College football is officially back! The start of college football signals the end of summer and beginning of fall. It means cooler weather, which all my people in South Georgia are thankful for. It means button-up shirts and blue jeans, although I still prefer shorts most of the time. It means sensational Saturdays filled with 12 hours of football. I’m an avid college football fan and the beginning of the new football season always brings forth a lot of good feelings and fond memories. We’ve already seen some great games and improbable upsets in the first two weeks of action. The story of the early season so far has been Coach Prime, his star quarterback, his son Shedeur and the improbable turnaround of the Colorado football program. Shedeur has been spectacular so far this season and his brilliant play from the qb position got me thinking about The Top College Quarterbacks…Of My Lifetime.

10. Ty Detmer: BYU (1987-1991)

BYU is known as a quarterback factory. With notable qb alumni including Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, Taysom Hill and Zach Wilson among others, it’s easy to see why. Perhaps the best of the bunch and definitely the most decorated was Ty Detmer. Detmer was one of the first college football players that I can remember. He had a remarkable junior season in which he passed for 5,188 yards and 41 touchdowns and finished the year with 42 NCAA records. He was awarded the Heisman Trophy and put himself squarely in the national spotlight heading into his senior season. Detmer was also chasing the career passing yards mark in his senior year. That pursuit coupled with his Heisman meant that there were a lot of BYU games on television late on Saturday nights in 1991. I liked to stay up late and watch Detmer chase history and rack up huge numbers. Detmer finished his college career with the following totals: 1,530 pass attempts; 958 completions; 15,031 passing yards; 121 touchdown passes; 14,665 yards of total offense; 135 touchdowns responsible for; and 162.7 passer rating—all NCAA records at the time.

9. Joe Burrow: LSU (2018-2019)

Joe Burrow seemingly came out of nowhere in 2019 to lead the LSU Tigers to a National Championship and he put up staggering individual numbers while doing so. I don’t really remember anything special about Burrow when he transferred from Ohio State to LSU and took over the starting qb job in 2018. He had decent numbers and the team finished 10-3 with a final ranking of 7 in the AP poll. Expectations were relatively high for Burrow and the Tigers heading into the 2019 season and they exceeded all of them. Burrow had one of the all-time great seasons for a college qb. Burrow threw for 5,671 yards with 60 passing touchdowns versus just 6 interceptions. He also shined the brightest in the biggest games, leading LSU to 7 victories over top-10 opponents. Including decisive wins in the SEC Championship Game, the National Semi-Finals and ultimately, the National Championship Game. He won the Heisman Trophy and earned the nickname “Joe Cool”. He lived up to it with his infamous post-victory cigar National Champion celebration.

8. Cam Newton: Auburn (2010)

Although they had starkly different quarterback play styles, Cam Newton and the previous entry, Joe Burrow, shared a somewhat similar college career path. Both players transferred from other powerhouse schools, both led their new teams to undefeated National Championships and both took home the Heisman Trophy. While Burrow did the majority of his damage through the air, Newton was a true dual-threat quarterback who had rushing numbers (1473 yards and 20 tds) that would’ve made for a compelling Heisman case in their own rite. His passing numbers weren’t too shabby either as he racked up 2,854 yards to go along with 30 tds. Cam was one of the most dominant players in college football history and he gets the slight nod over Burrow because he carried a less talented team all the way. It was exciting to watch Newton will his team to victory on a weekly basis. He was a man amongst boys on Saturdays and it was proof that even in the ultimate team sport, such a dominant player can take you all the way.

7. Vince Young: Texas (2003-2005)

Next up we have another dynamic dual-threat quarterback, Vince Young. Young split the quarterbacking duties as a redshirt freshman in 2003 before taking sole possession of the position in 2004. He led the Longhorns to an 11-1 record and expectations were high in Austin heading into the 2005 season. Vince didn’t disappoint. He led Texas to an undefeated regular season and a trouncing of Colorado in the Big 12 Championship Game. This set up a highly anticipated BCS Title Game matchup with the also undefeated defending National Champion USC Trojans. The game featured the previous two Heisman winners from Southern Cal, quarterback Matt Leinart (2004) and running back Reggie Bush (2005.) USC entered the game with a 34-game winning streak and not many people thought Texas stood much of a chance. Vince Young had a difference of opinion. Maybe he felt slighted from finishing second to Bush in the Heisman voting. Whatever it was, he carried his team to improbable victory with 267 passing yards, 200 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns. Including a 9 yard scramble on 4th down with 19 seconds remaining to give Texas the lead. It was one of the greatest performances in Championship Game history, in what I consider as The Top College Football Game…Of My Lifetime.

6. Johnny Manziel: Texas A&M (2012-2013)

Despite a storied high school football career that included 7,500 passing yards and 75 touchdowns and another 4,000 rushing yards and 78 touchdowns, Johnny Manziel was only a 3-star quarterback and was not recruited by many of the powerhouse college programs. He ultimately chose to enroll at Texas A&M and after red-shirting his freshman year, Manziel started turning college football on its head. The nation’s eyes were opened to “Johnny Football” when he led the Aggies into Tuscaloosa to face the number 1 ranked Crimson Tide of Alabama. In what was one of the more memorable regular season performances in college football history, Manziel accounted for 345 of A&M’s 418 yards of offense, including two passing touchdowns. Manziel was scrambling all over the field, making plays with his arm, legs and athleticism. That game propelled Manziel to the Heisman Trophy and he became the first freshman to ever win the award. From there the legend of Johnny Football would only grow both on and off the field. Manziel was one of the most polarizing players in college football history with the simple nickname that was somehow perfect.

