TIER 13: So you're saying there's a chance? (13 players, nine jobs)
Akron's DJ IronsBuffalo's Cole Snyder
Colorado State's Clay Millen
East Carolina's Mason Garcia
James Madison's Jordan McCloud or Alonza Barnett III
Marshall's Cam Fancher
North Texas' Chandler Rogers (or Jace Ruder or Stone Earle)
Old Dominion's Grant Wilson or Jack Shields
Southern Miss' Zach Wilcke
- Irons has 1,045 rushing yards in just 13 starts over the past two seasons, when not counting sacks. Unfortunately for him, sacks are a thing, and Akron has given up 119 of them over the past two years, 26 more than any other FBS team -- enough to slice a full 435 yards off Irons' rushing total.
- Millen was among the country's top deep-ball throwers last year, completing 20 of 32 throws of 20+ yards downfield, for 757 yards, 8 TDs, 3 INTs and an FBS best 99.8 raw QBR.
- Wilcke's stat line wasn't great -- 8 TDs, 9 picks -- but Southern Miss was 5-2 when he took the lion's share of the snaps. When he didn't, the Eagles were 2-4.
- In his first season at the FBS level last year, Todd Centeio accounted for more than 3,000 yards, had 32 touchdowns and just five picks and averaged 9.5 yards per pass. If his replacement can come anywhere close to those numbers, JMU could make some real noise again in the Sun Belt.
Here are the tiers
TIER 1a: The guys we'll be dissecting with every throw between now and next April (two players)
TIER 1b: The most prolific QBs not named Williams or Maye (four players)
TIER 2: You may not have noticed, but these guys are really good (four players)
TIER 3: Never question the system (12 players, six jobs)
TIER 4a: Consistently very good (seven players)
TIER 4b: Very good inconsistently (eight players, six jobs)
TIER 5a: High ceiling, low floor (16 players, nine jobs)
TIER 5b: Low ceiling, high floor (six players)
TIER 6: A second act after ACC struggles (five players)
TIER 7: A fresh start offers cause for optimism (10 players, six jobs)
TIER 8: Top of the Group of 5, even if that term makes Mike Aresco roll his eyes (12 players, 11 jobs)
TIER 9: A year of experience offers cause for hope (nine players, five jobs)
TIER 10: Third -- or fourth! -- time is the charm (eight players, five jobs)
TIER 11: Incomplete grades (four players)
TIER 12: The rest of the Power 5 QBs (17 players, seven jobs)
TIER 13: So you're saying there's a chance? (13 players, nine jobs)
TIER 14: Never question the system: Group of 5 edition (11 players, five jobs)
TIER 15: Intriguing transfers in the Group of Five (13 players, five jobs)
TIER 17: Wait, he's still playing? (11 players, five jobs)
TIER 18: We're running out of steam here. Please send help. (15 players, seven jobs)
TIER 19: A glimmer of hope (12 players, six jobs)
TIER 20: Rounding out the FBS (10 players, five jobs)
Prolific passers, intriguing transfers, second acts: Ranking all 133 FBS QB situations into tiers
Breaking down the QB situations for all 133 FBS programs by tiers following spring camps.
