Can Taylen Green be the best Group of 5 quarterback?

Boise State quarterback Taylen Green (10) runs from North Texas linebacker Mazin Richards (44) during the Frisco Bowl. Can Taylen Green be the most impactful Group of 5 quarterback? This is not, can Taylen Green be the best Group of 5 quarterback because no one knows how to define best — and stats sometimes fail to give the whole picture. One could make an argument that Green was one of the more impactful Group of 5 quarterbacks last season. He took over for a 2-2 team and guided them to the Mountain West Championship Game. Boise State’s entire season flipped when Green — and offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter — took over. Which brings us to 2023. The expectations are higher. The hype is higher. Green is being mentioned in the conversation as one of the best quarterbacks outside of the Power 5. He is a more-evolved musket — capable of causing pain in two ways. His legs are what make him phenomenal. His arm is what can make him great. Last year, playing in basically 11 games, Green threw for 157 yards per game (6th in the MW), 14 touchdowns (3rd in the MW) while running for 586 yards and 10 scores. It was not the stats that made folks excited about Green. It was the potential, the thought of what he could do when he was able to spend an entire offseason as the starting quarterback, when he didn’t get unexpectedly thrown into being BSU’s starter, when he had experience under his belt. The ceiling is high, no doubt. But is there any chance he could be the most impactful quarterback in the Group of 5? It’s definitely possible. If Boise State beats Washington and UCF, climbs into the AP Top 25 and goes on to win the Mountain West, Green’s argument would be superb. The only concern would be the stats. In a ranking by Hero Sports, Green was ranked as the seventh-best Group-of-5 quarterback, behind (in order): UTSA’s Frank Harris, Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall, Western Kentucky’s Austin Reed, Ohio’s Kurtis Rourke, Tulane Michael Pratt and San Jose State QB Chevan Cordeiro. Cordeiro is a good example of why I made this most impactful. On the surface, it looked like he had a much better year than Green last season. He threw for over 3,000 yards with 23 scores and only a half-dozen picks. But the Spartans went 7-5 and lost every meaningful game of the season. Now Reed is always going to win the stats war. Playing in an air-raid offense at Western Kentucky, he threw for 4,700 yards and 40 touchdowns. Inside of Boise State’s offense — especially with George Holani and Ashton Jeanty in the backfield — the Broncos don’t need/want Green to get anywhere near those numbers. Harris (4,059 yds, 32 TDS, 9 INTs), McCall (2,700 yds, 24 TDs, 2 INTs) and Pratt (3,010 yards, 27 TDs, 5 INTs) are all good quarterbacks on good teams. If any of them lead their squad to a New Year’s 6 Bowl, this will be an easy argument. But looking through the list, Harris laid the best blueprint for Green to follow. He played a little as a freshman in 2019, started during the shortened COVID season then got significantly better as a junior and senior, throwing for 3,000 then 4,000 yards, respectively. And he is a solid runner, picking up 600 yards on 128 attempts last year. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Green is the best running quarterback in the Group of 5 — and with a more polished and consistent passing game, he can become one of the best pure quarterbacks. And if not this year, then likely next.