The Spread - Who Are The Best Quarterbacks?

Tim Tebow has been acknowledged as the ultimate spread offense quarterback, but there are several challengers to the throne. While the spread is run differently at different places, here are the ten best players at handling the attack, including Texas Tech's Graham Harrell, Missouri's Chase Daniel, and West Virginia's Pat White.

The Spread - The Best QBs

Who are the challengers to Tebow's throne?

By Pete Fiutak

The Spread   2008 Preview
The Big Ten & The Spread | How To Stop It, Run It, & More

20 Quarterbacks Who Would’ve Gone Ballistic Running the Spread Option
1. Roger Staubach, Navy
2. Charlie Ward, Florida State
3. Michael Vick, Virginia Tech
4. Steve McNair, Alcorn State
5. Davey O’Brien, TCU
6. Rick Leach, Michigan
7. Steve Young, BYU
8. Kordell Stewart, Colorado
9. Tommie Frazier, Nebraska
10. Donovan McNabb, Syracuse
11. Michael Bishop, Kansas State
12. Rick Mirer, Notre Dame
13. Major Harris, West Virginia
14. Rickey Foggie, Minnesota
15. Don McPherson, Syracuse
16. Archie Manning, Ole Miss
17. Jim Plunkett, Stanford
18. Turner Gill, Nebraska
19. Fran Tarkenton, Georgia
20. Daunte Culpepper, UCF

20 Non-Houston Cougar Quarterbacks Who Would’ve Gone Ballistic Playing For Texas Tech
1. Jeff George, Illinois
2. Warren Moon, Washington
3. Troy Aikman, UCLA
4. Bernie Kosar, Miami
5. Dan Marino, Pitt
6. Jim Kelly, Miami
7. Sammy Baugh, TCU
8. Jim McMahon, BYU
9. Peyton Manning, Tennessee
10. Danny Wuerffel, Florida
11. John Elway, Stanford
12. Boomer Esiason, Maryland
13. Ryan Leaf, Washington State
14. Matt Leinart, USC
15. Dan Fouts, Oregon
16. Phil Rivers, NC State
17. Steve Walsh, Miami
18. Chuck Long, Iowa
19. Todd Blackledge, Penn State
20. Drew Bledsoe, Washington State

Along with Michael Phelps and “Jet” Favre, the hottest topic in the sports world over the summer has been the spread offense and its infiltration of every aspect of the college football world.

The spread was always a nice novelty used by the moderately talented to pile up big numbers, but not always a lot of big wins, but with Florida’s Tim Tebow winning the Heisman as a sophomore, Appalachian State upsetting Michigan, and the continued success of Texas Tech’s passing game, everyone wants a piece of the attack in some way.

The spread has several different forms. New England has created its own spread to get four and five receivers on the field to let Tom Brady choose what he wants to do and to get the ball deep, but for now, the spread is more of a college attack that relies on shorter, quicker throws.

From the Mike Leach/Texas Tech juggernaut that’s about to average around 500 passing yards per game, to the Spread Option, run at places like West Virginia and Illinois, which spreads defenses out to create bigger lanes to run through, there are several different variations on the same idea: spread the defense and create mismatches. If you’re not using the spread, you might as well be running the Wing T.

Gator head coach Urban Meyer has said that Tebow is the perfect quarterback to run the spread, at least the way Florida runs it, and last season the marriage worked to perfection as the prized pupil finished second in the nation in passing efficiency, throwing for 3,286 yards and 32 touchdowns with six interceptions, while rushing for 895 yards and 23 scores. And it’s not like Tebow was doing this against the Little Sisters of the Poor on his way to becoming the first FBS quarterback to run and throw for more than 20 touchdowns in the same season (although Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour ran for 19 touchdowns and caught one, to go along with 27 touchdown passes).

Meyer made Josh Harris an all-around statistical superstar at Bowling Green, and then coached Alex Smith into an unbelievable 2004 campaign at Utah with 28 touchdown passes, four interceptions, 563 rushing yards, and ten touchdowns on the way to becoming the No. 1 pick in the draft. Now, after over a decade in the making, the spread has found a player in Tebow who has become the ultimate weapon and the prototype for the new wave of offensive stars.

While Tebow might seem like the be-all-end-all, he would be successful in any college offense. He has the size, the arm, and the running ability to be a star in a pro-style attack (at least at the collegiate level), a wishbone, and everything in between, which is basically what the spread is. He might be just the beginning of an onslaught on the record books as more and more high schools are running some version of the spread offense, meaning more and more young players are hitting college ready to roll rather than learning the new scheme after getting off the bus.

So while Tebow is the king, there are several others who have thrived in the spread and are about to have unbelievable seasons. Here are ten best spread quarterbacks not named Tebow, at least statistically, who’ll put up the big numbers week in and week out.

