1. Jake Locker Sr Washington
2. Andrew Luck So Stanford
3. Matt Barkley So USC
4. Kevin Riley Sr California
5. Kevin Prince So UCLA
Locker is being touted as a Heisman candidate and overall number one draft pick in 2011. He has had a good spring but as usual the coaches don't really showcase his legs during the spring. Locker has plenty of weapons to work with and an experienced line in front of him so the Husky offense should be one of the more explosive in the Pac 10 this season.
"Don’t get me wrong," Locker explained. "I really look forward to the NFL But it’s not going anywhere. You can never go back and play college football."
"If you had to ask me right now who is going to be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 draft, I would say it's etched in stone it's going to be Jake Locker," Mel Kiper said on April 7. "You can mark that down. Jake Locker, if he's not the No. 1 pick, it's an upset."
Kiper has not been the only notable figure dishing out praise. Before and after his team's game against Washington last September, then-USC coach Pete Carroll insisted the 6-foot-3, 235-pound standout was "the best quarterback we've played against" during his tenure, acknowledging that list included former Texas star Vince Young. Arizona State's Dennis Erickson once called Locker the best high school quarterback he'd ever seen.
The pro's will also be keeping an eye on Stanford's Andrew Luck who could come out early after his third year. Luck is a big guy with deceptively good speed and a great arm. I thought he looked great against Washington last year even though Harbaugh was limiting what he could do.
Stanford is going to be solid in 2010 but they won't have a player the caliber of Toby Gerhart manning the RB position. More of the load is going to be shifted on to Luck so it will be interesting to see if he is completely up to the task.
He's 6-foot-4, 234 pounds and he moves well. He's got an outstanding arm. He's smart. He's grounded. His father, Oliver, is a former NFL quarterback.
Nick Foles came oh so close to leading Arizona to the Rose Bowl last season. He returns this year to a team that has some holes to fill due to graduation. Foles had a tremendous game picking apart Washington last season even though the Wildcats came up on the short side of the stick in a memorable Husky comeback.
He has had some mechanical problems this spring and Matt Scott is pushing him for the starting job after posting better numbers in the spring game.
The spring game is the final oasis before the long desert summer and Wildcat fans drank it up. When you saw the size of the line waiting for Nick Foles’ autograph (he was the only one with a table and chair besides Mike Stoops) you never would have guessed you were looking at a guy who threw for a whole 28 yards in San Diego.
Matt Barkley started at USC as a true frosh and had the predictable growing pains. He should be much improved this season and should start filling some of the big time expectations that were predicted for him. The early buzz on Matt is that he has lost weight, looks more mobile, and has a better feel for the passing game.
The sophomore's loss of 10 pounds has made him more agile this spring. It is evident on rollouts and especially in the pocket, where the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Barkley has eluded pressure much better than he did last season. "He's forcing a few too many balls but I think he's really picking up the offense," Coach Lane Kiffin said. "The thing that I'm most pleased about is when you're in the huddle with him, you can give him about half the play and he can finish the play for you. That's what the really good ones do."
Cal's Kevin Riley returns for his senior season with the goal of taking his game to the next level. Experience and bowl games count so Riley is in our top five but he is going to be hard pressed to stay there once the season begins.
"I think he's grown a lot as a person with his maturity level," Tedford said. "He's been so up and down as far as a lot of hype and then a lot of negative stuff. I think now he has everything in proper perspective. He knows he needs to work. He knows how serious it is and what a serious role he plays. You have to be your best. The only way to be your best is by working hard."
Kevin Prince led UCLA to a bowl game last season and he showed continual improvement as the season went on. Rick Neuheisel experimented with the "Pistol" this spring because Prince ran it with success in high school. Kind of reminds when Neu adapted his offense to fit Tui's skill set. I think Prince has a lot of upside and the improvement will continue.
"I know exactly where I want to go with the ball now, and I'm comfortable with the receivers," said Prince, who threw for 2,050 yards and eight touchdowns last season. "It is definitely a different feeling this spring, as well as a lot more fun to come out here and get these practices in."
Oregon's Nate Costa is the odds on favorite to win starting job with Jeremiah Masoli on suspension. Costa who has had knee problems is an expert at running this offense but the Duck passing game has been suspect this spring creating an opening for Darron Thomas.
At Oregon it just may be more about the system they run than the individual strengths of the QB. Two years ago Oregon emptied the bench at QB against Washington and they all did well.
"It’s a work in progress," Kelly said. "We don’t have to have a quarterback until September. They have good days and they have bad days. They’re throwing the ball a little better right now, but they’ve got to do a better job of making decisions when we’re in game situations."
Oregon State's Ryan Katz has opened some eye up in Corvallis this spring. Beaver believer's are even comparing him to Washington's Jake Locker. What Katz has going for him is a great arm and good mobility. What he doesn't have is Pac 10 game experience.
I want to see a JUGS gun put on the throws of redshirt freshman QB Ryan Katz. ... dude has C.C. Sabathia-type heat, only with better control. ... when Katz - who looks pretty good to me so far - hits somebody in the numbers, you can heard the sound all over the Truax Center. ... there was a sideline route where RS freshman WR Jordan Bishop looked up just in time to see the ball whistle over his head like a tracer bullet in a war movie. ... and that gives us an excuse to mention - again - that Katz went to the HS where they filmed "Rebel Without a Cause.'' ... drawing a blank, Gen Xers? Google it for pete's sake.
ASU's quarterback battle between Brock Osweiler and transfer Steven Threet didn't yield a clear winner which isn't bad news because both players did well this spring. Osweiler has a bit of a lead right now after doing well in the spring game.
"That battle is a battle," ASU coach Dennis Erickson said after Tuesday's practice. "I wouldn't even have a clue who to tell you is going to start, and I don't imagine it will come until sometime in the fall."
Washington State's Jeff Tuel emerged as the clear cut starter at QB this spring. WSU's offense has been terrible as of late and one huge reason has been the lackluster play at the QB position. The hope is that Tuel will benefit from the experience he picked up playing last season as a true frosh.
Tuel, who started five games in 2009, completed 11 of 16 passes for 129 yards with a touchdown in the Cougars spring game on Saturday, capping a spring in which he was more consistent than junior Marshall "Lobster" Lobbestael. In three scrimmages, Tuel completed 25 of 41 passes for 297 yards with three TDs and one interception. Lobbestael was 17 of 31 for 165 yards, two scores and three interceptions.