Top Five College Quarterbacks to Watch in the 2020 Season

1. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson

It is no surprise to see Trevor Lawrence at the top of the list here. Lawrence has had all eyes on him since his senior year at Cartersville High School in Cartersville, GA. He has been the guy at Clemson since his freshman year and has made a splash by being in two national championships in his first two years. He is such a highly sought after prospect that some fans are beggin their teams to “Tank for Trevor”. His leadership skills are incredible. He is by far the best college quarterback in the nation. Lawrence has an incredible arm, a great poise in the pocket, he has great decision making, and has only improved since he came to Clemson his freshman season. If he continues to play at such a level, it would be no surprise to see him go number one overall in the 2021 NFL Draft.

2. Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State

The man considered to be the second best quarterback who could possibly declare for the NFL Draft, is Justin Fields. Fields had quite the first year of starting for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He helped lead his team all the way to the College Football Playoffs. Unfortunately for him they lost a hard fought game against the Clemson Tigers and missed the Final. Fields last season threw for over 4,000 yards, 41 touchdowns, and only 3 interceptions. In an NFL world where the scrambling quarterback is the new normal, Fields is in a great position to have a strong career in the NFL.

He has a very strong arm, and a great ability to get outside of the pocket and extend plays. The one thing he needs to work on is control. At times he can overthrow and put too much power on his passes. If he can avoid putting too much extra ketchup and mustard on his throws, he should be set for the pros. It will be interesting to see how he does in his second full year of starting for Ohio State.

3. Trey Lance, QB, North Dakota State

One of the more overlooked prospects who could possibly go in the 2021 NFL Draft, is Trey Lance out of North Dakota State. There is no guarantee that Lance will declare going into the 2021 Draft, considering that he will only be a Redshirt Sophomore going into this season. He has had a phenomenal start to his career. In his first season as a starting quarterback he finished just shy of 3,000 passing yards with 28 touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

Lance is a dual threat guy who can kill you with his arm and his feet. He has a cannon for an arm and excels at nailing the deep throws. Lance is a guy who can make things happen on his feet and extend plays. He could use some work on being able to put more touch on the intermediate and short throws. Also, he should probably take some lessons on how to slide. The young gun-slinger is a little too eager to get hit. There is no doubt that teams will be watching this young man very closely to see how he improves.

4. Brock Purdy, QB, Iowa State

A prospect that I find fascinating, and very well could be one of my favorite quarterbacks in the Draft by the end of this season, is Brock Purdy out of Iowa State. One of the things I like about Purdy is his ability to fit the ball into tight spots and the way that he can pick apart zone defenses is really impressive. He has good ball speed, but struggles on throwing the ball deep to where he can hit his receivers in stride. Sometimes the receivers have to slow down to get under the ball.

The biggest thing that he needs to work on this coming year is his footwork. His footwork is sloppy and honestly lazy. If Purdy can make his footwork more crisp and concise, his game would improve. It will be exciting to see if he makes leaps and bounds in his craft this coming season, and if he can jump up the boards.

5. Tanner Morgan, QB, Minnesota

Coming out of Minnesota, is a quarterback that is primed and ready to start jumping up Draft Boards. Tanner Morgan is a gunslinger who put himself on the radar with a huge win against conference rival, Penn State. Morgan had a heck of a 2019 season. He threw for over 3,000 yards, 30 touchdowns, and only 7 interceptions on the season. He is an impressive Quarterback who has good footwork in the pocket, he puts fantastic speed on the ball, and he is a very smart passer.

In the 2020 season Morgan can improve on better ball placement. There are passes that he makes where the receiver has to adjust to make the catch, when it could be corrected by hitting his receiver in stride. His pocket awareness also could be better. At times he makes the wrong move when stepping up or maneuvering in the pocket, which often results in him getting sacked. Overall, I think Morgan is set up for quite the season. He has an incredible receiver to throw to in Rashod Bateman. There is no doubt that Tanner Morgan is trying to set himself and the Golden Gophers up for another phenomenal season. 

Honorable mentions to watch:

Kyle Trask, QB, Florida–Senior

Trask has been the guy at Florida for quite some time now. It will be interesting to see what he brings in his Senior year for the Gators.

Jamie Newman, QB, Georgia–Senior

Newman entered the transfer portal during the offseason and signed with the Bulldogs. It will be interesting to see how he does with a new offense and better weapons.

K.J. Costello, QB, Mississippi State–Grad Transfer

Costello is entering his final year of eligibility in the NCAA and he decided to transfer to Mississippi State. Looks like SEC competition is on the menu for this former PAC-12 Quarterback.

Follow me on Twitter for more great content @ArmchairAustin

Discuss this and everything to do with sports at the Overtime Heroics forums! 

Be sure to check out our partners at Repp Sports! They offer the first-ever crowd-sourced, no carb, no sugar, energy drink called RAZE, and much more! Use the link above or add the promo code OTH1 at checkout to get 30% off your order!