PFF releases annual preseason college QB rankings

LARAMIE -- It's July.

That means we are neck deep in "list season."

Pro Football Focus, a website filled with breakdowns and player grades, released its annual preseason college quarterback list this week. That means all 130 FBS signal callers earned a ranking.

Wyoming's Sean Chambers landed No. 92 overall, lumped into a category the website calls: "Tier 5: Needs to improve/ more reps"

That's about fair, right?

After all, Chambers hasn't played more than one series of football since Oct. 26, 2019. The Kerman, Calif., product, who Craig Bohl named the starter heading into fall camp, has suffered three straight season-ending leg injuries.

There have also been plenty of inconsistencies in the Cowboys' passing game.

Chambers, in 12 career starts, is completing just 51% of his passes. He has tossed just 10 touchdown strikes. In six starts, he's eclipsed the 100-yard mark through the air. He's never thrown for 200 yards in a game or more than two touchdowns.

Chambers has never completed more than 10 throws in a game.

"The quarterbacks in this group likely aren't leading explosive offenses in 2021," pff.com states. "There is some long-term hope for teams with fresh new starters — such as Arkansas, Texas A&M, Stanford and maybe Oregon — but short-term confidence remains low for these quarterback situations. Similar to the tier above, they aren’t going to be responsible for their teams having immense success without help from elite supporting casts on both sides of the ball."

Here's where Chambers can prove doubters wrong.

Those numbers above are jarring, but when put in perspective, he hasn't been asked to win games with his arm. The most pass attempts Chambers has made in a game is 25. That came during a 24-21 road loss to Tulsa in 2019.

You know what he can do with his legs though.

Chambers has carried the ball 149 times for 896 yards and 12 scores. That's an average of nearly six yards per carry. His best performance came in the '19 season opener against Missouri, when he gashed that SEC defense to the tune of 120 yards on the ground in just 12 attempts.

One won't soon forget this 75-yard jaunt to the end zone, including a stiff arm to send him into the open field and off to the races:

Stats can be debated all day, but the one that is undeniable is Chambers' 9-2 record as a starter. That doesn't include last season's opening night setback at Nevada where Chambers was injured on the third play from scrimmage. The two losses -- San Diego State and Tulsa in 2019 -- were by a combined seven points.

What will Wyoming's offense look like under new coordinator Tim Polasek? We will all find out together Sept. 4 when Montana State pays a visit to War Memorial Stadium.

"Man, I wish I was looking at tape of a guy that was one year older from 2019," Polasek said in early March, referring to the leg injury that claimed all but three snaps of Chambers' 2020 campaign. "... Sean has -- and I'm not going to draw comparisons --  but he has kind of that 'it factor' I saw in Carson Wentz. I think that means as much as having big arm talent or being able to run the ball efficiently."

MORE ABOUT SEAN CHAMBERS:
* BREAKING: Sean Chambers named Wyoming's starting QB
* Chambers considered giving up football after latest injury
* Wyoming's new OC likes what he sees from Chambers
* A small gesture goes a long way

Where are the quarterbacks Wyoming is facing this fall ranked?

No. 101 - Dustin Fletcher/ Rocky Lombardi - Northern Illinois

No. 77 - Drew Plitt - Ball State

No. 129 - Jack Zergiotis - Connecticut

No. 109 - Haaziq Daniels - Air Force

No. 41 - Jake Haener - Fresno State - "Haener, formerly with Washington, made his up-and-down Fresno State debut in the 2020s. He earned three single-game PFF grades north of 80.0, but his other three outings didn’t crack 60.0. At the end of the day, he showed a high ceiling for a Group of Five quarterback, as evidenced by his 8.3% big-time throw rate that ranked eighth in the FBS. There’s certainly reason to be bullish on him heading into the fall."

No. 82 - Tevaka Tuioti/ Terry Wilson - New Mexico

No. 43 - Nick Starkel - San Jose State - "Playing for his third program in three years, Starkel had the best season of his career with the Spartans. Whether he was running San Jose State’s quick-game offense or operating the true drop-back passing game, Starkel finished with the ninth-best passing grade among non-Power Five quarterbacks (78.7) while leading the Spartans to the 16th-best successful pass play rate in the FBS."

No. 110 - Todd Centeio - Colorado State

No. 45 - Hank Bachmeier/ Jack Sears - Boise State - "Many college football programs would love to have Boise State's quarterback situation. The Broncos' roster features two quality quarterbacks in Hank Bachmeier and Jack Sears, both of whom saw game action in 2020 due to injuries. Bachmeier earned a 76.3 PFF grade in five starts, posting the second-lowest turnover-worthy play rate in the country (1.1%). Sears, a four-star recruit who came over from USC in 2020, earned a 93.3 PFF grade across 33 drop backs in three games and showed off a pretty deep ball with four big-time throws. He performed similarly at USC in one start, earning an 88.2 passing grade. The Sears-led offense generated 0.78 EPA per pass, while Bachmeier generated 0.13. Take that with a grain of salt, as Sears had far fewer reps, but it’s another example of his possible upside. While he lacks experience, he made some massive throws downfield and led an explosive offense. Bachmeier, on the other hand, has simply been consistently solid. Regardless of who wins the starting job, Boise State's offense will be in great shape."

No. 64 - Logan Bonner - Utah State

No. 93 - Chevan Cordeiro - Hawaii