The best seasons by freshman QBs of all time

Bo Schembechler started the southpaw just a few years after freshmen were deemed eligible. The Wolverines got to an 8-2-2 mark led, mainly, by Leach's dual threat as a passer and rusher. He ran for over 500 yards in a backfield that featured Rob Lytle and Gordon Bell. Leach's only two losses that season came in the final two games — home against No. 1 Ohio State and in the Orange Bowl against No. 3 Oklahoma.  

As a freshman, Marino led the Panthers to an 11-1 record and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Arizona. He threw for 1,680 yards and 10 TDs (remember, it was a different era) and led Pitt to the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy, given to the champion of the East. 

Holieway took over the quarterback job when Troy Aikman was injured, and he led the Sooners to a national championship — the only freshman starter to do so. Holieway was a master at the option, and his statistics will never do justice to how good he was at Oklahoma. He completed only 27 passes his freshman season (608 yards, six TDs), but he did complete a 71-yard touchdown pass to Keith Jackson in the Orange Bowl to beat Penn State for the title.

Zeier was among the first to set the trend of graduating high school early so he could enroll in college and attend spring practice. He didn't get to start until the fifth game of his freshman year, and he just took off. He threw for 1,984 yards and seven TDs. (Some guy named Garrison Hearst was his running back.) The Dawgs went 6-2 with Zeier as the starter, beating top-10 teams Clemson and Auburn along the way. 

Unlike many on this list, Frazier didn't take over until midway through his freshman season. He did so in the sixth game and went 5-1 over the rest of the season. (The Cornhuskers would lose in the Orange Bowl to a stacked Florida State.) Frazier wasn't the most efficient passer (just a 44 percent completion rate), but he ran that Nebraska option offense perfectly and accounted for 17 total touchdowns and a Big Eight championship.

Manning didn't take over the starting gig until Todd Helton suffered an injury in the fourth game of the season. From that point on, the Vols went 7-1. (The only loss was to Alabama, which went undefeated during the regular season.) He would throw only 11 touchdowns that season but turned Tennessee around from a 1-3 start to a team that would soundly win games the remainder of the season. 

Rivers was an instant success for the Wolfpack, as he led them to an 8-4 record with four of those wins via a comeback. In his second start, he threw for 401 yards in a win over Indiana. He ended up tossing for 3,054 yards and 25 touchdowns and ultimately would break many North Carolina State passing records before he graduated.

Kolb had an outstanding freshman year despite being named to the job just a day before the Cougars first game of the 2003 season. Kolb threw for 3,131 yards, 25 TDs and just six interceptions. He also ran for over 300 yards and seven touchdowns that year. In a game against TCU, he became one of the few players to ever throw for over 400 yards and rush for over 100 yards in a game.

Henne wasn't the odds-on choice to become the Wolverines starter in 2004, but the freshman was named for the job a few days before the season opener. Lloyd Carr's decision was a good one, as Henne would complete over 60 percent of his passes for 2,743 yards and 25 touchdowns (and add two more rushing). He would lose only three games that year — at Notre Dame, at Ohio State and against Texas in the Rose Bowl. 

A high school legend in the state of Texas, McCoy just kept on going when he got to campus in Austin. His second collegiate pass was a 60-yard touchdown. McCoy passed for over 2,500 yards with 29 touchdowns and just seven picks while completing over 68 percent of his passes. After his great freshman year, he received a lot of media attention for the remainder of his Longhorns career.

Bradford won the starting quarterback job in 2007, and in his first game, he set a school record for passing yards in a half. In his second game, he broke the school record with 22 straight completions. He set a freshman record with 36 touchdowns passes (it has since been broken) for Oklahoma. He also threw for 3,121 yards and set up the hype that would win him the 2008 Heisman Trophy.

Pryor started only nine games but would win eight of those contests. He was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year by throwing for 1,311 yards and rushing for 631 yards, and he was responsible for 18 total touchdowns.

