The Missouri Valley Football Conference has consistently been at the top of the FCS in the 2010s. While a lot of key players from last year have moved on to the pros, there’s still a ton of talent in the Valley.
As the season nears, we’ll rank the top five returners at each position group. Today, we give you the quarterbacks.
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MORE TOP 5: QB | WR | TE | RB | OL | LB | DB | DL
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5. Sam Straub, Southern Illinois
Straub had a terrific start to the season for the high-powered SIU offense last year. In a near-upset against FBS Memphis, he threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns. But he was unable to finish the year, suffering a season-ending injury to his throwing hand.
Straub, now a senior, finished 2017 with 1,886 yards passing, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions in eight games. He had three games with four passing touchdowns and only went one game, not including when he got injured, with less than two touchdown passes. The Salukis appear to be on the verge of competing well in the Valley, and Straub is going to play a key role in that.
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4. Eli Dunne, Northern Iowa
Dunne had a better junior year than maybe some give him credit for. The 6-foot-5 signal caller was given the reigns after earning four starts in 2016. He delivered with 2,704 yards passing, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
His 62.5 completion percentage was the best for the Panthers since 2007. When UNI's run game struggled at the beginning of the season, Dunne stepped up. He threw for 259 yards and three scores against Iowa State. Against Cal Poly, he had four touchdowns and 325 yards.
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3. Sean McGuire, Western Illinois
Ever since he started the last four games of the 2015 season as a redshirt freshman and was named on the MVFC All-Newcomer Team, McGuire has been a steady presence at quarterback that every college football program wants. He followed up his 2016 All-Conference Honorable Mention season with another honorable mention nod last year.
McGuire ranked third in the Valley with 237.7 passing yards per game and finished 12th in the FCS with a 154.1 passing efficiency. He threw for a total of 2,852 yards and 25 touchdowns with seven picks. The 25 touchdowns ranked second in WIU history.
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2. Taryn Christion, South Dakota State
A year after being named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore, Christion lit it up again last season. A Second Team All-MVFC selection, he finished seventh in the FCS with 3,515 passing yards. Christion added 35 touchdowns, which ranked second, with 14 interceptions.
He led the Jackrabbits to the FCS semifinals while accounting for a rushing or passing touchdown in all 14 games. With a record of 23-8 as a starter going into his senior year, Christion already holds program records with 72 touchdown passes and 9,697 yards of total offense and has seven different SDSU single-season records. With his two favorite targets Dallas Goedert and Jake Wieneke now in the NFL, Christion is going to be relied on to make plays even more in 2018.
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1. Easton Stick, North Dakota State
Here are some stats: 34-3 as a starter, 1.5 national title rings (we’ll give him half credit for 2015) and ranked the No. 1 QB prospect in the FCS in the 2019 NFL Draft. Some people who scout and write about draft prospects for a living even have Stick as a Top 5 quarterback on the board in a weaker draft class. And these people probably have a better eye than just saying, “well he went to the same school and played in the system as Carson Wentz, so he must be good.”
Easton Stick is a tremendous quarterback and a Top 3 signal caller in the FCS when looking at his entire skillset. He’s our Second Team Preseason All-American quarterback for a reason. His numbers are never going to wow you in a West Coast Offense that spreads the ball around and utilizes the run game first. But then again, his stats were pretty solid last year: 2,466 yards passing, 28 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 663 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns. Stick's passing efficiency of 169.5 ranked third in the FCS.
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NEXT: The Best Traditions in the FCS
