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Ranking Pac-12 departing quarterbacks: Marcus Mariota, Oregon & Brett Hundley, UCLA

Mariota or Hundley?

By Avinash Kunnath, Jamie Uyeyama, Roy Stenlund, and Sam Barbee
Harry How/Getty Images

#2 Brett Hundley, UCLA Bruins

Bruins Nation


Avinash Kunnath: Hundley gets a bad rap. He really doesn't deserve it. He has guided the Bruins to three very successful seasons. His scrambling ability will be sorely missed with a schizophrenic UCLA offensive line struggling to live up to their lofty talent.  UCLA has some impressive quarterbacks in the stable to replace Hundley.

Jamie Uyeyama: Brett Hundley might not have lifted the Bruins to what some expected of them before the 2014 season, but he is still easily the best quarterback the program has had since Cade McNown. UCLA might not miss his penchant for holding onto the ball and taking some unnecessary sacks, but they are definitely going to miss his playmaking ability. Landing the top quarterback in the nation in Josh Rosen, who is already on campus, takes the sting away from losing Hundley at least a little bit.

Bill Stenlund: He was the force that kept the Bruins going. UCLA has had a history of lousy QB's and he will be hard to replace. The best thing Rick Neuheisel did was not burning Hundley's redshirt. Jim Mora has been thanking him for three years.

Sam Barbee: This guy could have been my No. 1, but he just...I don't know. He was always a good player, maybe even a very good player, but he never took that jump to be the great player he was destined to be. Maybe he makes that jump at the next level. I'm not sure. He was good, but he put up some stinkers against good teams in big games. Hallday's numbers trump Hundley in my mind.


#1 Marcus Mariota, Oregon Ducks

Addicted to Quack

Avinash Kunnath: Goes without saying. He kept the car on the road when it was low on gas, the engine was filling up with smoke, the windshield was breaking, etc. etc. Oregon is going to be replacing him with someone who is not Marcus Mariota, and the Ducks will be worse off. Not a lot worse off. But probably not a title contender next season.

Jamie Uyeyama: Marcus Mariota and I don't think it's really close. While the other four players will certainly be missed, no one had as a much of an impact on his program overall than Mariota. He's a generational talent at the college level and was the perfect player for the Ducks offensive system. Not only that, but there is no obvious replacement for him next season. Even if the Ducks landed a transfer like Braxton Miller to compete with the other talent on hand at quarterback, they'd never have someone who could replace the incredible production that Mariota gave them at quarterback. With the talent they have returning at the skill positions next season, I'm sure the Ducks will still put up a ton of points. But it just won't be the same type of offense without Mariota as the triggerman.

Bill Stenlund: While the Ducks will do OK next year, Mariota was really a special QB and will be sorely missed. His ability to run and still be a great passer was incredible. It will be interesting to see if he will translate to the NFL or will he be the next Colin Sackorpick, oops I mean Kaepernick.

Sam Barbee: First and foremost, he won the Heisman Trophy, so he's already been recognized as both the best player in the country and, by proxy, in the league. He was a huge part of what Oregon did on offense, and will be difficult to replace. But we've thought that they would be in trouble after the last couple starters left. And they were just fine.

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