Looking Ahead: Ranking The Nation's Top Quarterbacks In 2020

As the scheduled start of the 2020 season quickly approaches, we take a look at the better quarterbacks in the nation, ranking them from one to ten.

Over the last decade, Clemson fans have become accustomed to phenomenal quarterback play. Tajh Boyd, Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence top a who's who list of great college quarterbacks to come through during that span.

Lawrence is now heading into his junior season as arguably the best quarterback in the country. He is the second favorite to win the Heisman, as well as a favorite to be selected No. 1 overall in next year's NFL Draft. 

Obviously good quarterback play isn't specific to just Clemson. There are many great signal-callers scattered out across the country and today we take a look at the best of those quarterbacks, ranking them from one to 10: 

10. Tanner Morgan: Minnesota

As a redshirt sophomore, Morgan finished with a single-season school record 3,252 yards and 30 touchdowns. He led the Golden Gophers to an 11-2 record, including a 31-26 home win over Penn State. In that win, Morgan threw for 339 yards and three touchdowns, which was the highest single-game rating by any Power 5 QB during the season, according to Pro Football Focus. 

9. Brock Purdy: Iowa State

During his first two seasons, Purdy helped head coach Matt Campbell make the Cyclones competitive in the Big 12. He helped lead Iowa State to an eight-win season as a freshman in 2018, and followed that up with a seven-win campaign, throwing for 3,982 yards and 27 touchdowns last season. He has eight 300-yard passing games over his first two seasons. 

8. Jayden Daniels: Arizona State

Daniels was the first true freshman to ever start the season opener for the Sun Devils. He threw for 2,943 yards and 17 TDs, with only two interceptions in 2019, while adding another 355 yards on the ground. Daniels has the chance to be a really good one in Tempe. 

7. Ian Book: Notre Dame 

After opting to return for his senior season in South Bend, Book hopes to lead the preseason top-10 Fighting Irish to their second playoff appearance in the past three years. He is 21-3 as a starter for Notre Dame and was one of two FBS quarterbacks to account for 2,500 passing yards, 500 rushing yards and 30 TD passes in 2019. 

6. Kedon Slovis: Southern Cal

As a true freshman Slovis came in and solidified the quarterback position for USC. He had four games in which he topped 400 passing yards and finished last season with 3,502 yards, 30 TDs and nine interceptions. Slovis has the potential to not only help turn the Trojans back into contenders in the Pac-12 but also to be an NFL quarterback someday. 

5. Sam Ehlinger: Texas

After deciding to return for his senior season, expectations will be high for Ehlinger and Texas. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound quarterback accounted for 68 passing and 25 rushing touchdowns the past two seasons. With early-season tests against LSU and Oklahoma, Ehlinger will have a chance to lead the Longhorns back to national prominence in 2020.

4. Sam Howell: North Carolina

Mack Brown has pushed all the right buttons since returning to Chapel Hill, and one of his biggest accomplishments to date was convincing Howell to flip from Florida State and sign with the Tarheels as part of its 2019 recruiting class. All Howell did as a freshman was set a true freshman record with 38 passing touchdowns. He also had six games with over 300 yards in the air and helped push the Clemson Tigers to the limit in a one-point loss. Now that he has had a full season learning offensive coordinator Phil Longo's system, Howell is expected to be even better as a sophomore. 

3. Trey Lance: North Dakota State

Despite playing at the FCS level, Lance's play as a redshirt freshman earned him a spot on the list. As a redshirt freshman, Lance led the Bison to a national title in 2019 and was the first-ever freshman winner of the Walter Payton Award, given to the most outstanding offensive player at the FCS level. He led the FCS with a 180.6 pass efficiency rating and accounted for 3,886 yards of total offense, with 2,786 coming through the air. He had 28 touchdown passes and did not throw an interception all season, which covered 16 starts. 

2. Justin Fields: Ohio State 

After redshirting at Georgia in 2018, Fields transferred to Ohio State and led the Buckeyes to a 13-1 record and a trip to the College Football Playoff. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist after passing for 41 TDs and just three interceptions in Ryan Day's offense. He added another 484 yards and 10 more touchdowns on the ground. Heading into his redshirt sophomore season, Fields is the favorite to win the Heisman. 

1. Trevor Lawrence: Clemson

Lawrence led the Tigers to a national title as a true freshman in 2018, and in his sophomore season, he came up just one game short of another one. Lawrence is 25-1 as a starter over his two years at Clemson and is the odds on favorite to win the Heisman in 2020, as well as being the top overall pick in next April's NFL Draft. 

Ken Ruinard