Penix is a legit Heisman Trophy sleeper. Dylan Morris has played in 19 games the last two seasons at Washington, and that includes 11 starts. That's a strong combination for the Huskies.
3. Oregon
Starter: Bo Nix, senior (47 career starts - 13 at Oregon, 34 at Auburn)
Backup: Ty Thompson, sophomore
Situation heading into the fall: Nix, a former five-star recruit, saw a complete revival with first-year coach Dan Lanning. Nix ranked fifth in the FBS in points responsible for with 256 – a combination that included 29 passing TDs and 15 rushing TDs. Nix will be an efficient playmaker, but he will need to adjust with new offensive coordinator Will Stein, who replaces Kenny Dillingham. Thompson is an experienced backup who challenged for the starting job last season. As for the future, Oregon is a favorite to land four-star quarterback Michael Van Buren from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.
MORE: Why the CFP schedule for 2024 will be a failure
4. Utah
Starter: Cameron Rising, senior (25 career starts at Utah)
Backup: Bryson Barnes, junior; Brandon Rose, freshman
Situation heading into the fall: Rising – who has led Utah to back-to-back Pac-12 championships – is back for another year. He ranked ninth in the Pac-12 with 3,034 passing yards last season, but that came with 26 TDs and eight interceptions. He added 465 rushing yards and six rushing TDs. Rising is not flashy, but the Texas transfer has an 18-7 record as a starter and is 5-1 against ranked teams in the regular season. He also played well in the back-to-back Rose Bowl losses against Ohio State and Penn State. Barnes is an experienced backup behind Rising.
5. Oregon State
Starter: DJ Uiagalelei, senior (27 career starts at Clemson)
Backup: Ben Gulbranson, sophomore; Aidan Chiles, freshman
Situation heading into the fall: Uiagalelei was the starter for most of the last two seasons at Clemson before losing the job to Cade Klubnik. Uiagalelei landed with a talented Oregon State team that won 10 games last season. At 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, Uiagalelei is an imposing playmaker who had 36 TDs and 17 interceptions the last two seasons. He was inconsistent at times, but Oregon State could turn out to be a better fit. Gulbranson played in 10 games last season and had a 62.4% completion percentage with nine touchdowns and five interceptions. There is depth in this room – and the Beavers are an interesting Pac-12 sleeper as a result.
6. Washington State
Starter: Cameron Ward, junior (32 career starts - 13 at Washington State, 19 at Incarnate Word)
Backup: John Mateer, freshman
Situation heading into the fall: Ward was one of the prize transfer quarterbacks of 2022, and he had ups-and-downs in making the transition from the FCS. He finished with 3,232 yards, 23 TDs and nine interceptions, a season that got lost a bit because of the depth of quarterbacks in the conference. There will be change in 2023. Eric Morris, who was Ward's coach at Incarnate Word, left Washington State to take the head coaching job at North Texas. Second-year coach Jake Dickert hired Western Kentucky offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle as a replacement, so Ward's passing attempts should increase in 2023. Expect continued improvement and better numbers for Ward in his second year with Washington State.
7. UCLA
Starter: Dante Moore, freshman (0 starts at UCLA)
Backup: Ethan Garbers, junior; Collin Schlee, senior
Situation heading into the fall: Chip Kelly had Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the starter for most of the last five seasons. Now, the focus is on Moore – a five-star recruit who flipped from Oregon and enrolled early. Moore could be the breakout quarterback in the conference, but he has to win the starting job. Garbers – a Washington transfer – played in 11 games behind Robinson the last two seasons. Schlee, a Kent State transfer, passed for 2,109 yards, 13 TDs and five interceptions in 2022. It's still a wide-open competition, but it's going to be difficult to keep Moore on the bench as the season progresses.
8. Arizona
Starter: Jayden de Laura (28 career starts - 16 at Washington State, 12 at Arizona)
Backup: Noah Fifita, freshman
Situation heading into the fall: Jedd Fisch found a quarterback in de Laura, who finished third in the Pac-12 with 3,685 passing yards, 25 TDs and 13 interceptions. The Washington State transfer is a playmaker, and he had three games with at least 400 yards passing last season. There is controversy heading into next season, however, because of a report de Laura entered a guilty plea in a 2018 sexual assault. The quarterback remains with the Wildcats heading into the season. Whether he faces further punishment is a possibility. Fifita finished with 128 yards and a TD on 19 pass attempts in 2022. The possibility of a suspension and that uncertainty behind de Laura drops Arizona a few spots.
9. Colorado
Starter: Shedeur Sanders (24 career starts at Jackson State)
Backup: Ryan Staub, freshman
Situation heading into the fall: First-year coach Deion Sanders brought his son Shedeur with him to Colorado, and the fascination factor is high. Shedeur Sanders was a force at Jackson State the last two seasons with 6,983 yards, 70 TDs and 14 interceptions. He's a talented passer with an NFL future, but there will be an adjustment to the level up in competition similar to what Ward experienced at Washington State last season. The Buffaloes had six quarterbacks leave via the transfer portal since Deion Sanders was hired. That lack of depth is a major concern. Staub – a three-star recruit – is the best backup option among three freshman quarterbacks. Sanders is a star, but he's going to have to stay healthy.
MORE: NFL Draft Big Board for 2024
10. Arizona State
Starter: Trenton Bourguet, senior (5 career starts at Arizona State)
Backup: Drew Pyne, sophomore; Jaden Rashada, freshman
Situation heading into the fall: First-year coach Kenny Dillingham said Bourguet was the starter heading into spring practice, and he backed that up with a strong performance in the spring game. That said, there is interesting competition. Pyne played in 11 games for Notre Dame last season and had 2,021 yards, 22 TDs and six interceptions. He transferred before spring practice. The Sun Devils also have freshman Jaden Rashada, the recruit who was involved in a botched NIL deal at Florida before committing to Arizona State. BYU transfer Jacob Conover is the fourth quarterback on the roster. Bourguet will get the first shot, but this is the most intriguing competition in the conference.
11. Stanford
Starter: Ari Patu, junior (0 career starts)
Backup: Ashton Daniels, sophomore; Myles Jackson, freshman
Situation heading into the fall: It's a new day for Stanford with the arrival of first-year coach Troy Taylor, who compiled a 30-8 record at Sacramento State the last three seasons. The Hornets' quarterbacks combined for 31 TDs and 16 interceptions last season. Tanner McKee is gone, so the Cardinal have three possible options. Patu has 25 passing attempts as a backup the last two seasons. Daniels had 25 rushing attempts for 156 yards and three TDs as a Wildcat option. Jackson, a three-star recruit from Millikan (Long Beach, Calif.) High School also has a shot. Patu and Daniels will take this battle into fall camp.
12. Cal
Starter: Sam V. Jackson, sophomore (0 career starts)
Backup: Fernando Mendoza, freshman
Situation heading into the fall: Jackson played in seven games the last two seasons with TCU, and he's the leader for the starting job after spring practice. He's 6 of 6 passing and averaged 5.3 yards per carry, and that mobility gives him the edge to be the Week 1 starter against North Texas on Sept. 2. Justin Wilcox is in his seventh season, and the Bears have not made a bowl game the last three seasons. So Wilcox brought in first-year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, who hinted that the Golden Bears might add another quarterback before fall camp.
