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2010 NCAA Football Top Five Big Ten Quarterbacks

1.  Terrell Pryor, Jr. Ohio State Buckeyes

After a shaky freshman season and a roller coaster ride his sophomore year, Pryor looks like he is ready to open up the Buckeye offense in 2010.  In Pryor’s first two seasons he was forced to fall back on his incredible athletic ability to make plays when things fell apart.  In 2009 Terrell finished the season with an efficiency rating of 128.9, good enough for eight in the Big Ten.  Pryor did finish the season strong however with an impressive outing against Oregon in the Rose Bowl.  Terrell has a rocket for an arm, and with a third off-season to further grasp the Buckeye’s offense and loads of talent around him, many are putting Terrell Pryor at the top of their pre-season Heisman list.

2.  Scott Tolzien, Sr. Wisconsin Badgers

Scott Tolzien led the Big Ten in pass efficiency in 2009 with an efficiency rating of 143.0.  Tolzien’s touchdown to interception ratio wasn’t anything extraordinary at 16-11, although he was the most accurate passer in the Big Ten in 2009, completing 64.3 percent of his passes for 2705 yards.  Tolzien isn’t the most athletic player on the field, and he has struggled at times against top tier competition.  With a solid running game, and quality receivers, Nick Toon and Isaac Anderson, Scott should once again be among the elite of Big Ten quarterbacks.

3.  Ricky Stanzi, Sr. Iowa Hawkeyes

“Just win baby,” a phrase coined by Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, proves to be fitting of Hawkeye quarterback Ricky Stanzi.  Nothing about Ricky Stanzi’s play is pretty.  In 2009 Stanzi had a 17-15 touchdown to interception ratio, and only completed 56.3 percent of his passes for 2417 yards.  Oh yeah, Stanzi has also never lost a game that he has started and finished.  The one thing that Stanzi has going for him are the intangibles.  He has an 18-4 record as a starter and seems to always play his best ball in the fourth quarter.  Stanzi has the talent around him with running backs Adam Robinson and Jewel Hampton, and a quality receiving corps highlighted by Derrell Johnson-Koulianos and Colin Sanderman.

4.  Kirk Cousins, Jr. Michigan State Spartans

Kirk Cousins started the 2009 campaign battling former Oklahoma Sooner transfer Keith Nichol for the starting spot.  I’d say head coach Mark Dantonio made the correct decision.  Cousins finished the season third in the Big Ten in pass efficiency with a rating of 142.6.  Cousins also threw for 2680 yards while completing 60.4 percent of his passes and had better than a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio at 19-9.  He has some mobility, but I doubt anyone will mistake him for Terrell Pryor anytime soon.  The Spartans have a decent ground game behind him with running back Larry Caper, and one time quarterback Keith Nichol is now his go-to receiver.

5.  Tate Forcier, So. Michigan Wolverines

Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez handed the keys to Forcier from day one.   The one word that comes to mind when thinking of Forcier is confidence…or cockiness.  There were some definite growing pains for Forcier and after an injury late in the game vs. the Iowa Hawkeyes, his season took a turn for the worse.  Forcier finished 2009 with a passer rating of  128.2, good enough for ninth in the Big Ten.  He did finish the season in the black, with a touchdown to interception ratio of 13-10 and a completion percentage of 58.7 percent.  The usual growing pains were evident for Forcier, but he has proven that he can be a play-maker and coach Rich Rodriguez and the rest of the “Big House” is hoping that will translate into wins.