5. Peyton Manning: Tennessee (1994-1997)

Peyton Manning was one of the most sought after high school quarterback recruits in history. After winning the Gatorade High School Player of the Year Award he elected to enroll at the University of Tennessee instead of his father Archie’s alma mater, Ole Miss. Archie was a star quarterback for the Rebels from 1968-1970 and went on to have a nice NFL career, most notably with the New Orleans Saints. Peyton began his college career as the 3rd-string quarterback in Knoxville but after injuries to Jerry Colquitt and future MLB All-Star Todd Helton, Manning took over the starting job in the 4th game of the season and maintained it the rest of his college days. He finished his storied college career with a 39-6 record as a starter and standing as the SEC’s all-time career passing leader, with 11,201 yards (third on all-time NCAA list). During his Tennessee career, he set 33 school records, seven SEC records and two NCAA passing records. But with Manning it wasn’t always so much about what he did as it was how he did it. He was one of if not the most cerebral quarterbacks in college football history. He knew the game and the position better than his peers and probably better than most pro quarterbacks at the time. It was delightful to see Manning dissect a defense through preparation and precision. He quickly became one of my favorite players of all-time for the way he approached the position and played the game.

4. Joe Hamilton: Georgia Tech (1996-1999)

With apologies to Goose Godsey, Joe Hamilton was the best quarterback for Georgia Tech during my lifetime. And being the huge Yellow Jackets fan that I am, he was definitely going to be on the list. However, Hamilton is deserving of inclusion regardless. During his career at Tech Hamilton set ACC records for total offense (10,640 yards), touchdown passes (65) and total touchdowns (83). His senior season was particularly memorable as Hamilton passed for 3,060 yards and 29 touchdowns while adding 734 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. This earned Hamilton numerous awards including First Team All-America and the Davey O’Brein Award for the nation’s top quarterback. Hamilton was absolutely robbed in the Heisman voting in 1999 when he finished second to Wisconsin running back, Ron Dayne. Dayne had a nice season but I feel like he received votes due to the fact that he broke the career NCAA rushing record. I firmly believe that Hamilton had a far better season and was more deserving of the trophy. This created an instant bias for me against Dayne, even though he would have otherwise been the type of running back I was usually a fan of. I was a fan of Joe Hamilton and the excitement he brought to The Flats. It felt like the Yellow Jackets always had a chance with “Little Joe” at the helm.

3. Matt Leinart: USC (2003-2005)

Matt Leinart was the perfect quarterback for the great USC teams from the early 2000s. He was a local kid from Santa Ana. He was from the left coast and threw left-handed. He had the surfer boy look and was California cool under pressure at the qb position. After redshirting his freshman year, Leinart took over the starting quarterback job his sophomore season. He had big shoes to fill following Heisman winning qb Carson Palmer. Leinart did not disappoint. He guided the Trojans to a 12-1 record his sophomore season. The following season USC went wire-to-wire as the number 1 team in the country, going 12-0 and capturing the BCS Championship. Leinart took home the Heisman for his efforts. The next season he again led USC to an undefeated regular season but they came up short in the BCS Championship against Texas and the aforementioned Vince Young. Leinart finished his career with a 37-2 career record as a starter. I’ve placed him so high on the list because of all the things mentioned above and also because he was the quarterback in the two best college football games I’ve ever watched. The 2005 BCS National Championship game and the “Bush Push” game against Notre Dame in South Bend, also in 2005.

2. Charlie Ward: Florida State (1989-1993)

We go from the quarterback for the team of the early 2000s to the quarterback for the team of the early 1990s, Charlie Ward. Florida State was a college football powerhouse in the 90s and Ward was a big reason why. Following in the footsteps of fellow multi-sport Florida State star, Deion Sanders (who also ran track in college), Ward was also the starting point-guard for the Seminoles basketball team. It seemed like FSU was always playing a big football game back then and Charlie Ward was always playing lights-out. He would show up with his helmet dripping with more Tomahawks than you would see at Fulton County Stadium, decked out with Nike Air Veer cleats and proceed to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100. He was also the best player to use in Bill Walsh College Football on the Sega Genesis. Ward won the 1993 Heisman and led FSU to the National Championship. Then he got drafted by the Knicks and had a very solid 12-year NBA career.

1. Tim Tebow: Florida (2006-2009)

Tim Tebow was a quarterback the likes of which hadn’t been seen before. He was basically a fullback playing qb. Sure there had been dual-threat quarterbacks before but none had the power of Tebow. And probably no player period had the will power that he possessed. Tebow split time with incumbent quarterback Chris Leak upon his arrival in Gainesville. He was usually used in goal line situations to carry the ball in because he was so unstoppable in short yardage situations. He was a weapon for the 2006 Florida team that won the National Championship. He took over sole possession of the quarterback job the following year and had one of the most dominant statistical seasons by a college player in history. Tebow passed for 3,286 yards and 32 touchdowns and added another 895 rushing yards and 23 rushing touchdowns. 4,000 yards of total offense and 55 total touchdowns will earn you a trip to New York and a statue of a man in a leather helmet throwing a stiff-arm. During the 2008 season after a home loss to Ole Miss, Tebow delivered his now infamous “The Promise” speech. Say what you want about the speech, I’ll admit I found it a little corny, but it worked because it was who Tebow was. You could tell he meant what he said and he lived up to the promise by carrying the Gators to another National Championship by winning out the rest of the season. Tebow was so fun to watch because of the different way he played quarterback and because of the passion he had for winning. He was an unstoppable force and The Top College Quarterback…Of My Lifetime.