College football QB confidential - Opposing coaches break down 42 quarterbacks across the country

Quarterbacks are a major storyline before every college football season, but the interest level will be especially high when games kick off later this month.

The combination of a lukewarm 2022 NFL quarterback draft class, many prominent returning starters and a vibrant transfer market has left a fascinating QB group in terms of both depth and league distribution. Alabama's Bryce Young will try to become the first back-to-back Heisman Trophy winner since Archie Griffin in 1975, but other quarterbacks might be generating more preseason buzz, such as Ohio State's C.J. Stroud and USC's Caleb Williams, the Oklahoma transfer who joined coach Lincoln Riley with the Trojans.

The ACC has one of its deepest quarterback groups in years, as 10 teams return players with starting experience. Stroud headlines a Big Ten group with returning starters for all of the projected contenders. The SEC, Pac-12 and Big 12 have an interesting mix of returnees and transfers, including potential new starters at Oregon, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas, South Carolina and Washington. Coastal Carolina's Grayson McCall and Fresno State's Jake Haener headline the Group of 5 quarterbacks.

I spoke with more than 15 coaches and defensive coordinators — from every Power 5 league and several in the Group of 5 — to break down this year's group of quarterbacks and what to expect from them this fall. Proven players such as Young and Stroud are covered here, as are those who could rise up to join them in national awards races by November.

Let's get started with a league-by-league breakdown.

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The ACC produced the only quarterback selected in the first two rounds of the 2022 NFL draft — Pitt's Kenny