If you could be the starting quarterback at any college football program in America, where would you go? While us die-hard Auburn football fans would choose the Tigers over all others, not everyone would make the same choice.
There are many factors to consider when answering the question, posed to the college football Twitter universe by PFF. What is your goal as QB1? To win the Heisman? To win a championship? To cash in on newly passed NIL rules?
All of the above affected the answers given by fans across all football conferences. Your options are as follows: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, USC, and Oklahoma. The general consensus? If you want to be great, choose Oklahoma, but if you want to make all the money, choose Alabama.
You can be QB1 at any school in America
— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 3, 2021
Who are you signing with? pic.twitter.com/59JAxvca4b
Nick Saban was not shy earlier this month when he revealed that their 2021 quarterback Bryce Young is already approaching the one million dollar mark in NIL money despite never taking a snap for the Crimson Tide (yet). With their track record in the college football playoffs and their national branding, there is definitely money to be made in Tuscaloosa.
However, their track record in producing top NFL quarterbacks is less than spotless. Alabama absolutely does not get to take the credit for Jalen Hurts, who capitalized on his transfer to Oklahoma and is working on making a name for himself with the Eagles after being selected in the second round of the 2020 draft.
A.J. McCarron built a solid career as a backup starter, Mac Jones is slotted to begin his first season in the NFL behind former Auburn football QB Cam Newton, and Tua is building up his career with the Dolphins and heading into 2021 as their starter.
Fans were quick to point out that Alabama wouldn’t exactly be their first choice when it came to learning and developing as a quarterback:
Alabama because you dont even have to be that good but you would still look amazing
— rewster (@Gerww5) August 3, 2021
Not Alabama, id actually want a career in the NFL...
— AfterHours (@AfterHoursFB) August 3, 2021
There’s no doubt that one would be joining a successful program at Alabama, but perhaps there are college football programs better suited to cultivating top NFL quarterbacks.