Spring edition: Ranking projected Big Ten starting quarterbacks

Spring is upon us, and most Big Ten schools will have their spring games within the next few weeks.

Looking back to last season, the conference had two teams in the College Football Playoff: Michigan and Ohio State. Both lost in the semifinals, and Georgia took home another title for the SEC.

The Wolverines took home their second Big Ten championship after going undefeated in the regular season and defeating Purdue in the conference title game.

Football has been a mostly passing game for several years. While some teams, like Michigan, enjoy running the football, there are a ton of teams that love throwing the rock around. The Big Ten had some really good starting quarterbacks last season. Some will return this year, but others are gone. The Buckeyes lost CJ Stroud who will most likely be a top-five NFL draft selection in April.

We are going to stick with the quarterbacks for this article and rank all 14 projected Big Ten starters for the 2023 football season.

Gavin Wimsatt OR Evan Simon - Rutgers

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Rutgers ranked dead last in the Big Ten last season throwing for 159.3 yards per game. Not good.

The Scarlet Knights played three quarterbacks last season in hopes of finding their guy for this year, but none played too well.

Gavin Wimsatt and Evan Simon played the best, but, again, neither of them did anything spectacular to pull away from the other. Wimsatt threw for 757 yards and five touchdowns, but he also threw seven interceptions. Simon had one interception and 145 yards during his playing time.

But spring is here and Rutgers is hoping one of them does something to stand out.

Ryan Hilinski - Northwestern

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Northwestern played five quarterbacks last season, but two of them were given a true chance.

The Wildcats started the season with Ryan Hilinski under center and then gave Brendan Sullivan a chance. The latter will be remembered for almost upsetting Ohio State.

Hilinski is the veteran in the clubhouse and had plenty of experience at South Carolina before coming to Northwestern two years ago. I would guess he will get the nod to start the year but will need to do better this season after throwing seven interceptions to the six touchdown passes in 2022.

Dexter Williams OR Tayven Jackson - Indiana

Tennessee quarterback Tayven Jackson (3) looks for an open receiver during the NCAA college football game against UT Martin on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Hoosiers lost Connor Bazelak after one season in Bloomington. Indiana also lost backup Jack Tuttle to Michigan, but the cupboard isn’t completely bare.

Indiana will return Dexter Williams, who did get some experience last year. He threw for 184 yards and two scores but he is able to use his feet to extend plays. He averaged over four yards per carry and scored once on the ground.

If I had to guess today, Williams will not be starting for Indiana though. The Hoosiers bring Tennessee transfer Tayven Jackson, younger brother of Trace Jackson-Davis, into the fold. He was a four-star recruit in the class of 2022 for the Volunteers but was behind both Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton. He has all of spring to show what he’s capable of doing.

Luke Altmyer - Illinois

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Illinois had the Big Ten West won, until it didn’t. The Fighting Illini fell down the stretch and allowed Purdue to overtake them in the division.

It wasn’t any fault of Syracuse transfer Tommy DeVito though. He played well and did what the Illini needed him to do. But he is now gone and Illinois is looking to find the next quarterback to lead the team.

Insert Ole Miss transfer Luke Altmyer.

Altmyer was a top-200 recruit in the class of 2021 and was a highly recruited four-star prospect. He never really got his chance and transferred to Illinois in hopes of leading the Illini to the Big Ten championship game.

Athan Kaliakmanis - Minnesota

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Minnesota lost Tanner Morgan after he was there for a century — it seemed.

The Gophers had a chance to look at their next gunslinger after Morgan was injured late last season. Athan Kaliakmanis will start for Minnesota this season after having an OK finish to last year.

He threw for 946 yards and three touchdowns but threw four interceptions. Minnesota is going to need him to cut that ratio down if it wants a chance at prominence.

Casey Thompson OR Jeff Simms - Nebraska

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The former Texas Longhorn did a fine job for Nebraska last season. Casey Thompson threw for 2,407 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions during an injury-plagued season.

But there is a new regime now; Matt Ruhle is the new head coach. One of the first things he did was bring in former Georgia Tech quarterback Jeff Simms to compete for the starting job. Simms threw for 1,115 yards and five scores last season, but he has a running threat to his game — not sure how that will fit the offense.

Rhule did a great job at Baylor, so I would expect whoever starts the season will have a good enough year for Nebraska and at least be in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten.

Hudson Card - Purdue

Purdue Boilermakers quarterback Hudson Card (1) throws the ball during spring football practice, Thursday, March 23, 2023, at Mollenkopf Athletic Center in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Purdue had a sensational season, winning the Big Ten West and making it into the Big Ten championship against Michigan.

