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2018 preseason Pac-12 quarterback rankings: Khalil Tate, Jake Browning and Justin Herbert class of the conference

Ranking the Pac-12’s best quarterbacks heading into 2018.

By Jack Follman
NCAA Football: Foster Farms Bowl-Arizona vs Purdue Neville E. Guard-USA TODAY Sports
  1. Khalil Tate Jr. Arizona - Tate had one of the most-prolific one-month performances ever by a Pac-12 quarterback last October. He had his struggles in November, but bounced back in the Foster Farms Bowl with a huge performance. By far the scariest quarterback in the conference coming into 2018.
  2. Jake Browning Sr. Washington - The conference’s 2016 Offensive Player of the Year took a step back in 2017, but is still a prolific, and good QB by any measure. The crux for Browning is how he plays against elite teams as a senior. He is great against bad, average and above average teams, but has proven to struggle when he faces a good defense. He’s the conference’s best QB easy if he can do that in 2018.
  3. Justin Herbert Jr. Oregon - Herbert can easily be the conference’s best overall quarterback and next first round pick QB from the Pac-12, but he has to stay healthy, put it all together and prove it. He was almost unstoppable when healthy early in 2017 before he was injured, but really struggled in the Las Vegas Bowl. He has to prove himself against good defenses to earn an All-Pac-12 spot.
  4. K.J. Costello Jr. Stanford - Costello coming into his own late in 2017 helped turn Stanford back into a Pac-12 title contender. He’s every bit the full package QB Herbert if he keeps progressing and the sky is the limit with what he could become as a college QB.
  5. Manny Wilkins Sr. Arizona State - Wilkins stepped up in 2017 and turned into a very good QB. He is one of those QBs that could come full circle and turn into a star as a senior.
  6. Tyler Huntley Jr. Utah - Huntley emerged as a playmaker at QB in 2017 and a tough dual threat who makes their offense much more dangerous than it had been before. He could scratch All-Pac-12 potential if he keeps progressing.
  7. Steven Montez Jr. Colorado - Big and athletic, Montez was good in his first season as a starter. It feels like he’s ready to turn into a start later in his career the way Sefo Liufau did before him.
  8. Devon Modster So. UCLA - Modster flashed major potential when filling in for Josh Rosen last year. He could be a nightmare for defenses in Chip Kelly’s offense.
  9. Ross Bowers Jr. Cal - He’s not flashy, but solid and could take the next step in his second season as a starter under Justin Wilcox.
  10. Matt Fink So. USC - The battle to succeed Sam Darnold is still raging going into Fall camp, but I’ll give Fink the edge for now. He brings a dual-threat capability to the fold for the Trojans.
  11. Jake Luton Sr. Oregon State - Another player not guaranteed to win the starting job, but a massive athlete with a cannon arm. He could be a good one-year full-time starter if healthy.
  12. Trey Tinsley Jr. Washington State - Sounds like Tinsley might be the leader to be the next starting QB for Mike Leach. If he does, we know one thing, he’ll put up numbers.

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