The 3 best quarterbacks the Penn State Nittany Lions will face in 2024

The quality of offensive football in the Big Ten conference is going to change drastically with the introduction of UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington. Three of the four new quarterbacks joining the league on those teams will be some of the best at the position. 

Despite the influx of talent, there may only be one quarterback in the conference better than Drew Allar. Penn State doesn’t have to deal with Dillon Gabriel and Oregon, so James Franklin will go into every week knowing he has an advantage at the most important position on the field. Still, the Nittany Lions do have a few high-quality opposing quarterbacks on the schedule. 

Luckily, Penn State was able to miss Caleb Williams by a year, but Miller Moss will still have a lot of success in the Lincoln Riley offense. Moss didn’t get many game reps last season at USC, but when he started the Holiday Bowl against Louisville, he played so well that 2023 five-star Malachi Nelson transferred to Boise State. 

Riley likely won’t turn Moss into a Heisman winner like Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, or Williams, but Moss is a decisive thrower surrounded with a lot of weapons in an offense designed to get them in space. If either Jalen Kimber or AJ Harris, Penn State’s two transfer portal additions at cornerback, don’t pan out, then the Nittany Lions could be in some trouble on October 12 out in LA. 

It never made sense when Will Rogers transferred to Washington from Mississippi State to play in Kalen DeBoer’s offense. DeBoer prioritizes downfield throwing with NFL concepts and Rogers is a true air-raid guy who spent years under Mike Leach and wants to get the ball out of his hands quickly. Now, with DeBoer in Tuscaloosa and Jedd Fisch running the show in Seattle, Rogers makes a lot more sense. 

It’s been a while, but in 2021 under Leach, Rogers threw for a staggering 4,739 yards and 36 touchdowns to nine interceptions for the Bulldogs. The Huskies lost a ton of talent from last year’s roster, but Rogers is the type of accurate, veteran passer who will keep the ship steady as the program undergoes a massive transition. 

There may be some argument that Howard is too high on this list of three, but the reality is, he’s a massive upgrade over Kyle McCord and he’ll flourish in Ryan Day and Chip Kelly’s offense. Howard is a big guy whose legs are a weapon in the red zone, but more than tuck and run, Howard wants to push the ball downfield, and at Ohio State, he has the receivers to do it. 

While he brings a much more dynamic element to the offense than McCord, Howard does struggle in the same area as the former Buckeyes quarterback. When pressured last season, McCord averaged 4.9 yards per attempt and completed under 40% of his passes. However, posted a 5.5 ypa and connected on 45% of his throws. It’s a minor upgrade in that department, but likely a meaningful one, especially when you factor in Howard’s 12.1% pressure-to-sack ratio with an average depth of target of 8.2, compared to McCord’s 11.8% but abysmal 6.1 ADOT.