RGIII's freshman campaign wasn't a team success for Baylor (the Bears finished 4-8), but he came on the scene in a big way. Griffin threw for nearly 2,100 yards with 15 TDs and only three interceptions. He also rushed for 843 yards and 13 TDs and was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

As a redshirt freshman, Moore led Boise State to an undefeated regular season before losing to TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl. For the season, he threw 3,486 yards and 25 touchdowns and held a 157.1 rating. He would finish his career 50-3.

In Barkley's second career start, he led the Trojans on a game-winning, 86-yard drive to beat No. 8 Ohio State in Columbus. That was just the beginning to a nice start to his Trojans career, as he would pass for 2,735 yards and 15 TDs (he ran in two more scores) in leading USC to a nine-win season. 

Jones was expected to sit his freshman season behind Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford. However, Bradford was injured in the first game of the season and Jones took over. All he did was toss 26 touchdowns and just under 3,200 yards. Jones would go on to be the third-leading passer in FBS history. 

Probably the least known on this list, Robinson had a big freshman year for the Troy Trojans in 2010. He threw 505 passes that season (completing 63.6 percent of them), for 3,726 yards and 28 touchdowns. In the New Orleans Bowl, he threw for 387 yards and four TDs against Ohio. 

Godfrey actually split time at quarterback until Rob Calabrese tore his ACL midseason. When he took the job full time, he went 6-1 the rest of the season and got UCF into the rankings for the first time in program history. He ended the season throwing for 2,159 yards and 13 TDs and added 566 yards rushing and 10 more scores. Godfrey would eventually transition to a wide receiver before his Knights career ended. 

Bray started only five games for the Volunteers, but he got a lot out of his playing time. He took over a 2-6 team and guided the Vols to a 4-1 finish. (The lone loss was to North Carolina in the Music City Bowl.) He threw for 1,849 yards and 18 TDs in his appearances, setting school records for a freshman. 

Manziel redshirted his first season at Texas A&M due to Ryan Tannehill entrenched as the starter. However, Manziel still had to learn a whole new system when Kevin Sumlin became the head coach. Nevertheless, Johnny Football had a magical freshman season, throwing for over 3,700 yards and 26 TDs and rushing for a freshman record 1,410 yards and 21 TDs. He became the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy.

Winston redshirted his first season as he sat behind E.J. Manuel. Winston used that time to get in tune with Jimbo Fisher's offense and had one of the best freshman seasons imaginable. He set the frosh passing record with 4,057 yards and 40 touchdowns (and ran for four more TDs). What made it all the more epic was the Seminoles went 14-0 and won the national championship.

Barrett wasn't supposed to start his freshman year, but a season-ending injury to Braxton Miller thrust him into the starting job. He carried the Buckeyes to an 11-1 record, though he broke his ankle during their game with Michigan and was sidelined as Cardale Jones led the team to the national championship. Still, Barrett (2,834 yards passing, 938 yards rushing, 45 total TDs) finished fifth in the Heisman voting. 

Hurts became the starter at Alabama in the second game and ended up leading Alabama to the College Football Playoff championship game. Hurts threw for 2,780 yards and 23 TDs and set a school record for rushing yards for a quarterback with 954 and 13 TDs. 

Fromm nearly had a Cinderella freshman season. He held on to the starting job all season and threw 24 TDs to just seven interceptions (and over 2,600 yards). He led the Bulldogs to the SEC championship and to the College Football Playoff championship game where UGa never trailed until another freshman, Tua Tagovailoa, threw a game-winning touchdown in overtime to win the game. 

Lawrence wasn't named the starter until Week 5, but he still threw for 30 touchdowns and just four interceptions for the Tigers. His mark would be made in wins over Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl Classic and over Alabama in the College Football Playoff national championship game. (He was named Offensive MVP in both games.) Leading Clemson to a perfect 15-0 record, Lawrence became the first freshman quarterback to start for a national champion since Jamelle Holieway 33 years earlier.