{"id":766082,"date":"2026-02-21T04:58:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T04:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/766082\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T04:58:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T04:58:27","slug":"slew-of-steelers-make-list-of-college-footballs-best-qbs-this-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/766082\/","title":{"rendered":"Slew Of Steelers Make List Of College Football’s Best QBs This Century"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before Ben Roethlisberger, Justin Fields, Kenny Pickett and others became Pittsburgh Steelers starters, they shined as college football stars. Ranking the top 100 college quarterbacks since 2000,<\/a> eight future Steelers made ESPN\u2019s list.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where they slotted. Reminder: This ranking was constructed solely off college careers.<\/p>\n

69. Kenny Pickett\/Pittsburgh
68. Aaron Rodgers\/California
65. Mason Rudolph\/Oklahoma State
51. Byron Leftwich\/Marshall
46. Landry Jones\/Oklahoma
34. Justin Fields\/Ohio State
33. Ben Roethlisberger\/Miami (OH)
31. Russell Wilson\/Wisconsin<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t many lists in which Aaron Rodgers ranks behind Mason Rudolph or Landry Jones, but this list is fair. Rodgers was a promising quarterback but didn\u2019t produce gaudy numbers under technique-focused head coach Jeff Tedford, whose teachings were quickly undone by Mike McCarthy<\/a> in Green Bay. With 43 touchdowns in two years, Rodgers\u2019 production was strong, but a lack of signature bowl win brings his resume down.<\/p>\n

Pickett began the list one place behind Rodgers. Modestly productive until his senior season, Pickett broke out with more than 4,300 yards and 42 touchdowns in 2021, connecting with future first round pick WR Jordan Addison. Unfortunately, Pickett couldn\u2019t carry that to the NFL. A bust in Pittsburgh, he\u2019s now fighting to remain as a backup.<\/p>\n

Rudolph starred on the Big 12\u2019s wide open fields. With a pretty deep ball and great chemistry with WR James Washington, also drafted by Pittsburgh, Rudolph put up incredible numbers. He threw for well over 13,000 passing yards with 92 touchdowns to just 26 interceptions. His yards still rank top-20 in FBS history. At the NFL level, he\u2019s nestled into a quality backup role.<\/p>\n

Leftwich just barely qualifies as Steelers\u2019 starter with one during his tenure with the team, but he was a great college quarterback. Leading the Thundering Herd for three seasons, he passed for nearly 12,000 yards and 89 touchdowns.<\/p>\n

With a similar story to Rudolph, Jones had even crazier video game numbers. Just shy of 17,000 career passing yards and 123 passing touchdowns, he was a four-year starter for the Sooners and had them competitive in his final three seasons. His NFL career, however, was underwhelming. Marshall won 11 games in each of his final two years. Leftwich may be best remembered for the incredible toughness he displayed playing on a broken leg, his offensive line carrying him downfield after every completion.<\/a><\/p>\n

Field was dynamic at Ohio State. A Heisman candidate in each of his two years leading the Buckeyes, he came up short of winning a National Title but still amassed 63 passing touchdowns to just nine interceptions. With his legs, he rushed for 15 more scores with the school. Mix in his one year at Georgia and Fields threw or ran for a touchdown 86 total times. A first round pick of the Chicago Bears, he\u2019s been unable to recapture that magic.<\/p>\n

Roethlisberger was a star at Miami (OH) and one of the best mid-major quarterbacks ever. As a junior in 2003, he threw for almost 4,500 yards and 37 touchdowns. Both figures led the MAC. That year, the Redhawks went 13-1, won the MAC title and their bowl game, and finished 10th in the final AP poll. That\u2019s tied for the highest finish in school history, matching the 1974 squad that went undefeated. Roethlisberger went on to have a Hall of Fame career, though some wonder if he\u2019ll get in on the first try<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Wilson topped the list of Steelers. Finding success at NC State and Wisconsin, he overcame questions over his lack of height to consistently produce and win. In four years, he threw 109 touchdowns and rushed for 23 more. With the Badgers, he won the Big Ten title over Michigan State before suffering a tough Rose Bowl loss to Oregon. Wilson would go on to have an excellent NFL career that could one day put him in Canton.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting two other one-time Steelers made the list but weren\u2019t included in the above eight due to never starting for Pittsburgh. Clemson\u2019s Tahj Boyd\u00a0ranked 97th and Ohio State\u2019s Troy Smith slotted 40th.<\/p>\n

The top quarterback since 2000 went to Oklahoma\u2019s Baker Mayfield, beating out Auburn\u2019s Cam Newton and Texas\u2019 Vince Young.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before Ben Roethlisberger, Justin Fields, Kenny Pickett and others became Pittsburgh Steelers starters, they shined as college football…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766083,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[1586,6594,17013,7,570,26227,560,6,520,57,2360,572,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-766082","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-ben-roethlisberger","10":"tag-byron-leftwich","11":"tag-football","12":"tag-kenny-pickett","13":"tag-landry-jones","14":"tag-mason-rudolph","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-pittsburgh","17":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","18":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","19":"tag-russell-wilson","20":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116106854827322786","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766082"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766082\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}