Jul 318 min read

The Best Quarterback From Every Big Ten School

The Big Ten Conference has a decorated history of quarterbacks, as many of them have won Heisman Trophies, national championships, NFL MVPs, and Super Bowl rings.

This list is the best of the best from every school. Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington's best quarterbacks are also on this list.

Illinois Best Quarterback: Juice Williams

There might not be a more exciting player on this list than Juice Williams. He is fourth all-time in passing yards and second all-time in passing touchdowns in Illini history. Not only is he one of the most dynamic passers in school history, but he is also 1 of the program's most dynamic runners. Williams is eighth all-time in rushing yards. In 2007, head coach Ron Zook’s plan started to come together and Williams threw for 1,743 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing for 755 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Illinois made the Rose Bowl in 2007 with a record of 9-4. The 2008 season was statistically the best for Williams. He threw for 3,173 yards and 22 touchdowns, while also rushing for 719 yards and 5 touchdowns. Illinois failed to make a bowl game that year at 5-7. Williams' final year was a struggle, but Juice's run at Illinois was something to behold.

Indiana: Antwan Randel-El

Many Hoosiers fans believe Antwan Randel-El is the greatest football player in Indiana history. During his time in Bloomington, he shattered multiple NCAA records. Randel-El was the first player to throw for over 6,000 yards and rush for over 3,000 in his career. Randel-El was also the first quarterback to throw and rush for at least 40 touchdowns.

He also completed a super-rare feat of throwing, running, and catching a touchdown all in the same game. Randle El changed the Indiana football program forever and was instrumental in the dual-threat quarterback movement in college football.

Iowa: Chuck Long

Chuck Long was the first quarterback in NCAA history to pass for more than 10,000 yards in a career. He finished runner-up as a senior for the 1985 Heisman Trophy, losing to Auburn running back Bo Jackson.

He also made first-team All-Big Ten 3 times. He also led Iowa to the 1985 Big Ten title and a No. 1 ranking for 6 weeks during the '85 season. Ranking Long as the best Iowa quarterback ever was a no-brainer.

Maryland: Boomer Esiason

Boomer Esiason last played in a Terps jersey in 1984 but still ranks fourth in completions and yards. Esiason went to the pros as Maryland’s leader in passing touchdowns, owning 17 school records after thriving under offensive coordinator Ralph Friedgen. As a senior in 1983, he led Maryland to a 6-0 ACC record and its first conference title since 1976.

A year earlier, he'd thrown for 2,302 yards and a school-record 18 touchdowns to lead the Terps to an 8-4 record. Maryland also had its highest scoring average (31 points per game) since 1951. Esiason is a Maryland legend and probably is the first name that comes to mind when thinking of the greatest Maryland quarterbacks.

Michigan: Denard Robinson

Nicknamed "Shoelace," Denard Robinson was perhaps the most electric quarterback in Michigan history. The enigmatic dual-threat thrived under head coach Rich Rodriguez, showcasing elite speed on the ground and an adequate arm.

Robinson threw for 6,336 yards, the fourth-best career passing total in school history. He also rushed for 4,495 career yards, which ranks second in Michigan history and set an NCAA Division I career record for quarterbacks.

His combined career total of 10,745 yards smashed the former Michigan record. During the 2010 season alone, he logged a Big Ten record of 4,272 total yards. Robinson had 2,570 passing yards and 1,702 rushing yards that year. Robinson won Big Ten Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors for his incredible 2010 season and was honored as a First-Team All-American.

Michigan State: Connor Cook

While not every quarterback to come out of Michigan State in the past decade has found success in the NFL, some have made significant contributions to the college football landscape. Connor Cook is one such example.

Cook, who played for the Spartans from 2012 to 2015, showcased his skills as a playmaker and led Michigan State to numerous victories. Those included a Big Ten Championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Cook ended his career in East Lansing holding the record for most wins, was First-Team All-Big Ten in 2015, a two-time Big Ten champion, and won two New Year's Six bowl games.

Minnesota: Adam Weber

Adam Weber is the Gophers' career leader in completions, completion percentage, yards, yards per game and touchdown passes. He also ranks highly among Big Ten career leaders in yards.

Weber, who started 50 games at Minnesota, is one of only 7 Big Ten quarterbacks to pass for more than 10,000 career yards and ranks third in the league history books with 10,917 yards. His 72 career touchdowns place him eighth all-time in the Big Ten.

Nebraska: Tommie Frazier

Tommie Frazier is the most dynamic quarterback in Nebraska football history. He helped lead the Cornhuskers to back-to-back national championships in 1994 and 1995. Frazier finished his career 33-3 as a starter. He had 3,521 career yards and 43 touchdowns through the air, along with 1,955 yards and 36 touchdowns on the ground.

In 1995, Frazier was a consensus All-American and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting. That helped to cement his legacy with the Huskers alongside being on one of college football’s greatest-ever teams. He was elected to the National College Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Simply put, Frazier is one of the greatest college football players ever.

Northwestern: Clayton Thorson

Clayton Thorson owns just about every record in the Northwestern record book. He is first all-time in passing yards (10,731) and first all-time in passing touchdowns (61, with the next closest being 44). Thorson owns the Wildcats' record for most passing touchdowns in a single season with 22. He also has 3 out of the top 6 most passing yards in a single season.

