Top 10 college football quarterbacks going into 2017 spring practice
By John Buhler
Sam Darnold
Quarterback, USC Trojans
It’s a limited sample size, but USC Trojans redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold is quickly making a name for himself in Los Angeles. The USC program is back under head coach Clay Helton and Darnold looks to be the next star quarterback in a long list of Trojans greats.
In his redshirt freshman season, Darnold completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 3,086 yards, 31 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has some mobility with 250 rushing yards for two touchdowns on 62 attempts, but he will be able to earn a living with his arm alone.
Darnold improved as the season went along for the 2016 Trojans. He was able to extend plays out of the pocket, throwing balls into tight windows that only the most precise NFL passers would even think to dream of. Some scouts have argued he’d be the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the 2017 NFL Draft if he were eligible to enter it.
Then again, scouts praised un-athletic Matt Barkley after his junior year at USC. While crosstown rival UCLA landed the best high school quarterback in the 2015 class in Josh Rosen, it has been Darnold who has taken the reigns of Los Angeles football. He might be the most popular player in the Los Angeles sports landscape now that Kobe Bryant retired from the Los Angeles Lakers.
USC will be a top-five team entering the upcoming season, presumably the team to beat in the Pac-12. Darnold may feel his calling to be the Trojans quarterback for the next three seasons, but he could end up as the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft if he puts it all together for the 2017 Trojans.