The 2019 college football season is upon us, and SQSports will be breaking down various college football questions and bringing you many different position and conference power rankings.

Here, we rank and breakdown the ten projected starting quarterbacks for the 2019 season in the Big 12.

10 – Alex Delton, TCU

2018 Stats (at Kansas State): 7 G, 55.0 CMP%, 554 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INT

85 carries, 234 YDS, 2 TD

After four seasons at Kansas State, grad transfer Alex Delton took his talents to Fort Worth to try and win the starting job for Big 12 foe TCU. Delton has been battling it out with redshirt freshman Justin Rogers, true freshman Max Duggan, and Ohio State transfer Matthew Baldwin. The race seems to still be very tight, though, Delton is used to these competitions as he was involved in them seemingly every year at Kansas State. Regardless of who ends up starting for the Horned Frogs, they will be at the backend of the Big 12 QB list which has given us some of the best college quarterback play over the past five seasons.

In his time in Manhattan, Kansas, Alex Delton never saw the field for more than seven games in a season due to poor play and injury issues. He is a run-first signal caller, and his bruising style of running often led him to the sidelines earlier than he wanted. Delton has never thrown more than 100 passes in a season, and typically averaged the same amount of attempts on the ground as he did in the air. Should Delton win the job, the skillset he provides will put a lot of pressure on Gary Patterson and the TCU defense to shut down the potent Big 12 offenses.

9 – Thomas MacVittie, Kansas

2018 Stats (at Mesa CC): 6 G, 1064 YDS, 16 TD

Thomas MacVittie, originally a top-100 prospect in the class of 2016, was the number two ranked pro-style QB in the 2019 JUCO rankings. After striking out at Pittsburgh due to academic ineligibility, he went to Mesa Community College where he started at quarterback last season. MacVittie has a good amount of talent but has struggled to harness it in.

MacVittie is battling it out with fifth-year senior Carter Stanley to see who will lead the Jayhawk offense. MacVittie has more skill, and an extra year of eligibility, but Stanley has more familiarity with the offense and the surrounding weapons. At 6-foot-5, MacVittie has the size you want out of a power five QB. He is not a runner per say, but he shows good pocket mobility and awareness. Whatever way Les Miles goes with his signal caller, it will once again be a losing season for the Jayhawks.

8 – Austin Kendall, West Virginia

2018 Stats: 4 G, 70.6 CMP%, 122 YDS, 1 TD, 0 INT

7 carries, 21 YDS

The 9th rated pro-style quarterback of the 2016 recruiting class is finally getting a chance to play after sitting behind Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray for three seasons. Austin Kendall beat out Jack Allison for the starting job and has two years of eligibility to grow under new head coach Neal Brown. Kendall only attempted 39 passes in three seasons at OU, but the arm talent is there and many believe he will surprise some people in 2019 with a good season.

The Mountaineers have to replace their top four receivers from last season including David Sills and Gary Jennings, but some talented transfers are in which should help Kendall. Kendall had a lot of success at Cuthbertson High School in North Carolina and he carries a lowkey swagger and moxie that you want out of your starting quarterback. He plays with toughness and leadership, and though he isn’t a physical specimen, he has good pocket mobility and can pick up a first down with his feet if need be.

7 – Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State

2018 Stats: REDSHIRT, did not see the field for OSU

Spencer Sanders was the eighth ranked duel-threat quarterback in the class of 2018 but did not see any action last season with Taylor Cornelius leading the Pokes offense. With Cornelius gone, the next leader of the Mike Gundy offense is up in the air, but many believe Sanders has the upper hand through spring ball on the Hawaii transfer Dru Brown.

Sanders was highly-touted out of Denton, Texas, and many believed when he stepped on campus he would be the heir apparent to Cornelius. He was 46-6 in 52 career starts in high school, throwing for 8,747 yards while winning Texas Gatorade Player of the Year for his senior season performance. Sanders is lightning quick and can beat you for big chunks of yardage when the pocket collapses. In a clean pocket he has a cannon of an arm, but must work on the finer nuances of the QB position. It make the most sense for Coach Gundy to turn to Sanders next year, hoping he can be the starter for the foreseeable future.

6 – Skylar Thompson, Kansas State

2018 Stats: 11 G, 58.7 CMP%, 1391 YDS, 9 TD, 4 INT

105 carries, 373 YDS, 5 TD

Skylar Thompson came onto campus in Manhattan as just a three-star recruit, but he has moved from third on the depth chart all the way up to the main guy after just two seasons. He has shown the ability to throw a good ball, but Thompson does a lot of his work on the ground. Last season he was Kansas State’s second most productive runner, accumulating 373 yards and five touchdowns on 105 carries.

After what seemed like a competition that spanned over two seasons, Thompson finally had a spring where he knew he is going to be the guy come week one of the 2019 season. The confidence this gives a quarterback should not go under the radar, and I believe Thompson could have a very nice 2019 season. He must become more consistent through the air, but Big 12 defenses are not the hardest to pick apart, so with a whole offseason knowing he is the guy, I could see Thompson take a solid step forward.