Thorson has won more games (36) and bowl games (3) than any other Wildcat quarterback. He ranks fifth all-time in career passing yards in Big Ten history. He finished his career in 2018 by winning the Big Ten's West Division and a Holiday Bowl win over Utah. This was an easy decision.

Ohio State: J.T. Barrett

The case for J.T. Barrett is simple. He threw for 9,434 yards, 104 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. Barrett also had 3,263 rushing yards and 43 rushing touchdowns. He holds most of Ohio State’s career records for quarterbacks, including most passing and total yards, most passing and total touchdowns and most wins.

He’s the only Ohio State quarterback with four wins as a starter against Michigan. He wasn’t the explosive athlete that Braxton Miller and Terrelle Pryor were before him, and he wasn’t the NFL-caliber passer of future Ohio State quarterbacks since. Barrett’s records speak for themselves.

Oregon: Marcus Mariota

Was there any other answer? Marcus Mariota won the 2014 Heisman Trophy and put up astonishing numbers at Oregon. It's one of the biggest reasons I love college football. The numbers and offensive explosions Oregon had during that time were must-see television.

With a 36-5 overall record in 3 seasons with the Ducks, Mariota threw for almost 11,000 yards and 105 touchdowns. He also added 29 rushing touchdowns. Mariota was a transcendent talent and his 136 total touchdowns are a record that will likely never be broken at Oregon.

Penn State: Trace McSorley

Trace McSorley was a 3-year starter, starting 40 games for the Nittany Lions from 2016-2018. He threw 77 career touchdowns and finished just shy of 10,000 passing yards with 9,899. McSorley added another 1,697 rushing yards and 30 rushing touchdowns, giving him 107 in total.

He holds records at Penn State for the most single-season passing yards (3,360), most single-season total yards (3,979) and the most single-season passing touchdowns (29). Others include most single-season 300-yard passing games (5), most consecutive games with a passing touchdown (27) and most total offensive yards in a game (461). McSorley led the Nittany Lions to a Big Ten Championship title in 2016 and went 31-9 as a starter. He was only a three-star high school recruit when he got to Penn State, but what followed was the greatest career by any Penn State quarterback in school history.

Purdue: Drew Brees

Drew Brees is undoubtedly the best quarterback in Purdue history. Brees is fourth in Big Ten history in career passing yards (11,792) and touchdowns (90), and fourth in completions (12,693).

He also owns the record for the longest completed pass in NCAA history, which came against Northwestern on September 25, 1999. Brees was a 2-time Heisman Trophy finalist. He was awarded the Big Ten MVP in 2000 when he led Purdue to its first Rose Bowl appearance in 32 years.

Rutgers: Mike Teel

Mike Teel holds the Rutgers record for all-time passing yards (9,383) and ranks second in career touchdown passes (59). Beyond those statistical achievements, Teel was also known as a winner, compiling a 29-13 record and a 3-0 mark in bowl games.

He was behind center orchestrating the calls for the team’s best season in 2006, finishing with 11 wins for the first time in 30 years.

UCLA: Cade McNown

Cade McNown's 4 years as the Bruins' signal-caller were truly outstanding. The lefty quarterback is second all-time in UCLA's record book with 68 career touchdown passes. He's also fifth in career passing yards (10,708) and second in completions (694).

He led the Bruins to back-to-back double-digit-win seasons, including a Rose Bowl appearance in 1999. Suffice it to say, his college career was stellar. Despite his professional shortcomings, McNown will forever be loved by the Bruins fanbase.

USC: Matt Leinart

Matt Leinart is not only the best quarterback to play for USC, but he might be the best quarterback to have ever played college football. His 37-2 record as Trojans' starting quarterback makes him the winningest player in school history. If sanctions weren't in the picture, then 2 of those 37 wins would have been national championship victories. Also, if Texas quarterback Vince Young had not put on one of the best performances in Rose Bowl history, then he could have added a third title.

Leinart was awarded nearly every accolade possible at the college level: 3 times All Pac-10 first team, 2 times Pac-10 offensive player of the year, 3-time All-American and a Heisman Trophy winner. Leinart totaled 10,693 yards for 99 touchdowns and only 23 interceptions with a 64.8 percent completion percentage. He was arguably the best player for the Trojans during the best era in USC football, making him the greatest quarterback in team history.

Washington: Jake Browning

Jake Browning owns several all-time Washington Huskies passing records. He has the most career passing yards at 12,226 and touchdowns with 94. The prolific passer also holds the record for most touchdowns in a season (43 in 2016). That's when he led Washington to a Pac-12 title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.

He was the only Huskies quarterback to throw 6 touchdowns in a single game, and he did it twice. In addition to setting school records, he was recognized as a First Team All-Pac-12 player and was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year. He also finished sixth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy.

Wisconsin: Darrell Bevell

Bevell started all 4 seasons at Wisconsin and quarterbacked the program to one of its greatest seasons in school history in 1993. The Badgers had a 10-1-1 record, were Big Ten co-champions and secured the school’s first Rose Bowl victory.

Bevell finished his career with several school records that still stand today, including starts (43), most passing yards in a single game (423 vs. Minnesota) and pass completions in a single game (35 vs. Iowa). He's second all-time in career passing yards (7,686). His 61.4 percent completion percentage ranks fourth in school history, his 26 wins ranks fifth and his .640 winning percentage (26-14-3) is 10th.