Top Five Quarterbacks Indiana Will Play in 2017

Trace McSorley (9) is the top quarterback IU will face in 2017. Image: Cam Koenig HoosierHuddle.com

Written By Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)

As we march through the summer and into fall camp, Hoosier Huddle will look at the top five opposing players or position groups they will face in 2017. Only players and position groups from teams on the 2017 IU Football schedule are considered.

Today, we start with the Top Five Opposing Quarterbacks. The Big Ten has plenty of great quarterbacks returning in 2016 that we will not cover. Players like Clayton Thorson of Northwestern, Tanner Lee of Nebraska, Conner Roda of Minnesota, and Nathan Stanley of Iowa are not on Indiana’s 2017 schedule.

Indiana does play against quarterbacks who are widely considered on every All-Conference list, the conference’s leading passer, and a couple potential Heisman trophy candidates, so the quality of opposing quarterbacks is pretty solid.

1. Trace McSorley, Penn State

I went back and forth in my head on which player the top spot on this list belongs to and settled on Trace McSorley. That’s not a slight at J.T. Barrett, we’ll get to him next, but McSorley just looked better last season.

After an impressive start in the Tax Slayer Bowl against Georgia it was clear that McSorley had the upper hand to replace Christian Hackenberg as Penn State’s starting quarterback in 2016. PSU head coach James Franklin made the right call as McSorley finished 2016 13th in the nation in total passing yards with 3,614 and sixth in yards per attempt at 9.3 while tossing 29 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. Those are terrific numbers for a player in his first year as a full-time starter. He also has the ability to extend plays and get yards with his feet accounting for 365 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Last season, in a 45-31 win over IU, he threw for 332 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

However, McSorley was a high-risk, high-reward quarterback in 2016 and wasn’t without his flaws. He only completed 57.9 percent of his passes and many of those deep balls that were 50-50 a season ago could fall the other way in 2017. The good news is that Penn State returns four of their top five receivers last year, so he should have a nice arsenal of weapons to get the ball to.

Indiana travels to Penn State to face McSorley and the Nittany Lions on September 30th.

2. J.T. Barrett, Ohio State

Barrett has been very good for Ohio State, but since his leg injury that ended his 2014 season, he hasn’t been the same type of player. Whether that was because he was splitting time with Cardale Jones or poor play calling under the previous offensive coordinator is anybody’s guess, but at the end of the day Barrett is still a great quarterback.

Ohio State brought in former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson to jump start an offense that averaged 15.7 points per game over their last three games of the season in 2016. Wilson may do wonders for the Ohio State offensive play calling, but Barrett has plenty of room for improvement himself. He completed a pedestrian 61.5 percent of his passes last season, good for 41st nationally, and had 2,555 passing yards (58th), which isn’t terrible until you consider that he ranked 79th in yards per attempt (6.7 YPA).

Barrett has been the most dangerous on the ground. He killed IU in the read-option game last year gashing the Hoosier defense for 137 yards and a score on 26 attempts. Last season Barrett ran for 845 yards and nine touchdowns on 205 attempts total. Ohio State will probably want to limit his carries a little bit better, but Barrett is there to run if the passing game is not working.

Have we already seen the best of J.T. Barrett or will Kevin Wilson rescue his passing game and make him a legitimate NFL QB prospect again?  We’ll see, but he is a winner and as a fifth-year senior he’ll want to cement his legacy at Ohio State as one of the best QBs to ever play there. He has a career record of 26-4 as the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes.

J.T. Barrett and the Buckeyes roll into Bloomington to open the season on August 31st.

3. David Blough, Purdue

David Blough (11) should have a big year for Purdue in Jeff Brohm's offense Image: Cam Koenig HoosierHuddle.com

The Big Ten’s leading passer in the regular season in 2016 is third on our list this season for several reasons. First, like IU’s Richard Lagow, Blough has a tendency to turn the ball over. He threw 21 interceptions on 517 attempts. Secondly, he played in an offense that was constantly falling behind and forced to throw, his 517 pass attempts ranked fifth nationally and two of the players ahead of him played in more games.

Despite those things working against him, Blough has a tremendous arm and will be playing in a pass-happy offense that will allow him to continue to sling the ball all over the field. Blough did throw for 25 touchdowns and 3,352 yards and gives Purdue’s new head coach, Jeff Brohm, stability at a position that had been in flux for the better part of five years.

Another aspect working against Blough is the lack of weapons on the field. Purdue loses their top three receivers from last year to graduation. DeAngelo Yancey, Bilal Marshall, and Cameron Posey combined 128 receptions, 1,784 yards, and 16 touchdowns in 2016. Purdue will lose Dominique Young, their fifth leading receiver with 29 catches and 338 yards as well.

Indiana kept Blough in check pretty well in their 2016 win over Purdue. He completed 24-of-45 passes for 225 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

As always the Hoosiers finish the season with the Boilermakers. This year’s edition of the Old Oaken Bucket Game will be in West Lafayette.

4. Wilton Speight, Michigan

When you think of Big Ten quarterbacks Wilton Speight is usually a name that slips through the cracks. He’s talented, but didn’t produce the kind of numbers that McSorely, Barrett, or Blough put up. In 12 starts in 2016, Speight was mediocre. He completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 2,538 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. It should be noted that he missed the game against Indiana and looked beat up against Ohio State while dealing with a shoulder injury.

Speight is a pocket passer, who can make the short throws and will need to improve on his deep ball. He probably will not do much damage on the ground, another reason he is behind a few of the other quarterbacks in the conference. He netted minus-60 yards on 35 attempts last season including a touchdown.

Speight had a bevy of weapons to throw to in 2016 in Amara Darboh, Jehu Chesson, and tight end Jake Butt. All three are no longer in Ann Arbor, putting the onus on Speight to carry the load as Michigan breaks in new receivers and a tight end.

Michigan and Wilton Speight travel to Bloomington for Indiana’s homecoming game on October 14th. The game is scheduled to kickoff at Noon.

5. Tyler Lewerke, Michigan State

Redshirt sophomore Tyler Lewerke was named the Spartans’ starting quarterback early in the spring. While he hasn’t had much experience (four games), he makes this list based on his potential as a dual-threat weapon who can help Michigan State bounce back after a morbid 3-9 season in 2016.

Last season, Lewerke saw mop up duty against Wisconsin before earning starts in losses to Northwestern and Maryland. Departed senior Tyler O’Connor started against Michigan, but Lewerke came in late in the game completing six passes for 100 yards and a touchdown before breaking his leg and missing the rest of the 2016 season. In total, Lewerke completed 31-of-57 passes for 381 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. He also ran the ball 21 times for 149 yards in those four games.

On paper Lewerke has all the tools to be the next great Michigan State quarterback. He can make most of the throws and defenses will have to account for him in the run game as well. One of the bigger questions facing the Spartans will be what weapons will Lewerke have to work with when fall camp rolls around. The Spartan football program has been marred with off season controversy that has seen several players dismissed, including receiver Donnie Corely who was MSU’s second leading receiver a year ago.

The Hoosiers will try and retain the Old Brass Spittoon when they make the trip to Spartan Stadium on October 21st in a game kicking off at either 3:30 or 4:00pm.

How the Rest Pan Out

6. Alex Hornibrook, Wisconsin

7. Alex McGough, Florida International

8. Kyle Bolin, Rutgers

9. Kurt Benkert, Virginia

10. Caleb Henderson, Maryland

11. Chayce Crouch, Illinois

12. Seth Shuman, Georgia Southern