Which quarterback selected in the 2015 draft will be missed most by his former school this season? We posed the question to our panel of CFB 24/7 experts. Here are their responses:
Oregon will miss Marcus Mariota the most. Vernon Adams is coming in after passing a math test on Friday and graduating from Eastern Washington University. Adams brings experience as a starter and posted a lot of big numbers while at EWU, but he is not a player I've been very impressed with.
Jameis Winston will be missed the most by his former team. He bailed the Noles out of several games last fall and his departure, coupled by the loss of several starting offensive linemen, will be impossible for FSU to replace in 2015. The addition of transfer Everett Golson helped soften the blow, but he's not in the same ballpark as Winston, talent-wise.
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- Charles Davis NFL.com
CSU not same without Grayson
The easy answers are Marcus Mariota at Oregon, and Jameis Winston at Florida State, because how do you really replace QBs that won Heisman Trophies and led your schools to national titles and national title games? Well, in the sense that they are superior players, you don't replace them. However, those types of programs find ways to continue to thrive due to their overall talent on the roster, and their ability to recruit and develop the next Winston and Mariota. Tennessee won a national title the year after Peyton Manning left with Tee Martin leading the way. Alabama went to the playoff semifinals last season with fifth-year senior, and first-time starter, Blake Sims at the helm.
To me, the school that will miss its QB the most in 2015 is Colorado State after the loss of Garrett Grayson to the NFL. They have a new head coach in Mike Bobo, who's bent is offense, and they have an All-America WR in Rashard Higgins, who is a monster playmaker. The Rams will definitely miss the leadership and talents of Grayson, and the new man in charge really could have benefited from his presence as he implements his program.
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- Chad Reuter NFL.com
Oregon State will miss Mannion
Though Oregon State didn't make a bowl game last season with Sean Mannion at the helm, this fall the Beavers could struggle to win more than two or three contests. With Mannion, running back Storm Woods and four returning starters on the offensive line, new OSU head coach Gary Andersen might have been able to cobble together an offense to keep his team in the bowl-game hunt. But trying to find a quarterback among three freshmen this summer, in addition to returning only two starters on defense, could mean real trouble for OSU as it tries to compete in a deep Pac-12 conference.
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- Chase Goodbread College Football 24/7
Tall task awaits UCLA
While Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota were the two most talented quarterbacks picked in 2015, FSU and Oregon should be just fine at quarterback in 2015, each with a graduate transfer expected to successfully step in (Everett Golson at FSU, Vernon Adams at Oregon). So we'll head west with this pick and illuminate the pending quarterback void at UCLA, which lost a three-year starter in Brett Hundley. The next Bruins starter could be a true freshman in Josh Rosen, who is highly talented but will surely undergo some significant growing pains as a young first-year starter.
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