10. Zac Robinson, Jr. Oklahoma State
Robinson went from a backup behind Bobby Reid (you know, the one who inspired the rant) to an all-around star completing 60% of his throws for 2,824 yards and 23 touchdowns with nine interceptions, while finishing second on the team with 847 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. At 6-3 and 205 pounds, he has good size, excellent athleticism, and good quickness, and now the former wide receiver should take the offense by the horns and become special. It's as simple as his accuracy. When he was on, like he was against Indiana, Texas and Baylor, the offense was unstoppable, but he struggled against Oklahoma and Kansas. He has to be consistent.

9. Chase Holbrook, Sr. New Mexico State
After doing a little bit of thinking about jumping ship to the NFL early, Holbrook chose to return for his final year after realizing he'd likely have been a late second day pick. With a lousy overall quarterback class expected in 2009, and with the potential to have a huge statistical season, it was a good move. After starting out his career at SE Louisiana, recruited by Hal Mumme, he transferred over to NMSU and has been one of the nation's top passers with a whopping 8,485 yards and 60 touchdowns with 27 interceptions in two seasons. However, after an ultra-efficient sophomore season, he struggled with interceptions throughout last year throwing 18, with two or more tossed in six games. At 6-5 and 240 pounds, he has the size, he has the arm, and he has the knowledge of the offense. Now with his prime receivers returning, he should be in for a huge final season and should take over for Colt Brennan as the WAC's big passing star.

8. Jake Locker, Soph. Washington
Not your typical dual-threat quarterback, he’s a 6-3, 225-pound sophomore in a linebacker’s body. The Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, he bulldozed his way to 986 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground, while completing 155-of-328 passes for 2,062 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. While he obviously needs to make strides as a passer before becoming a complete quarterback, his trademark grit, competitiveness, and open-field running were on display every time the Husky offense was on the field. 

7. Juice Williams, Jr. Illinois
Williams will never be Tom Brady throwing the ball, but Tom Brady will never be Juice Williams running it. Williams went from completing 39.5% of his passes as a freshman to hitting 57% of his throws for 1,743 yards and 13 touchdowns, but he tossed 12 picks. Of course, his game isn't about bombing away, it's about coming up with the big play when the opportunity presents itself, like it did when Ohio State dared the Illinois passing game to produce and Williams completing 12 of 22 passes for 140 yards and four touchdowns, and it's about running the ball. As a freshman, he ran mainly because he didn't know what he was doing, and last year he was second on the team with 755 yards and seven touchdowns, highlighted by a 133-yard day against Minnesota and a 136-yard outing against Northwestern. The 6-2, 233-pounder has great size, is tough to bring down, and he can cut on a dime. This year, he's expected to be even more efficient passer after improving this spring.

6. Brian Johnson, Sr. Utah
Can Johnson finally catch a break stay healthy for a full season? Originally a crown jewel of a recruit for Urban Meyer, Johnson was considered the prototype quarterback for the spread attack until Tim Tebow broke the mold. When Johnson came to Utah he had fantastic speed and quickness, a tremendous arm, and decent 6-1, 205-pound size. He still has the arm and the size, but he lost a little of his speed after tearing up his knee at the end of 2005. He sat out all of 2006 choosing not to push it, only to break his collarbone in the season opener against Oregon State last season. The 2005 Mountain West total yardage leader now has one final shot after coming back last year to throw for 1,847 yards and 11 touchdowns with ten interceptions while running for 150 yards and two scores. He can't take that many hits and will probably leave most of the running to the backs, like he did last year to protect his injured shoulder. However, it'll be interesting to see when he can let it rip and become the star he was always expected to be.

5. Willie Tuitama, Sr. Arizona
After flourishing statistically in his first season in Sonny Dykes’ “Air Zona” passing attack, Tuitama is poised to take the next step to becoming one of the nation’s most prolific passers.  Just a year removed from reaching rock bottom, he rebounded with 3,683 yards and a Pac-10-best 28 touchdown throws on 327-of-524 passing.  Best of all, his interception percentage was second to just Oregon’s Dennis Dixon in the league and he took fewer hits than in his concussion-filled sophomore season.  The 6-3, 220-pounder has a cannon, throws a nice deep ball, and will benefit tremendously from having played 12 games in this offense.

4. 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 a 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.

3. Pat White, Sr. West Virginia
All of the question marks facing the West Virginia program don’t seem so bad because White is back for one final year in Morgantown.  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 also finished ninth nationally in passing efficiency over the last two seasons as he has become a lethal and unstoppable combination of talents.

2. Dan LeFevour, Jr. Central Michigan
If Tebow is considered the best all-around college quarterback, then LeFevour has to be a close second, at least stats-wise. All he 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.

1. 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 will be 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.