Ranking the projected starting quarterbacks in the Big 12 for 2023

8. Emory Jones, Cincinnati

The best fit from the portal for a quarterback this season was Emory Jones to Cincinnati. It makes so much sense.

Bearkats head coach Scott Satterfield is coming off of a pedestrian four-year tenure with Louisville and desperately needs a second chance at the Power-5 level.

With Luke Fickell off to Wisconsin, it made too much sense for Cincinnati to begin its brand with an experienced P5 leader.

The Bearkats had an underwhelming follow-up in 2022 after playing Alabama in the College Football Playoff the year before the new head coach, new league, and new quarterback.

Satterfield and Jones’ connection begins.

It took the former four-star QB recruit three years to work his way up to being the starting QB for the Gators. It took him one season to lose the job as Anthony Richardson quickly became the club leader and pushed Jones to Arizona State.

He was asked not to be a runner in the Sun Devils system, which was detrimental to his dual-threat ability. Meanwhile, Satterfield has welcomed the concept with Malik Cunningham during both’s entire tenure with the Cardinals.

Although his arm has been good over his career (64% completion), his legs might be the recipe for Cincinnati to keep up with other Big 12 offenses.