5 – Brock Purdy, Iowa State

2018 Stats: 10 G, 66.4 CMP%, 2250 YDS, 16 TD, 7 INT

100 carries, 308 YDS, 5 TD

Brock Purdy, nicknamed ‘Pump-Fake Purdy” for obvious reasons, won ESPN’s Big 12 Freshman of the Year last season, and is ready to lead a sneaky Iowa State team to the top of the Big 12 conference. Ranked as the 36th pro-style QB in the class of 2018, Purdy stepped foot onto Ames as a very underrated recruit. He was set to attend the University of Alabama as a preferred walk-on before receiving his first power five offer in JANUARY of his senior year. His rise over the last 18 months has been epic, and I believe he is going to continue to rise as he gains more experience.

Purdy took over the Cyclone offense in the fifth game of the season, winning seven of the nine games he started. He ripped off five straight conference wins against the likes of West Virginia, Oklahoma State, and Baylor. Purdy showed he can get it done through the air as well as on the ground. He threw for over 200 yards in every game but two, and scored at least two touchdowns in all but one game. Purdy will be just 19 years old for all of the 2019 regular season, and his skill combined with his age has his ceiling as high as any for quarterbacks in this conference.

4 – Alan Bowman, Texas Tech

2018 Stats: 8 G, 69.4 CMP%, 2638 YDS, 17 TD, 7 INT

29 carries, -26 YDS, 1 TD

Alan Bowman checks in at number four on the list, and like Purdy, he was very underrated in the class of 2018 and went on to have one of the best true freshman seasons in the nation. Ranked as the 37th pro-style QB in the class of 2018, the Grapevine, Texas product received just three power five offers: Texas Tech, Ole Miss, and Illinois. Bowman took over the staring job for Coach Kingsbury in week two and held it throughout a season that was ultimately derailed with late injuries.

However, when healthy, Bowman put up some of the best numbers at the quarterback position in the Big 12 conference. He averaged nearly 330 yards passing per game, tops in the conference. Bowman’s week four game against Houston was unforgettable as he threw for 605 yards and five touchdowns in a win. He is not very mobile like many of these other Big 12 quarterbacks, but he has arguably the strongest and most accurate arm in the conference. We will see how much the offensive system will change under new Head Coach Matt Wells, but Bowman has the talent to put up some gaudy numbers (and maybe be a sleeper Heisman candidate?).

3 – Charlie Brewer, Baylor

2018 Stats: 13 G, 61.5 CMP%, 3019 YDS, 19 TD, 9 INT

133 carries, 375 YDS, 7 TD

After winning Co-Offensive Freshman of the Year in the Big 12 in 2017, Charlie Brewer doubled down with a very impressive sophomore campaign. In 13 appearances he led the Baylor Bears to a 7-6 season, including a 45-38 shootout against Vanderbilt in the Texas Bowl. Brewer gets it done with both his arm and his legs, averaging 232 yards per game through the air and 29 on the ground. He finished the 2018 campaign with 26 total touchdowns.

Brewer shined the brightest in the biggest games, throwing for 400 yards against Oklahoma, 240 against Texas, and 288 against Iowa State, all road games. Though the Bears lost all three of these games, Brewer gets them into situations where they can compete. Baylor returns star receiver Denzel Mims who went for 794 yards and eight TDs last season. Brewer and Mims are one of the most lethal combos that no one is talking about.

2 – Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma

2018 Stats (at Alabama): 13 G, 72.9 CMP%, 765 YDS, 8 TD, 2 INT

36 carries, 167 YDS, 2 TD

The Alabama transfer will have one year in Lincoln Riley’s potent offense, looking to be the third consecutive Oklahoma quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy. Everyone knows the story of Jalen Hurts. 26-2 as a starter before being replaced by Tua Tagovailoa at halftime of the 2018 National Championship game. He never got his starting job back, and is looking to make the most of his final year of college eligibility.

Hurts has always been known as a run first quarterback, and in his three seasons at Alabama he had 707 passing attempts compared to 381 rushing attempts. Though he did not throw many interceptions, his arm capabilities limit the amount the offense around him could do. With that being said, in a small sample size in 2018 Hurts looked much better throwing the ball, and many offseason reports have said he has looked really good in Oklahoma camp. Hurts will have no problem putting up great numbers in this Lincoln Riley offense, but will they be good enough to compete for a National Championship?

1 – Sam Ehlinger, Texas

2018 Stats: 14 G, 64.7 CMP%, 3292 YDS, 25 TD, 5 INT

164 carries, 482 YDS, 16 TD

After splitting time under center with Shane Buechele in 2017, Sam Ehlinger took a stronghold on the quarterback position in Spring and Fall camp ahead of his sophomore campaign. As a freshman Ehlinger played well, flashing signs of brilliance, but overall lacked consistency game in and game out. In 2018 he put all of those demons to rest as he played like a top-ten quarterback in the country. He nearly broke an NCAA record by recording 311 pass atempts without an interception. He proved to the doubters that he is more than just a fullback at the quarterback position as Ehlinger threw for 25 touchdowns and averaged 235 yards per game through the air.

Ehlinger led Texas to their first double-digit win season since 2009, and racked up impressive wins over Oklahoma and Georgia during that process. Many nationwide college football sites have him as a top-five quarterback in the country behind Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa, Jake Fromm, and Justin Herbert. Ehlinger combined for 41 touchdowns compared to just five turnovers in 2018. He is the heart and soul of this Texas team, and the expectations are as high as they’ve been in the past decade at the Forty Acres with him at the helm.