College football rankings: Sam Howell, Spencer Rattler and the top 20 quarterbacks of 2021

11. Kedon Slovis, USC

Whenever Kedon Slovis took over the USC Trojans offense as a freshman, he lit the world on fire and looked the part of the program’s next great quarterback to potentially guide them back into the upper-echelon of college football. After throwing for 3,502 yards, 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 12 games in his first year, there were big expectations.

Slovis, however, didn’t deliver on those expectations. Instead, he was actually a bit worse than he was as a freshman, even if not from a statistical perspective. In six games, he threw for 1,921 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions, which put him on a better 12-game pace than he was on as a freshman. But it was a lack of development that seemed to hinder him.

Over two seasons of work, there’s no questioning Slovis’ ability to attack the short and intermediate areas of the field with pinpoint accuracy. However, his reluctance to take deep shots and air it out down the field — especially when you look at the weapons he has in the passing game — is certainly frustrating.

There have been some murmurs that Slovis wasn’t completely healthy last year, which could’ve factored into his shortcomings from 2020. But the 2021 season is now a proving ground for Slovis as he clearly can put up numbers but has the personnel (and seemingly the talent) to insert himself into the top tier of college quarterbacks.