2008 CFN All-Americans & Top Players - QBs

Who are the best offensive players going into 2008? Based on how good the players should be as college players this year (and NOT on pro potential), here are the CFN 2008 All-Americans and Top 25 Players for each position, starting with Pat White and the quarterbacks.

2008 CFN All-Americans

Quarterbacks

CFN 2008 All-Americans and Top 25 Players
2008 Preview | Running Backs | Wide Receivers
Tight Ends | Off. Tackles | Guards | Centers 
Defense Def. Ends | Def. Tackles | Linebackers | Cornerbacks 
Safeties | Punters | Kickers | Kick Returners

2008 CFN Preseason First Team All-American

Tim Tebow, Jr. Florida
Could Tebow handle the pressure of the full-time starting job after coming to Florida as the greatest spread offense quarterback prospect? Could he really go from being a fullback/specialist relief pitcher to a leader of the attack? Uh ... yeah. All Tebow did was have the greatest statistical season for any quarterback in the history of college football and became the first player to ever run and throw for 20 touchdowns in the same season. He led the Gators in rushing with 895 yards and 23 scores, averaging 4.3 yards per carry, he led the nation in passing efficiency for a stretch (before finishing second behind Oklahoma's Sam Bradford) competing 67% of his throws for 3,286 yards and 32 touchdowns with six interceptions. At 6-3 and 232 pounds with a good-enough arm, tremendous accuracy, and great mobility, he has all the tools to become a top NFL draft pick whenever he comes out, but first he has to make sure he doesn't wear down and he has to start taking less of a pounding. There's a reason why he struggled in the fourth quarters of games; he was beaten up. While he's tough as nails and played through some injuries to be great late in the year, the plan is to make sure he doesn't have to do it all himself. His numbers won't be nearly as good as last year, and that's by design.

2008 CFN Preseason Second Team All-American

Pat White, Sr. West Virginia
The two-time Big East Offensive Player of the Year and most dynamic two-way quarterback in the country (no, Tebow really isn't dynamic) just keeps getting better as the Mountaineers’ do-everything catalyst. As a junior, the 6-2, 185-pound White ran for a career-high 1,335 yards, threw for a career-high 1,724 yards, and accounted for 28 touchdowns in another Heisman-contending season. A game-breaker in the open field, he’s also been ninth nationally in passing efficiency over the last two seasons as he has become a lethal and unstoppable combination of talents.

Preseason Top 25 QBs
1. Tim Tebow, Jr. Florida
2. Pat White, Sr. West Virginia
3. Chase Daniel, Sr. Missouri
4. Sam Bradford, Soph. Oklahoma
5. Todd Reesing, Jr. Kansas
6. Colt McCoy, Jr. Texas
7. Graham Harrell, Sr. Texas Tech
8. Dan LeFevour, Jr. Central Mich
9. Cullen Harper, Sr. Clemson
10. Nate Davis, Jr. Ball State
11. Matt Grothe, Jr. USF
12. Curtis Painter, Sr. Purdue
13. Matthew Stafford, Jr. Georgia
14. Rudy Carpenter, Sr. Arizona St
15. Max Hall, Jr. BYU
16. Zac Robinson, Jr. Oklahoma St
17. Kellen Lewis, Jr. Indiana
18. Stephen McGee, Sr. Tex. A&M
19. Juice Williams, Jr. Illinois
20. Chase Holbrook, Sr. NMSU
21. Brian Johnson, Sr. Utah
22. Josh Freeman, Jr. Kansas State
23. Jake Locker, Soph. Washington
24. Willie Tuitama, Sr. Arizona
25. C.J. Bacher, Sr. Northwestern

2008 CFN Honorable Mention All-Americans
(in alphabetical order)

Sam Bradford, Soph. Oklahoma
The one major question mark in 2007 for OU was the quarterback situation. This was considered a good enough team to win the Big 12 title, and possibly the national championship, if Paul Thompson could be replaced and if the Sooners could just find someone steady to take over. All Bradford did was lead the nation in passing efficiency while completing 70% of his throws for 3,121 yards and 36 touchdowns with eight interceptions, and while he wasn't really in the Heisman race, a case could be made that he was as much of an MVP as anyone in the country. The 6-4, 214-pounder showed maturity beyond his years and scary-good decision-making ability. While he's a good athlete, he's not a runner and he needs protection.

Nate Davis, Jr. Ball State
It's salary drive time for Davis, who has the eyes of the NFL scouts trained on Muncie to see if he's worthy of a possible early pick next year. Of course, that would mean Davis would have to come out early, and if he has another year like 2007, he might be nuts not to after throwing for 3,667 yards with 30 touchdowns and six interceptions. While he was ultra-productive and kept the interceptions to a minimum, he could stand to be more accurate, completing just 57% of his passes, but that's nitpicking considering the other numbers he puts up. At 6-2 and 217 pounds he has decent size, but not elite, NFL height, and he's a good runner with 235 yards and five touchdowns last season.

