Top 10 college football quarterbacks going into 2017 spring practice
By John Buhler
Lamar Jackson
Quarterback, Louisville Cardinals
What Lamar Jackson did on the football field as a true sophomore for the 2016 Louisville Cardinals was stuff of legend. He owned Division I college football for the first two months of the season, essentially cakewalking to the 2016 Heisman Trophy.
Louisville faded down the stretch, but Jackson’s Heisman run was borderline unbelievable to watch. He completed 56.2 percent of his passes for 3,543 yards, 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His yards per attempt of 8.7 was excellent, as was his quarterback rating of 148.8.
Where Jackson eviscerated the ACC was with his legs. The then-sophomore carried the football 260 times for 1,571 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was expected to improve in his sophomore season under head coach Bobby Petrino, but who outside of Louisville saw his Heisman campaign coming?
Jackson’s athleticism will get him drafted in the NFL in either 2018 or 2019, whenever he decides to leave school. However, it may not be at quarterback. He is a little slender and has to improve his accuracy as a passer to garner the attention of scouts to be an NFL franchise quarterback.
In the meantime, look for Jackson to humiliate the ACC again in 2017. He’s an incredibly fast learner and could have unlocked some of the more refined nuances of Petrino’s up-tempo spread. Louisville won’t contend for a national title, but the Cardinals do have the reigning Heisman Trophy winner back for another exciting season.