College Football: 10 players who will make 2017 the year of the quarterback

3. Luke Falk – Washington State Cougars

Much of the 2016 college football season watching the Washington State Cougars came with the assumption that Mike Leach’s 2017 squad would have a much different look. That’s because most analysts projected that quarterback Luke Falk would declare for the NFL draft following his junior season and likely be one of the top quarterbacks of the class. Instead, he’s returning to Pullman for one more season to continue his monstrously productive college career.

In two full seasons as the starter, Falk has put up eye-popping numbers in the pass-heavy offense that Leach likes to run. Completing over 69 percent of his passes, Falk has thrown for 9,029 yards, 76 touchdowns and a mere 19 interceptions. Sure, he’s a product of the scheme that he plays in, but denying Falk’s ability and how that allows him to maximize the effectiveness of Leach’s system is futile.

Not only does Falk have nice size for the position at 6-4, 216 pounds, the incoming senior also is one of the most accurate passers in the country. He may not have a rocket-launcher connected at the shoulder, but you can count on the ball to be where it needs to be more often than not when it comes out of his hand.

Falk’s performance dropping off in the 2017 season would be more surprising than him once again putting up a gaudy stat-line. However, with another year as the leader of this offense and more quality weapons around him despite the departure of Gabe Marks, it’s feasible to imagine that Washington State’s gem at quarterback could be in store for his biggest campaign yet.