Cullen Harper, Sr. Clemson
In his first year as the starter, the 6-4, 220-pound Harper went from a complete unknown to the first Clemson quarterback in almost a quarter-century to lead the ACC in passing efficiency. A calming influence in the huddle, he had one of the best years in school history, going 282-of-433 for 2,991 yards, 27 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Harper makes good decisions, rarely misfires, and will catch defenses off guard with his 4.6 speed. He’ll be even sharper with a full year behind him, putting the NFL and a Heisman run within reach.   

Chase Daniel, Sr. Missouri
Daniel was becoming a special player after a fantastic sophomore season, and then it all came together in a magical campaign when he completed 68% of his passes for 4,306 yards and 33 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, while also running for 253 yards and four scores. The 6-0, 225-pounder is a better all-around athlete than he looks and has a deadly accurate arm whether in the pocket or on the move. If you're looking for an comparison, he's a puffier Drew Brees; they're both the same height and their college careers are similar. The main difference is Brees's arm; it's a big more live, but the pro scouts are going to start scrutinizing Daniel in the same way they did a few years ago when they had to travel to West Lafayette. While he couldn't solve Oklahoma and he didn't do much, mainly because he didn't need to, against Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl, Daniel did a far better job of letting everyone else do the work. As a sophomore, he pressed too much and tried to do too much on his own, and it showed. He had far better command of the offense last season and did a great job of putting the ball in places where his weapons could do something with it. In general, the less he's running, the better the offense is working because he's seeing the defense better; the Oklahoma games showed that.

Graham Harrell, Sr. Texas Tech
If Harrell doesn't lead the nation in every major passing category, he'll be in the top three. Despite throwing for 38 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, he was inconsistent as a sophomore. Then he turned his game up a notch as he became more accurate, more consistent, and more of a leader. The statistics are mind boggling. 72% completion rate. 5,705 yards, 48 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, ten 400-yard games, and one 646-yard outing (in the loss to Oklahoma State). The two games under 400 were a 397-yard day against Missouri and a 338-yard performance in a half before sitting down in the 75-7 win over Northwestern State.  The key is to keep the interceptions to a minimum with eight of his picks coming in a two-game stretch against Missouri and Colorado, both losses, and then he started to get the ball out of his hands even quicker to counteract the pass rush. While he's not a regular runner, he's mobile enough to take off from time to time when needed. A long, thin 6-3 and 203 pounds, he doesn't look like he's tough as nails but he is. Most importantly, he is clutch. After two straight fantastic bowl wins and big performance after big performance, he is the team's unquestioned main man.

Dan LeFevour, Jr. Central Michigan
If Florida's Tim Tebow is considered the best all-around college quarterback, then LeFevour has to be a close second, at least stats-wise. All LeFevour did was lead CMU in rushing with 1,122 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing 65% of his passes for 3,652 yards and 27 scores with 13 interceptions. He had two games (wins over Ball State and Akron) when he accounted for more than 500 yards of total offense, and he went for more than 400 in two other games. Even more than the numbers, he is a proven winner as the unquestioned leader and star of the two-time defending MAC champions. While he'll throw a pick a game and tends to shoulder too much of the offensive responsibility himself, especially when things get tight, he's a gunslinger who isn't afraid to take chances and is tough as nails when it comes to taking a big shot. At 6-3 and 226 pounds, he's big enough to handle a regular pounding and he's growing into a better decision-maker for the passing game.

Colt McCoy, Jr. Texas
McCoy followed up a shocking first year as a replacement for Vince Young by throwing for 3,303 yards and completing 65% of his passes with 22 touchdowns, but unlike his redshirt freshman season when he threw just seven interceptions, he had a problem with picks. He threw four in the loss to Kansas State, three in the comeback win over Oklahoma State, and went just three games without an interception with the offense hanging up more than 50 points in all of them. The 6-3, 210-pounder showed off more running ability with 492 yards, second best on the team, highlighted by a 106-yard day against Oklahoma State. He's not going to be Vince Young, but he has proven to be a big-time talent who can carry the offense at times. He'll have to do it again this year.

Todd Reesing, Jr. Kansas
After showing good promise in a rotation role as a freshman, Reesing blew up last year with a Heisman-caliber season completing 62% of his passes for 3,486 yards and 33 touchdowns with seven interceptions. Three of his interceptions came in the win over Kansas State and two came early in the loss to Missouri (before he caught fire); he was ultra-efficient. While he's not that big at a generously-listed 5-11 and 200 pounds, he's at his best when on the move and in a rhythm. Even though he's not really a runner, he'll take off from time to time coming up with 84 yards against Colorado and 47 against FIU, but make no mistake about it; he's a bomber. His quickness is used best when he's able to by himself a half-second to let a pass play develop, but he can also hang in the pocket and get into a groove. This is his team and his offense, and he should once again be a terrific, tough leader.