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Star Jackson, Georgia State Quarterback: The Peach State's Best Dropback Passer?

Star Jackson recently transferred to Georgia State from national champion Alabama after finding himself making little headway on the Tide's crowded depth chart. Could he suddenly be the best traditional quarterback in the state?

Bear with me here. We're talking traditional passers, not quarterbacks in general. This means Joshua's Nesbitt's 100-yard rushing days, impressive and game-changing as they are, don't count. At this point, Nesbitt is hands-down the state's best college quarterback until proven otherwise.

But if we're talking traditional, pro-style quarterback skills: Jackson, Nesbitt, or Georgia freshman Aaron Murray?

  • Recruitin': Coming out of high school, Star Jackson was a four-star dropback passer. Nesbitt was a four-star dual threat who was recruited by most schools as a safety. Murray was a four-star pro style QB, meaning this round goes to Jackson and Murray.
  • Coaching: Jackson is a redshirt sophomore, meaning he has two years of experience studying under Nick Saban's staff. He also ran the scout team offense his first year. Nesbitt is a true senior. His freshman year, Chan Gailey used him in much the same way Tim Tebow was used during Chris Leak's final year -- a dropback fullback. Two years of pro-style absorption seems about as relevant to our discussion as four years of unusual coaching. Points for Jackson and Nesbitt.
  • Arm and mechanics: Nesbitt throws a decent lob, but Murray and Jackson take this one.
  • Experience: Nesbitt has thrown 298 passes, almost all as a full-time starter. Jackson has thrown 18 in mopup duty. Anyway, Nesbitt.
Nine out of ten local fans would take either Nesbitt or Murray, depending on what they'd want in a quarterback, but there's no reason to think Jackson isn't right up there too. It's not like Nesbitt or Murray would be any higher on Bama's current depth chart than Jackson was. Bill Curry has been loudly hooted throughout Alabama's forumosphere for claiming Jackson was the best-looking quarterback at Bama's A-Day game, but Jackson did have the most yards per attempt that day, FWIW.

Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.