2019 Post-Spring Mountain West Quarterback Rankings
What team has the best quarterback situation after spring football?
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Looking at the quarterback scenarios
Now that spring football is in the books now is a good time to take a look at the Mountain West quarterback situations and rank each teams unit.
This will be done throughout the year each week but this first installment will not only rank the signal-callers but also a look at who could be the starter.
12. San Jose State
Projected starter: Josh Love<
Love is the returning leader in most major categories for the Spartans and that makes him the logical choice to be the leader under center in San Jose. Even if Love has a great year he might not have the talent aroud him to move up on this list.
11. New Mexico
Projected starter: Tevaka Tuioti
The Lobos have a new offensive coordinator in Joe Dailey who came over from Liberty, and the New Mexico offense moving another step away from the run-option attack which takes away from what Tuioti does best.
10. Wyoming
Projected starter: Sean Chambers
Yes, Chambers did well in his final three starts on the ground with 330 yards and two touchdowns. However, in the passing game, he was only 14 of 23 with just 229 yards in the air. With no more Nico Evans to run the ball, the Wyoming offense will need someone to run the ball well to help Chambers have a better first-full year as a starter.
9. Nevada
Projected starter: Malik Henry or Cristian Solano or Carson Strong
This one will be sorted out during fall camp to see who will replace Ty Gangi. The current leader after spring seems to be Solano but there is talent around giving him a push.
Henry is a former four-star recruit who first enrolled at Florida State then was on Last Chance U. so he has talent but has not found a good fit. Strong was with the program last year while redshirting and has had a pretty good spring. Whoever nails down the job could shoot up these rankings with the talent that the Wolf Pack have on offense.
8. San Diego State
Projected starter: Ryan Agnew
The San Diego State starting quarterback position is not one of the more glamorous ones in the league. So, stats will not be piled up with Agnew but what he does need to do is be efficient, make the throws he is asked to and make sure to not turn the ball over. Being a senior helps Agnew being familiar with the system and players, but Rocky Long brought in Jordon Brookshire for some competition.
7. Fresno State
Projected starter: Jorge Reyna
Another first-time starter in the league as Reyna takes over for Marcus McMaryion which will be tough. He redshirted as a freshman and was the backup last year but hardly played. Head coach Jeff Tedford has done a good job with college quarterbacks so it is possible Reyna could move into the top half of these at some point this year.
6. Boise State
Projected starter: Hank Bachmeier or Chase Cord
Whoever has been under center for Boise State has been a really good quarterback, so the reason for this middle of the pack ranking is because the starter is not known.
There is incoming blue-chip freshman Hank Bachmeier was around during spring practice and was quite impressive. However, does Boise State want a true freshman taking on Florida State in what will basically be a road game in Jacksonville to open the year?
Cord is more experienced by being on the team the past few years but his actual game time experience is low. Also to consider is that he tore his ACL in October but he is expected to be completely healthy come August.
5. Air Force
Projected starter: Donald Hammond III
This might be the year that Air Force has just one quarterback to play the entire year. Injuries have been an issue over the past few seasons but if Hammond is healthy he clearly is the best quarterback on the Falcons roster.
The way he finished last year in his nine games, including five starts, was by rushing for 374 yards and nine touchdowns. He also completed an OK 52.8 percent of his passes for 623 yards and five touchdowns.
4. Colorado State
Projected Starter: Collin Hill
A second ACL tear has hampered Hill’s progression the past few years. He did play a decent amount last year as a backup to K.J. Carta-Samuels. The talent is clearly there as a true freshman back in 2016, he started in four games while playing in five and threw for 1,096 yards and eight touchdowns. Being the guy is a chance for him to have a huge breakout year for Colorado State, but some of his success will be due to the talent around him.
3. UNLV
Projected starter: Armani Rogers
If healthy, Rogers has a legit shot to move up and challenge to be one of the best quarterbacks in the conference. When he is up and playing there is a noticeable difference with how this Rebel offense goes. Rogers throws well and extends plays with his legs with a pass or by taking off running with the ball.
His freshman year saw him rush for 780 yards and eight touchdowns while also throwing for 1,471 yards and six touchdowns to five picks that season. His sophomore year saw him miss a bulk of the year with a foot injury, but 2019 could be his breakout year.
2. Hawaii
Projected starter: Cole McDonald
This is an interesting spot to place McDonald and it has nothing to do with his talent but rather he was pulled a few times in favor of Chevan Cordeiro and performed fairly well. However, when McDonald is at his best he can be the best quarterback in the Mountain West. He threw for 3,875 yards and 36 touchdowns to 10 picks in his first year as the starter and had over 800 total passing yards in his first two games.
1. Utah State
Projected starter: Jordan Love
The reigning offensive player of the year does have a new coaching staff and lost some talent around him but that may not impact Love’s production. Love three for more than 300 yards six times last year (and was pulled for backups due to huge leads or it could have been more.) He ended the season with 3,567 yards and 32 touchdowns.
