Liberty will be looking to repeat as Conference USA champions this fall and the Flames return not only one of the top quarterbacks in the Group of Five but in all of FBS football in Kaidon Salter.
Behind Salter, the Flames look to repeat some of its success from 2023 where the team finished 13-1 and ranked in the final AP Top 25 poll after a Fiesta Bowl appearance against Oregon.
Challenging Salter and the Flames for the top spot in CUSA this season is a talented group of quarterbacks. Here is a look at a preseason ranking of CUSA quarterbacks for the 2024 season:
10. Davis Bryson – Kennesaw State
The Owls make the move to the FBS and CUSA this season. They will do so with a new quarterback in 2024. Davis Bryson is the favorite to win the job after starting one game and making four appearances last season with the Owls. He completed just 2 of 11 passes but rushed for 206 yards. Braden Bohannon could also factor into the mix at quarterback this fall for Kennesaw.
9. Deuce Hogan – New Mexico State
There will be a lot of changes in Las Cruces in 2024, including at quarterback as Diego Pavia has transferred out of the program. The two other quarterbacks who saw action last year – Blaze Berlowitz and Eli Stowers – both also entered the transfer portal. Deuce Hogan is the presumptive starter, coming to New Mexico State after stops at Iowa and Kentucky. He’s only thrown 8 collegiate passes with 7 of those coming into he 2022 Music City Bowl. Other candidates for the starting role are transfers Brandon Nunez and Parker Awad who both join NMSU from the JUCO ranks.
8. Caden McConnell – UTEP
Caden McConnell took over as UTEP’s starting quarterback about midway through the season last year after Gavin Hardison dealt with injury complications. McConnell completed 11 passes for 262 yards and 2 touchdowns and a victory in his first start against FIU. He started each of the Miners’ final six contests and recorded 1,437 passing yards while throwing six touchdowns and four interceptions.
7. Jack Turner, Ty Keyes – Louisiana Tech
Former Louisiana Tech QB Hank Bachmeier, who began his career at Boise State, has transferred to Wake Forest, leaving a vacancy at the position for the Bulldogs and head coach Sonny Cumbie. Jack Turner might be the favorite to win the job in Ruston after making 8 appearances and four starts for Louisiana Tech last season. He threw for a career high 292 passing yards in his first career start at Nebraska and then earned his first win less than a week later at UTEP. He threw five touchdowns and five interceptions at a 56.8% completion rate on the season. Ty Keyes also joins the roster for La Tech this season. He started four games in two seasons at Southern Miss before moving to the JUCO level for 2023. Keyes was a First Team NJCAA All-American at East Mississippi Community College.
6. Jase Bauer – Sam Houston
Keegan Shoemaker has graduated and Sam Houston head coach K.C. Keeler has turned to the transfer portal to find his successor. The Bearkats landed Central Michigan QB Jase Bauer. He appeared in all 12 Chippewa contests in 2023 and made nine starts. He eclipsed 100 yards rushing three different times at Central Michigan, while adding 1,881 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions as a passer. Former Arizona starter Grant Gunnell., who started a game in September at Houston for Sam Houston last year, also remains on the Bearkats roster and will provide depth at the position.
5. Nick Vattiato – MTSU
Nick Vattiato is a veteran quarterback for the Blue Raiders. He started all 12 games last year for Middle Tennessee, throwing for 3,098 yards and 23 touchdowns while completing 67% of his passes. Vattiato also finished second on the team in rushing with 397 yards. He is expected to lead the MTSU offense to begin the Derek Mason era in Murfreesboro.
4. Keyone Jenkins – FIU
True freshman Keyone Jenkins won the starting job last fall for the Panthers. He finished the year with 2,422 passing yards with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while completing 58.4% of his passes. While he finished the season with just 50 rushing yards due to sack numbers, Jenkins is a dual threat weapon, frequently scampering for big gains to extend drives. FIU hopes Jenkins is their QB of the future and to guide them back to a bowl game.
3. TJ Finley, Caden Veltkamp – Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky has had a strong run of successful quarterbacks in recent years. Austin Reed has departed and brought in former LSU, Auburn, and Texas State quarterback TJ Finley. Finley threw for 3,439 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions with a completion percentage of 67.4% for Texas State in the Sun Belt last season. Meanwhile, Caden Veltkamp was WKU’s backup quarterback last season. In the Famous Toastery Bowl, Veltkamp completed 40 of 52 p asses for 383 yards and 5 touchdowns while helping erase a 28 point deficit to win MVP honors in the bowl win. Whichever quarterback wins the job this summer heading into the fall, expect them to have some success and put up strong numbers.
2. Logan Smothers – Jacksonville State
In its first year in the FBS in 2023, head coach Rich Rodriguez and Jacksonville State utilized two quarterbacks throughout much of the year, rotating between Zion Webb and Logan Smothers. The two would alternate even on a possession by possession basis throughout the season. Webb earned the majority of the reps throughout the year, but with his graduation, Smothers remains as the assumed starter for the Gamecocks this season. Smothers, a former Nebraska transfer, completed 56.4% of his 117 passes last year for 735 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. He also rushed 85 times for 322 yards and 7 touchdowns.
1. Kaidon Salter – Liberty
Kaidon Salter is the only quarterback in CUSA history to start a New Year’s Six bowl game. Salter led the Flames to a 13-0 regular season finish and a Fiesta Bowl appearance vs. Oregon. The reigning CUSA Player of the Year finished last season with 2,876 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. He was one of just three quarterbacks to exceed 1,000 yards rushing last season. He is the key to Liberty’s success this season, a team hoping to duplicate what it accomplished a season ago and perhaps even reach the College Football Playoff.
