Which true freshmen QBs are most certainly to play in 2023?
There have been loads of true freshmen quarterbacks who’ve made their presence felt throughout school soccer over the previous decade.
But heading into Week 1 of the 2022 season, just one true freshman all through all the FBS began beneath heart for his respective crew: UConn’s Zion Turner.
That quantity may very effectively change heading into subsequent season, because the 2023 QB class is loaded with expertise from prime to backside.
FOX Sports school soccer analyst RJ Young took a take a look at 5 incoming quarterbacks and broke down which of these elite signal-callers are most certainly to play subsequent season.
Here is a breakdown of Young’s listing, counting down from 5 to 1.
Top 5 freshmen QBs most certainly to play in 2023
Fox Sports’ RJ Young breaks down 5 true freshmen quarterbacks who’re most certainly to play in 2023.
5. Malachi Nelson, USC
Young on Nelson: “This is a guy that Lincoln Riley had been recruiting for the better part of three years. He was going to Oklahoma until Riley took the job at USC, and he did what most recruits do: He followed the coach that was recruiting him, not the school that the coach was coaching at.
“The cause I believe Nelson is fifth on this listing is as a result of, No. 1: Caleb Williams is the reigning Heisman winner. You’re gonna play him as a lot as you probably can, particularly in a draft-eligible yr. And No. 2: Miller Moss got here within the 2021 cycle and stayed after Jaxson Dart left, after Caleb Williams transferred in. … He’s the backup at SC, so that is about if he can beat out Nelson for this job. I believe his years within the system could have one thing to say about that. But Lincoln Riley has at all times gone with probably the most proficient QB on the depth chart. I believe that’s gonna be the identical right here. I believe Malachi Nelson is gonna sit this yr, after which he’ll get a chance to play.”
4. Jackson Arnold, Oklahoma
Young on Arnold: “This is a man that Oklahoma wasn’t at all times certain they had been going to get. He’s the primary National Gatorade Player of the Year at Oklahoma since Kyler Murray. I consider Jackson Arnold on this means: The comp is Baker Mayfield if he was a can’t-miss prospect. If everybody knew who Baker Mayfield was going to be when he acquired to varsity, that’s who Jackson Arnold is. He has that type of confidence. He’s not boastful, however he has the flexibility to place the ball wherever he needs it to go and folks consider they’ll win as a result of he’s their QB.
“The problem for [Arnold] is that Dillon Gabriel is not just the incumbent, he’s another one of these guys that have years of playing college football under his belt. You would have to demonstrate that the floor for you is the same as it would be for Dillon Gabriel, and that’s just hard because you don’t have any body of work in the sport.”
3. Arch Manning, Texas
Young on Manning: “If you have Joe Burrow-kind of skills, where you can move around, you can make things happen, you can hit people when they are open and everybody believes you’re gonna win, what’s stopping him from playing early? Well frankly, Quinn Ewers.
“Quinn Ewers continues to be the most effective prospects within the sport since we’ve had recruiting rankings, and if he grows up in 2023 the best way we count on him to, Arch Manning isn’t going to get that job. Something must occur for us to see Arch Manning in 2023. Everybody is gonna be completely happy to see him.”
2. Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee
Young on Iamaleava: “When I see him work as a QB … his mobility, his means to flee stress, the strikes he can throw, the arm angle he has. … He’s up in opposition to a man in Joe Milton who can also be simply as bodily proficient. You must show that the ceiling for you is as excessive as Joe Milton, and the ground for you is as excessive as Joe Milton, and I simply don’t see that occuring. Joe Milton didn’t select to return after beating Clemson within the Orange Bowl as a result of he was going to surrender his job to a real freshman, regardless of how good that true freshman is, and admittedly, Josh Heupel likes having them each.”
1. Dante Moore, UCLA
Young on Moore: “I’m very intrigued by Dante Moore. And the explanation I’m is as a result of on this listing, I believe he’s the man that has the very best alternative to not simply begin in 2023, however to start out the season opener. Last yr, just one true freshman began the season at QB in Week 1, and he performed at UConn. What if Dante Moore is that man at UCLA?
“When he was putting together his college list, Chip Kelly and UCLA were on top of it because his relationship with Chip Kelly was so great. I don’t think Chip Kelly is building a relationship with a guy like Dante Moore to that effect if he doesn’t think he can be another Dorian Thompson-Robinson for him and start for four years straight.”
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