The offseason is the best time for lists and rankings as we pass the time until college football returns to our lives this fall.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly did just that when he ranked the top 100 college quarterbacks of the 2000s. If you’ve paid any attention over the last 25 years, there have been quite a few great quarterbacks for local schools since 2000.
The list is littered with Heisman winners, one-hit wonders and everything inbetween. Spoiler alert: There are quite a few Oklahoma Sooners on the list.
See every local quarterback that made ESPN’s list of the best QBs of the 2000s below.
Texas College Sports
1. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
Years: 2013-17
Stats: 14,607 passing yards, 69% completion rate, 131 TD, 30 INT, 1,083 rushing yards, 21 rushing TD
Mayfield led the Sooners to three straight Big 12 titles and two trips to the College Football Playoff. He also won the Heisman Trophy in 2017.
3. Vince Young, Texas
Years: 2003-05
Stats: 6,040 passing yards, 62% completion rate, 44 TD, 28 INT, 3,127 rushing yards, 37 rushing TD
Young led the Longhorns to a Rose Bowl win to finis hthe 2004 season and authored an iconic 2005 season that saw Texas win the national title game against USC with Young’s iconic scamper into the end zone.
7. Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
Years: 2015-18
Stats: 5,406 passing yards, 67% completion rate, 50 TD, 14 INT, 1,478 rushing yards, 13 rushing TD
The two-sport star out of Allen went to Texas A&M out of high school but turned into a Heisman Trophy winner for Oklahoma in 2018 as Baker Mayfield’s successor.
10. Robert Griffin III, Baylor
Years: 2008-11
Stats: 10,366 passing yards, 67% completion rate, 78 TD, 17 INT, 2,254 rushing yards, 33 rushing TD
Griffin is a Baylor legend thanks to his standout career in Waco that culminated into a Heisman Trophy-winning campaign in 2011.
12. Colt McCoy, Texas
Years: 2006-09
Stats: 13,253 passing yards, 70% completion rate, 112 TD, 45 INT, 1,571 rushing yards, 20 rushing TD
McCoy went down as one of the greatest Texas Longhorns of all-time with a career that included two top-three Heisman finishes and 45 wins for the Longhorns. His college career ended with a colossal what-if when McCoy exited the 2009 BCS Championship game against Alabama with an injury.
13. Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M
Years: 2012-13
Stats: 7,820 passing yards, 69% completion rate, 63 TD, 22 INT, 2,169 rushing yards, 30 rushing TD
The mercurial “Johnny Football” ushered Texas A&M football into the SEC with a bang. His iconic 2012 Heisman Trophy-winning season included the Aggies’ memorable upset victory at Alabama.
16. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma
Years: 2007-09
Stats: 8,403 passing yards, 68% completion rate, 88 TD, 16 INT, 5 rushing TD
Another Heisman-winning OU quarterback appears on the list in Bradford. He was the best quarterback in college football for a time and led the Sooners to the 2008 national title game.
25. Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma
Years: 2019-24
Stats: 18,722 passing yards, 65% completion rate, 155 TD, 32 INT, 1,209 rushing yards, 33 rushing TD
Gabriel is an odd case given the fact he spent just two of his six collegiate seasons with Oklahoma from 2022-23. He also suited up for UCF for three seasons before transferring to Oklahoma and then finished his college career at Oregon in 2024. Despite his extensive time at other schools, Gabriel threw for nearly 7,000 yards and 55 touchdowns as the Sooners’ quarterback and led OU to a 10-win season in 2023.
29. Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma
Years: 2016-19
Stats: 9,477 passing yards, 65% completion rate, 80 TD, 20 INT, 3,274 rushing yards, 43 rushing TD
Hurts’ memorable college career started at Alabama and finished with an incredible 2019 season with Oklahoma that saw him throw for 3,851 yards and 32 touchdowns and run for 1,298 yards and 20 touchdowns. He was the Heisman runner-up that season.
