The Mountain West QB Rankings are here, demonstrating the strength at the top, and for lack of a better term, the unknown and perhaps quite disappointing nature of the bottom of the barrel out West. These QB rankings are led by Mikey Keene, who ushers in a new era of Fresno State football in 2024.
2024 Mountain West QB Rankings
As with all of our conference rankings and our national quarterback evaluations, the Mountain West QB rankings below consider everything involved with quarterbacking at the major college football level.
While statistics are listed, they were not the lone deciding factor in ranking the athletes. The list below prefers programs with a solidified quarterback situation and one signal-caller who plays significant snaps against top-tier competition. Two-quarterback systems will always be looked down upon, especially in those cases where an answer has not yet been provided for the long term.
Other factors in these rankings include but are not limited to game film, injury history, play-calling, offensive system knowledge and continuity, general quarterbacking mechanics, level of competition, the elevation of supporting casts, and several other influential factors.
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Tier 1: The Elite Mountain West QBs
While there aren’t any Mountain West quarterbacks who currently reside in our Elite Tier, Keene has shown to have the ability to push for this spot if all goes to plan. We’ll be mindful of moving him up in a time of uncertainty in Fresno State history.
Tier 2: Well-Above-Average Mountain West QBs
1) Mikey Keene | Fresno State
National Rank: 22
The top returning quarterback to the Mountain West is undoubtedly Mikey Keene. Even amidst a coaching change, Keene could be considered the rock to usher this Fresno State team into the interim Tim Skipper era.
Keene has a decorated arm for his stature. No area of the field is out of reach, and no angle is off-limits for him to push the ball from. He’ll bounce around the pocket with ease, not letting pressure phase him in the slightest, and deliver accurate passes from within the structure or outside of it.
He’ll keep the offense on schedule more often than not, and has armor-piercing strength on the short and intermediate throws. Keene is a great progressive-read quarterback and despite a unique, sometimes elongated release, always gets his throws out and to the intended target on time.
Keene has game-take-over abilities with his arm talent and his leadership abilities all the same.
Tier 3: Above-Average Mountain West QBs
2) Brayden Schager | Hawaii
National Rank: 44
There were times in Week 0’s season-opener that Brayden Schager looked like himself. That was decisive, power-throwing, on schedule, and with great accuracy.
But then there were times that Schager looked a bit flustered and had trouble controlling his power and altitude on his throws. He was a bit erratic with his accuracy in the first half, struggling out of the gates with completing even basic passes.
However, when the game was all said and done, Schager’s body of work was exactly what we’d come to see. He threw for two scores and ran for two more, but it was his improvement with his shots downfield in the second half that turned the tide for his game overall and the scoreboard for his team.
There is a lot to like in Schager’s overall game, and that includes the aforementioned power he has on his throws. He just needs to continue to work on his footwork, that way he won’t have to drive with his upper body on seemingly every throw.
Then, and only then, can Schager be an accurate thrower on every throw. And then, and only then, can Hawaii get themselves in contention to win some Mountain West games consistently.
3) Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi | Colorado State
National Rank: 45
Announcing his name on the biggest stage last year, Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi’s gunslinging attitude was on display in Week 3 against Colorado. In that game, only his second collegiate start, Fowler-Nicolosi showed off his pure arm talent and willingness to test any defender across the field.
Sure, he got into some trouble last season with that trust in his arm, but more often than not, he kept the offense moving with a strong display of throw power and accuracy.
The bigger issue with Fowler-Nicolosi’s game—though in the same bucket of ball security—is his inability to keep the ball in his hands when plays break down. His carelessness with the football in his hands paid dividends for opponents in 2023 and will have to be corrected in 2024.
However, when push comes to shove, Fowler-Nicolosi churns the engine for the Rams and allows them to stay in just about any game.
Tier 4: Average Mountain West QBs
4) Matthew Sluka | UNLV
National Rank: 66
This is likely a bit too low for Matthew Sluka if we’re being honest. However, this is a cautiously optimistic ranking for the former Holy Cross quarterback as we await to see if his skills will truly translate to the FBS level and just how quickly they will do so.
Yes, Sluka ran for a ridiculous sum of yards and threw for just under 6,000 in his four-year career with Holy Cross, but in order to really get a good glimpse of what he’ll do in Mountain West play is to look at his success — or lack thereof — against FBS opponents over the past two seasons.
Sluka ran the Holy Cross offense incredibly well in a near-upset over Boston College and lost by just three points as well to Army. In both games, however, he was forced to use his feet more than his arm to keep pace. Though that worked to keep Holy Cross in those games, it wasn’t enough to achieve victory and he’ll have to lean into keeping the offense on schedule with his arm as opposed to his legs in 2024.
The good thing for Sluka, however, is the fact that Brennan Marion is his offensive coordinator and the go-go offense pits to his strengths as a passer very well. A big signal-caller with arguably some of the best pocket maneuverability in the country, don’t be surprised if Sluka has mastered the offense and starts dominating defenses early in 2024.
5) Maddux Madsen | Boise State
National Rank: 80
When the Boise State brass brought in freshman phenom Malachi Nelson, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Nelson would be the future starting quarterback for Spencer Danielson and Co. No one told that to Maddux Madsen, though.
A year after battling it out with now-Arkansas QB Taylen Green, Madsen put his same gritty, tough-nosed approach to the fall camp and won the job ahead of Boise State’s Week 1 matchup with Georgia Southern. In reality, if you look back to last season, it’s completely understandable that he’d be Danielson’s guy to start the year.
Madsen was sharp in his full-time action last season but even better off the bench at times. In two separate outings, Madsen completed at least 75% of his passes and ran the offense crisply and on time.
There were some flaws to his game last season, for sure, mainly the inability to push the ball accuratey downfield, but those poor decisions may very easily go away in time now that he’s the starter.
6) Devon Dampier | New Mexico
Last Week’s MWC Rank: 7 (+1)
National Rank: 95
The Bronco Mendenhall era got off to a quick start with Devon Dampier running a brilliant RPO game against Montana State in Week 0 (and their defensive spark). It was Dampier who stole the first half of the game with his terrific all-around play while the Lobos rode his success both through the air and on the ground to a victory against a highly-touted Bobcats team.
Dampier’s ability to run this offense was on display, and it was clear the trust that the coaching staff had in him doing just that. He was clean with his reads, decisive with his decisions, and showcased both solid arm talent to each level and the rushing ability we’ve become accustomed to seeing.
What really stole the show was his ball skills, both as a passer and essentially as a no-look assist-machine of a point guard in the RPO game.
But then, the second half came, and everything changed. Montana State scored 21 straight points to knock off UNM because the game plan seemingly shifted for the Lobos.
Still, Dampier wasn’t quite at fault for that, nor a costly drop that may have sealed their fate on a third-down pass attempt that was a bit off, but still catchable, that would’ve kept the ball in UNM’s hands a bit longer.
Dampier tossed a touchdown and ran for another score, totaling 207 total yards of offense in the game in the process. It was his presence in the backfield that gave UNM an advantage in this first half despite closing as a two-touchdown underdog. And it was his inexplicable non-usage in the second half that cost the Lobos the contest.
Tier 5: Work-To-Be-Done Mountain West QBs
7) Danny O’Neill | San Diego State
Last Week’s MWC Rank: 6 (-1)
National Rank: 96
Danny O’Neill won the starting job out of fall camp at San Diego State, earning the praise of head coach Sean Lewis in the process. O’Neill, who was a three-star recruit and the 40th overall QB prospect in the class of 2024, was recruited by Lewis at Colorado and followed him to the Aztecs.
With his winning the job out of camp, the time to focus in on what O’Neill brings to the table comes a bit sooner than we were expecting. While AJ Duffy pushed, it’s apparent that O’Neill’s overall ability within Lewis’ offensive scheme was enough to pull ahead.
When push comes to shove, and basing this solely on high school tape, O’Neill actually plays a lot like former Lewis QB Dustin Crum. Like Crum, O’Neill possesses a unique release, but it’s a quick one.
He also holds a creation capacity that may not overwhelm defenses with athleticism but just simply gets the job done. O’Neill has shown that he can maneuver in the pocket and continually buy time with either the pocket collapsing around him or free rushers in his face.
O’Neill’s job is set, and it’s clear that his level of play, shown during his days at Cathedral High School, has come through on the biggest stage so far this fall.
8) Brendon Lewis | Nevada
Last Week’s MWC Rank: 9 (+1)
National Rank: 115
Well, what do you know. Brendon Lewis has clearly stepped up his game this offseason and the work he put in clearly showed during the Week 0 outing against SMU. Sure, it ended in defeat ultimately, but that was clearly not Lewis’ doing.
