COUGAR TRACKS
Ranking The Opposing Quarterbacks BYU Football Will Face In 2022
PROVO, Utah – BYU football never shies away from playing a demanding schedule. The final chapter of Independence in 2022 is no different.
BYU will face five Power Five opponents this fall. Along with tricky road games to Group of 5 teams in Boise State and Liberty.
The difficulty of a given schedule can get even more challenging if the opposing teams BYU faces have talented quarterbacks.
More than ever, college football teams are defined by their quarterback talent. BYU football is expected to face some gifted signal-callers this season.
To get a better a look at those QBs, here is my ranking of the opposing starting quarterbacks the BYU football defense will look to stop in 2022.
12. Kobe Tracy, Utah Tech
Tracy started the final five games last season for the Trailblazers. He will compete with former UNLV transfer Kenyon Oblad to be the starter in Craig Stutzmann’s offense. Stutzmann was the offensive coordinator at Washington State last year until he got fired by the school for not complying with the school’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
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11. Andrew Peasley, Wyoming
After losing Levi Williams and Sean Chambers to the Transfer Portal, Wyoming head coach Craig Bohl issued an unusual statement seeking a JUCO or portal QB to come to Laramie. The man who took the message to heart was former Utah State QB Andrew Peasley.
Peasley started in two games during his four years with the Aggies. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound QB participated in spring practices and appears to be the favorite to be QB1 for the Pokes this fall.
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10. Charlie Brewer, Liberty
Yes, the same Charlie Brewer BYU football defeated last year in the rivalry game against Utah. Brewer enters his sixth year of college football after utilizing the four-game redshirt rule a season ago with the Utes.
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Brewer landed in Lynchburg, Virginia, with a Flames program that has churned out quality quarterbacks. Most recently, third-round draft pick Malik Willis, who guided the Flames to 18 wins over the past two years.
9. Holton Ahlers, East Carolina
East Carolina earned a bowl bid last year, their first since 2014, in large part due to the play of Holton Ahlers.
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Ahlers has 25 starts under his belt in Greenville and has proven to be one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the AAC. Last season, Ahlers passed for 3,126 yards while also throwing for an 18-10 TD-INT ratio.
8. Tyler Buchner, Notre Dame
A former four-star recruit from California, Buchner was primarily used as a runner in his first season with the Irish. He rushed for 336 yards in 10 game appearances. With Jack Coan now moving on, Buchner is projected to be the starter.
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Buchner has the potential to end up being one of the best QBs on this list because he has an excellent offensive line in front of him. The BYU matchup will be the Irish’s fifth game to that point of the season. How much of a leap Buchner makes after the first month will be interesting to watch.
7. Bo Nix, Oregon
There’s no question Bo Nix is an elite athlete. Nix is a former five-star prospect that signed with his childhood team in Auburn. However, his three years on the plains were up-and-down, and he faced his fair share of vocal critics in the passionate SEC Country.
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Nix teams up with offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham again, who was at Auburn on Gus Malzahn’s staff. So he might be the guy to get Nix to reach his high five-star potential.
6. Gerry Bohanon, USF
Bohanon left Baylor after Dave Aranda named Blake Shapen the Bears starting quarterback. Aranda’s decision before the May 1 transfer deadline allowed Bohanon to find a new landing spot and play in 2022.
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After a year where he led Baylor to a Big 12 Championship, Bohanon settles into a Bulls program looking to improve on a two-win season last year.
5. Hank Bachmeier, Boise State
Bachmeier has had an interesting career at Boise State. He’s heading into his fourth season with the Broncos. However, it hasn’t always been the smooth sailing that many envisioned his career would be on the blue.
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Bachmeier puts up big numbers –3,079 passing yards last season– but some of the decision-making and time spent in the pocket have drawn criticisms. Last year, the Broncos finished 7-5 overall, their worst record since 2013. But Bachmeier still led them to a pair of wins over Top 25 teams, including an upset over BYU in Provo.
Bachmeier gets a top-five nod because he’s got the talent to be an NFL signal-caller, and he’s not going through any staff changes. So continuity is there for him to have a big bounceback year.
4. Blake Shapen, Baylor
BYU’s future Big 12 foe, Baylor, will travel to Provo for the first time since 1984, and they’ll do it with a new starting QB in Blake Shapen.
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Shapen won the starting quarterback job over Bohanon largely because of his accuracy and decision-making. Last year, Shapen showed how precise of a quarterback he is when he completed 17 consecutive passes in the Big 12 Championship game against Oklahoma State.
At the season’s end, I wouldn’t be surprised if Shapen ends up being the best QB BYU football faces in 2022.
3. Logan Bonner, Utah State
Bonner is a perfect fit with Blake Anderson. After following Anderson from Arkansas State to Logan, Bonner had 3,628 passing yards. He broke Jordan Love’s single-season passing yards and touchdown records with 36 TD passes.
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The play of Bonner led Utah State to their first Mountain West Conference title.
2. Tanner McKee, Stanford
Stanford was an absolute wreck last season as they finished 3-9, the fewest wins in David Shaw’s 11 years on the Farm.
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But despite the poor season, they have a bright spot in Tanner McKee. The 6-foot-6 McKee is the type of QB prospect that NFL scouts will covet.
Once a top priority for BYU’s recruiting efforts when Ty Detmer was on the staff, McKee appears poised for a big season in his second full year as the starter. Of course, it helps that the Cardinal has 10 returning starters on offense.
1. KJ Jefferson, Arkansas
The best QB BYU will face in 2022 is KJ Jefferson from Arkansas. BYU fans will see the 6-foot-3, 245-pound prospect in Provo this October.
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Jefferson took off last season after leading the Razorbacks to wins over Texas and Texas A&M. He also showed well against Alabama, throwing for 326 yards and completing 73.3% of his passes.
Not only can he throw, but Jefferson can also run, as he piled up 664 yards and six touchdowns last season.
Jefferson gives Arkansas hope they could be the second-best team in the SEC West this season, behind only the Crimson Tide.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
