As part of their 2022 College Football Season Preview, Pro Football Focus has begun rolling out its position rankings ahead of the season.

They recently announced their Top 50 FBS Quarterbacks and Michigan's 2021 starter made the list.

Cade McNamara appears on the list at #29. Arguably low for last season's starting quarterback of the Big Ten Champions, but PFF focuses on analytics and not the intangibles McNamara is so often associated with. That is not to say McNamara doesn't have any numbers to argue for a higher rating, notably PFF ranked McNamara the best Big Ten QB against the blitz last season.

McNamara enters 2022 as a defending Big Ten Champion but is currently not the named starter.

In 2021, the Michigan coaching staff made it no secret that McNamara was the starting quarterback. While that same staff has continued to praise McNamara for what he accomplished last season, his leadership, and his efforts this offseason, it has been made clear he is in competition with former top recruit JJ McCarthy.

McCarthy started the season playing late in games, but earned snaps in more crucial moments as the season went on. McCarthy is no backup and will be a major part of the offense in 2022 whether or not he can take the starting job from McNamara.

Of note, PFF did include multiple QBs for LSU and Ole Miss but did not include McCarthy in their list.

The Big ten was well represented in PFF's Top 50 list with 6 quarterbacks ranked.
4. CJ Stroud, Ohio State
11. Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland
15. Aidan O'Connell, Purdue
29. Cade McNamara, Michigan
38. Tanner Morgan, Minnesota
47. Connor Bazelak, Indiana

Stroud was a Heisman finalist in 2021 and it is no shock to see him high on the list. It is slightly surprising to see Tagovailoa and O'Connell so far ahead of McNamara, but PFF goes a step further and says both quarterbacks are sleepers for 2022.

On Tagovailoa;
Tagovailoa is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the country, as he quietly earned an elite 90.8 PFF grade in 2021, showing improvement in the most critical areas of the position. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound quarterback consistently delivered accurate and anticipatory throws in addition to making the right decisions in neutral situations. He recorded zero turnover-worthy plays in over half of his starts and ranked sixth in the Power Five in uncatchable pass rate beyond the line of scrimmage. Tagovailoa does need to work on being too forceful when the Terps start to fall behind, but overall, he’s one of the best at his craft in college football.

On O'Connell;
Purdue hasn’t had a quarterback this noteworthy since Drew Brees and Kyle Orton at the turn of the century. O’Connell is coming off a breakout season in which he earned a 90.6 PFF grade and a Power Five-leading 7.8% big-time throw rate. The Boilermakers' offense doesn’t live and die by the deep ball, but it has a quarterback that is damn good at hitting them.

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