But the Boilermakers lost Aidan O’Connell after he threw for nearly 3,500 yards. Purdue also lost Jeff Brohm to Louisville, leaving the Boilermakers to start from scratch with Ryan Walters as coach.

Walters went out and got Hudson Card, the former Longhorns backup to Quinn Ewers and Casey Thompson, to lead the charge in 2023. Graham Harrell was hired to coach the offense, and I have to believe he will bring success to an already talented Card.

Cade McNamara - Iowa

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Cade McNamara’s ending with Michigan didn’t go well. He lost the starting job to J.J. McCarthy last season after leading the Wolverines to their first Big Ten championship in a long time and took the maize and blue to their first College Football Playoff in 2021.

He entered the transfer portal and took his talents to Iowa. The Hawkeyes really lacked a threat under center last year and ranked 13th in the Big Ten averaging 156.7 yards per game through the air.

Back in 2021, McNamara threw for 2,576 and 15 touchdowns while starting for Michigan. If the Hawkeyes can evolve their offense at all, McNamara is a huge upgrade over Spencer Petras.

Payton Thorne - Michigan State

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Thorne is back for Michigan State, and the Spartans need him to have a better season than last.

In 2021, Thorne threw for 3,232 yards, but he regressed in 2022 and passed for 2,679 yards, 19 scores and 11 interceptions.

The talent is there; we saw him excel in 2021, but Thorne needs to show he can do it without a dominant run game like MSU had with Kenneth Walker. If Michigan State is going to improve upon its 5-7 finish last year, Thorne will need to be the difference maker.

Tanner Mordecai - Wisconsin

Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai throws a pass during first spring football practice of the season on Saturday March 25, 2023 at the McClain Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

Wisconsin went from five-star game manager Graham Mertz to Tanner Mordecai who threw the ball a ton at SMU. Last season, he was 18th in the country with 3,524 yards and eighth in the nation with 33 touchdowns thrown.

The Badgers were 11th in the Big Ten after averaging 183.8 yards per game passing, so it will be interesting to see how Wisconsin tailors its offense to Mordecai.

Oh, and the Badgers brought in Luke Fickell to coach the team. Obviously, he will have a different vision for the offense, and it’s likely to see Wisconsin throw the ball much more.

Kyle McCord - Ohio State

Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch

This ranking is purely based on potential and the wealth Ohio State has on offense.

Let’s be honest, anybody the Buckeyes have under center has flourished under Urban Meyer and now Ryan Day. CJ Stroud went from being mostly unknown to being in the Heisman contention, and now he will probably be a top-five pick in the NFL draft.

McCord threw for just 190 yards and one score in 2022, but he will enter the spring as the starter and should enter the season as the No. 1 guy. Ohio State has Marvin Harrison, Emeka Egbuka, Julian Fleming and others for McCord to throw to.

Drew Allar - Penn State

Syndication: York Daily Record

The Sean Clifford era is over, and it’s time for the five-star sophomore to take over.

I rank Drew Allar over Kyle McCord just because we’ve seen a little more from the former freshman. Last season, Allar threw for 344 yards and four scores during the time James Franklin gave him.

Allar came to Penn State as the fourth-ranked quarterback in the country and a five-star recruit. The talent is there and the potential is huge for the Nittany Lions.

The excitement is at an all-time high in State College.

Taulia Tagovailoa - Maryland

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Maryland received a much-needed boost to its offense when Taulia Tagovailoa said he was returning for another year.

Tagovailoa threw for 3,008 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2022 and he’s looking to improve off of that to have a better NFL draft grade.

The Terps hired Josh Gattis, the former Michigan and Miami offensive coordinator, to run the offense — it’s uncertain how that will work out. But either way, Tagovailoa is a gunslinger and can make the opposing defensive coach scratch his head.

J.J. McCarthy - Michigan

Photo: Isaiah Hole

J.J. McCarthy played as a freshman at Michigan, but it was sparingly, and it was behind Cade McNamara. But McCarthy took the reins last year and led the Wolverines to an undefeated season with wins against both Michigan State and Ohio State.

McCarthy was the nation’s most accurate passer for most of the season last year, but his deep ball accuracy hurt him some. But once the maize and blue allowed him to air it out, Michigan could see why he was a five-star. He threw for 263 yards against Ohio State and for 343 yards against TCU — while throwing two pick-six interceptions.

After having a full season as the starter under his belt, the Michigan offense should be even better in 2023 with McCarthy leading the way.

Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire