2018 Preseason All-American Projections: Quarterbacks

By Charlie Campbell
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Heading into the 2018 college football season WalterFootball.com will debut our projections for the nation’s leaders during the fall. The All-American teams always have some surprises and the stars of next fall could be the headlining players next April in the 2019 NFL Draft.

First-Team Quarterback: Will Grier, West Virginia

While other quarterbacks are likely to be higher-graded NFL prospects, I think Grier could be the most prolific and deadly quarterback in college football during the 2018 season. The 6-foot-2, 214-pound Grier has a good arm and is a natural passer of the football. Additionally, Grier has good receiving talent to work with and more experience after starting in 2017. West Virginia has consistently fielded a deadly scoring offense under head coach Dana Holgorsen, and Grier should be more comfortable after starting last year. In 2017, Grier completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,490 yards with 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions despite missing time late in the year with an injury. If he had stayed healthy, he probably would have totaled over 4,000 yards and 40 touchdown passes.

Grier plays in a conference that lacks defensive talent and sees shootout games on a weekly basis. During the 2018 season, he is going to face a lot of weak defenses, which should let him put up some massive numbers. It wouldn’t surprise me if Grier is one of the most prolific offensive players in college football and gets a lot of postseason honors, including All-American selections.



Second-Team Quarterback: Justin Herbert, Oregon

The 6-foot-6, 225-pound signal-caller has a NFL skill set and could put up a huge year with his arm and legs. Herbert displays a good size, a strong arm with the ability to loft in touch passes. He can loft in passes with nice ball placement, leading his receivers and beating quality coverage with the location of his passes. With his height and size, Herbert is comfortable to stand tall in the pocket and has the patience to let routes develop. Along with his arm talent, he is a quality athlete with the ability to pick up yards on the ground and should add a good number of rushing touchdowns to his stat line.

As long as he stays healthy, there is no reason to think that Herbert won’t put up massive numbers in 2018. Even though Oregon plays in one of the best conferences in the nation, Herbert has an easy schedule in 2018. His season starts off with teams that he should pad his stats against including Bowling Green, Portland State and San Jose State. Stanford, Washington and Utah possess the best defenses that will challenge Herbert on his regular-season schedule.



Third-Team Quarterback: Drew Lock, Missouri

Lock set the SEC single regular-season record for touchdown passes in 2017 with 43. He went on a tear in the last half of the year to lead Missouri to six straight wins after a 1-5 start. Lock completed 58 percent of his passes in 2017 for 3,964 yards with 44 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. I think the SEC will be more ready for him last year, and the odds are higher that he will fall short of his 2017 production rather than matching it or exceeding it. Hence, I think Lock will be more of a Third-Team All-American candidate.

Honorable Mentions: N.C. State’s Ryan Finley, Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald, Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham, Michigan’s Shea Patterson, Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson, Michigan State’s Brian Lewerke, Iowa State’s Kyle Kempt, North Dakota State’s Easton Stick, Duke’s Daniel Jones, Florida State’s Deondre Francois, Washington’s Jake Browning and Penn State’s Trace McSorley.











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