39. Jason White, Oklahoma
Years: 1999-2004
Stats: 7,922 passing yards, 63% completion rate, 81 TD, 24 INT, 2 rushing TD
White won the Heisman Trophy for his outstanding 2003 season with Oklahoma and was a two-time All-American. He led Oklahoma to back-to-back national title game appearances in 2004 and 2005, though the Sooners lost both of those games.
41. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech
Years: 2005-08
Stats: 15,793 passing yards, 70% completion rate, 134 TD, 34 INT, 12 rushing TD
Harrell ignited Texas Tech football during the Mike Leach era, leading Tech to 20 wins from 2007-08. The Red Raiders rose all the way to No. 2 in the AP Poll with Harrell and Michael Crabtree lighting up the Big 12, including Tech’s iconic win over No. 1 Texas in 2008.
46. Landry Jones, Oklahoma
Years: 2009-12
Stats: 16,646 passing yards, 64% completion rate, 123 TD, 52 INT, 3 rushing TD
Jones had an impressive career at Oklahoma. No quarterback who spent their entire careers playing for one power-conference team has thrown for more yards than Jones. The Sooners won 10-plus games three times with Jones from 2010-12.
65. Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State
Years: 2014-17
Stats: 13,618 passing yards, 63% completion rate, 92 TD, 26 INT, 17 rushing TD
Rudolph led Oklahoma State to 10 wins in all three of his his seasons as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback and OSU was ranked as high as No. 4 with Rudolph running the show.
66. Patrick Mahomes, Texas Tech
Years: 2014-16
Stats: 11,252 passing yards, 64% completion rate, 93 TD, 29 INT, 22 rushing TD
Mahomes is definitely more known for his incredible NFL career with the Chiefs but he was remarkably prolific with the Red Raiders. Tech went just 12-13 with Mahomes under center but it was due to the Red Raiders’ woeful defenses and not because of Mahomes’ video game-like numbers in Tech’s air raid offense.
71. Max Duggan, TCU
Years: 2019-22
Stats: 9,618 passing yards, 60% completion rate, 73 TD, 28 INT, 1,856 rushing yards, 28 rushing TD
Duggan’s college career was very uneven and he didn’t take off until his final collegiate season, but he made that last year count. Duggan led TCU all the way to the national title game and finished second in Heisman voting in 2022.
73. Andy Dalton, TCU
Years: 2007-10
Stats: 10,314 passing yards, 62% completion rate, 71 TD, 30 INT, 1,611 rushing yards, 22 rushing TD
Dalton was the centerpiece is the ascension of TCU football under legendary coach Gary Patterson. Over his final three seasons as the Horned Frogs’ starting quarterback, Dalton led TCU to a 36-3 record and a Rose Bowl win.
80. Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State
Years: 2008-11
Stats: 9,260 passing yards, 70% completion rate, 75 TD, 27 INT, 1 rushing TD
Weeden’s career is especially unique given he was drafted by the Yankees in 2003, was 23 years old when he got to Stillwater and waited three years to become the starting quarterback. The elder statesmen eventually got his shot and led the Cowboys to a 12-1 record in 2011, nearly landing OSU in the national title game.
96. B.J. Symons, Texas Tech
Years: 2000-03
Stats: 6,378 passing yards, 64% completion rate, 59 TD, 25 INT, 6 rushing TD
Symons started for one season under Leach in 2003 and made it count. He completed 470 passes for 5,833 yards and 522 touchdowns, averaging 448.7 yards per game.
98. Trevone Boykin, TCU
Years: 2012-15
Stats: 10,728 passing yards, 61% completion rate, 86 TD, 37 INT, 2,049 rushing yards, 27 TD
Boykin helped carry the momentum started by Dalton and ushered TCU into the Big 12, leading the Horned Frogs to a 23-3 record and two top-10 finishes from 2014-15.
99. Bryce Petty, Baylor
Years: 2011-14
Stats: 8,195 passing yards, 63% completion rate, 62 TD, 10 INT, 21 rushing TD
Petty succeeded RGIII at Baylor and kept the Bears’ offense humming. Baylor won 22 games and finished No. 1 in scoring offense in both of his seasons as the starter. Petty led Baylor to its first AP top-10 finish in 63 years in 2014.
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