There are many different criteria one could point to when determining which college is the current "Quarterback U." No matter what metric is chosen, NC State ranks near the top of any list in terms of producing current NFL quarterbacks.
In the simplest measure, there is only one school with two products slated to start under center in the opening weekend of the 2016 NFL season: NC State, with the Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson and San Diego Chargers' Philip Rivers. The Wolfpack also boasts Tampa Bay Buccaneers backup Mike Glennon and New England Patriots rookie Jacoby Brissett.
In terms of signal-callers on active NFL rosters, only Michigan State — thanks to Nick Foles, who appeared in just one game and threw eight passes in East Lansing before transferring to Arizona — has more, with five, than NC State's quartet (USC also has four). Just seven programs across the country can claim at least three field generals in the league for week one.
However, the offseason is long and football writers get bored, so several media members tried to make this into a complex question with more in-depth looks over the last few months.
In April, CBS Sports' Jon Solomon came up with his own formula for determining which school could claim the title of "QB U" for the last decade (2006-15). As he points out, "it's not simply getting players into the league that matters."
Solomon's method involved rewarding NFL starts one point and bonus points for Pro Bowls (two points), draft selections (two) and first-round picks (three) at the position. With those parameters, Michigan ranked fifth, Boston College fourth, Purdue third, NC State second and USC first. The Trojans benefitted from having a pair of first-round picks during that time (Rivers' first-round selection predated the time span, so NCSU had zero), although USC had less Pro Bowls (three) than anybody else on the list — Purdue and Michigan, thanks to Drew Brees and Tom Brady, respectively, led the way with eight, while the Pack was nipping at their heels with seven.
"There's not a better 1-2 punch at Quarterback U than Philip Rivers and Russell Wilson," Solomon wrote of NCSU.
State's all-time quarterback history may not be as strong as some, but few programs can claim such a rich signal-caller tradition in recent memory. Not to mention that the Red and White also have an alum named Roman Gabriel, who was the league's MVP in 1969 after going No. 2 in the NFL Draft and No. 1 in the AFL version in 1962.
Looking solely at the 2015 NFL season, the Wolfpack boasted a pair of year-long starters — a rare feat these days. The combined production of Rivers and Wilson stacks up favorably against the quarterbacking crew of any college (and for those that insist Wilson is a Wisconsin product — despite starting for three years in Raleigh and one season in Madison — this study took any college a quarterback took a snap at into account, so Wilson counts for both schools where he played).
The chart above separates NC State and Michigan State from the rest of the pack, based on 2015 production. As mentioned above, MSU benefits from Foles, whose NFL starts last season (11) outnumbered the number of official passes he threw in a Spartans uniform. Similarly, Michigan's total is boosted by Ryan Mallett, who played in 11 contests while throwing 141 times in Ann Arbor before finishing his career at Arkansas.
For comparison's sake, Wilson played in 36 games in Raleigh while throwing 1,180 passes.
Still, even while counting those guys who never played much at their original school, no program had alums account for more total offense or combined passing and rushing touchdowns in the NFL last season than NC State's 9,397 and 64, respectively. Michigan State does have the edge in combined regular-season and playoff wins with 18, but both postseason entrants, Brian Hoyer (Houston) and Kirk Cousins (Washington), were bounced in their first playoff game. NC State, USC and Michigan each accounted for one victory when it mattered most.
Only Michigan State can match NC State's prowess in the last five NFL Drafts under center, with each producing three quarterback draftees — however, again, MSU's total includes Foles. Counting him, the Spartans had a third-rounder and two fourth-rounders, while the Pack sent to the league a trio of third-rounders who were each among the top 100 selected in their respective draft. Only eight programs have had multiple signal callers selected in the event during that span.
NC State doesn't just have quarterbacks in the league, it has two of the league's top overall players. The NFL Network's annual top 100 list, which is voted on by players, featured Wilson at No. 17 and Rivers at No. 46. That placed them fifth and ninth among professional signal callers, respectively, and only 24 schools had two honorees at any position, according to NFL.com. NCSU was the lone program with a pair of quarterbacks in the top 100.
Meanwhile, SI.com ranked Rivers as the NFL's No. 10 field general while Wilson checked in at No. 5 this summer. Again, NCSU was the lone school with multiple listees.
It should be some time before NC State adds another professional quarterback — the top two on their roster both have three years of eligibility remaining — but the Pack's current quartet holds some staying power (at least until 13th-year veteran Rivers calls it quits).
A few of the programs on the QB U contenders list are shocking — Eastern Illinois and Louisiana Tech have both helped put a pair of quarterback in the league — while many of the schools with three or more active NFL field generals are the usual suspects, including USC (4), Michigan (3), Florida (3) and Florida State (3).
NC State — whose four professional field generals played under three different head coaches in Raleigh — being among the top quarterback-producing schools probably falls more towards the surprising category for many football fans. But the fact is they have two starters that are among the best overall players in the league, and that alone should be enough to win them the 2016 title when no other school has produced more than one QB1.
No matter how complicated sportswriters across the country may make the question of which college is Quarterback U seem — it's simple, and it's NC State.