In fact, Lewis was the reason the Wolf Pack had a chance of knocking off the ACC’s SMU in this game due to his ability to play on time and situational football awareness.
Oh, and his dual-threat ability was clearly leaned heavily upon in this outing, something we hadn’t quite seen in years past. When the Wolf Pack needed a conversion, it was Lewis’ number they called, and he rewarded them time and time again in this one.
It wasn’t quite enough to get over the hump, but considering this team was picked to finish last in the Mountain West and SMU is still a potential sleeper in the ACC, Lewis’ play to keep the Wolf Pack in this game until the final snap was impressive.
9) Bryson Barnes | Utah State
Last Week’s MWC Rank: 8 (-1)
National Rank: 121
As great of a story as Bryson Barnes was a season ago for the Utah Utes, he finished the season with three consecutive two-interception games and rarely flashed more than an average or below-average set of QB fundamentals.
Yet, he made it work more often than not, thanks to the talent of the Utah roster around him. Fast forward through this offseason, and Barnes is in Logan with Utah State, a completely depleted team in varietal ruins following the much-maligned departure of head coach Blake Anderson.
A pig farmer by trade, the former Utah walk-on more than has his hands full with the Aggies in 2024. Barnes has great mobility with his size and an underrated athletic ability on the ground; however, that got him in trouble at times as his passing mechanics started to take a nose dive last year.
Keeping the offense on schedule and attempting to elevate the talent around him is paramount this fall. But is Barnes actually the right guy to do that?
10) John Busha | Air Force
National Rank: 124
Josh Busha ran the offense for Air Force for essentially one whole game’s worth of snaps last year, giving us a halfway decent sample size to assume how well he’ll run the Falcons’ offense in 2024 if he holds on to the job all season long.
Unfortunately for Air Force, it wasn’t the most endearing of the game’s worth of action in 2023, and Busha left a lot to be desired. He has great size for the position, but that actually saw him struggle at the mesh point, or so it felt, at times a season ago.
At 6’2″ and 200 pounds, the durability he’ll bring to the position is not necessarily new to Air Force, but it’s a new age of football with bigger, faster defenders in space, and Busha’s size may go a long way toward sustained success this fall.
When it comes to throwing the ball, however, that’s where we saw Busha make a handful of strong decisions and despite completing less than 50% of his throws against Boise State last year, it felt like he was one or two throws away from the game going the completely opposite direction.
The jury is out in terms of what this whole roster looks like in 2024, but Busha has some talent to harness and some decision-making to clean up if they want even to come close to competing for the Mountain West.
11) Evan Svoboda | Wyoming
National Rank: 125
He’s not as big as his brother, but Evan Svoboda stands tall among the rest of the Mountain West quarterbacks this fall. He utilizes his height to see every level, but he did show struggles with pushing the ball downfield despite clear-cut vision across the field.
Svoboda has a big arm, but pairs it with a bit of a longer release. Making matters a bit worse is that he was actually an average quarterback — or so it felt — when he was pressured, mainly against Texas, and the biggest questionable decisions of his came when the processing of the game started to slow down for him.
Those decisions will have to be cleaned up and he’ll have to play better from within the structure of the offense in 2024. Svoboda has accuracy and some arm talent, for sure, that’s not in question.
The real question is whether he can read and see the field, utilizing the attributes he has going in his favor to his advantage. Because that’s what we haven’t seen so far, albeit in limited snaps.
12) Jay Butterfield, Emmett Brown, Walker Eget | San Jose State
National Rank: 129
With three years of experience to his credit, we should surely have more than a 15-throw sample size to go off of with Jay Butterfield. Yet, that’s all we have to work with. And that’s all the new staff under head coach Ken Niumatalolo had to work with when he took over the job from Brent Brennan and Co. this offseason.
Butterfield is surely capable, as evidenced from his high school tape, but that’s a college football forever ago. He’s got the typical size of a big-armed signal-caller, but Butterfield hasn’t been able to see the field regularly after two seasons at Oregon and a year behind Chevan Cordeiro last year.
If not Butterfield, it’s Walker Eget or Emmett Brown this season for the Spartans. Eget presents the most experienced of that duo, throwing a total of nine passes compared to Brown’s four as a preferred walk-on transfer from Washington State.
It’s a new era of football for San Jose State, but until they get an answer at the quarterback position, it may be an era that gets off to a very slow start.
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