The Big Ten's Top Eleven Signal Callers

Most of the offseason talk in the Big Ten has been about the new Big Three- Michigan, Ohio State and Iowa- and which is the favorite.

But there hasn't been much debate about the other Big Three- the conference's top 3 quarterbacks- Iowa's Drew Tate, Michigan's Chad Henne, and Michigan State's Drew Stanton- and which is the best all-around quarterback.

Most simply hand that title to Tate, who was last year's Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year.

But Henne and Stanton can each make their own claims.

Henne has better size and an NFL arm, and displayed better pocket presence, especially as the year went on.

Stanton is the best pure playmaker of the group, with great running ability and passing accuracy.

The thing that makes picking between these three so difficult is that each is a perfect fit for their team's systems.

Tate is great on play action fakes and throwing on the run in Iowa's system based on running and misdirection in the passing game.

Henne is the best at reading defenses and delivering crisp mid-range strikes, a must in Michigan's pro-style offense that requires great timing and communication between the quarterback and his receiver.

And Stanton's ability to run and throw out of John L. Smith's spread offense gives defenses serious problems.

These rankings were made with an eye towards the future, as projections are always a big part of the college game.

That being said, here are my Big Ten starting quarterback rankings:

1. Chad Henne, Michigan- Last year, there were times when he was shaky. There were times when his passes were too high or too fast, or his decisions were made too slowly. He was bailed out many times by Braylon Edwards, and Michigan doesn't have a playmaker of that caliber this year, at least not one who can erase his mistakes.

But Henne won't make a lot of those mistakes this year. He was a true freshman last year, a soft-spoken, skinny freshman placed in an almost impossible situation.

He didn't know much of Michigan's offense, yet he still threw a very favorable 25 touchdowns to 12 interceptions and completed more than 60 percent of his passes.

This year he will have the full allotment of plays to work with, he's much stronger physically, and he's coming off of an exceptional four TD performance against a very good Texas defense in the Rose Bowl.

He's easily the conference's best pro prospect at QB and still has a great assortment of targets to throw to, so a huge season might be on the way.

2. Drew Tate, Iowa- Let's see here...undersized, throws extremely well on the run, elusive and creative in the pocket, won a big game on a hail mary...sounds a lot like a modern Doug Flutie.

But the 6-foot tall Tate is better equipped to handle life in the pocket...when he wants to. He's best outside of it and a master on the bootleg.

He deserves a lot of credit for helping engineer a Big Ten co-title with no running game, but he has problems with interceptions (14 against 20 TD's) and threw a huge one that was returned for a touchdown in a showdown with Michigan.

Still, he completes a high percentage of his passes (62.1) and he's a strong-willed winner.

He'll have another crack at Henne and the Wolverines in Iowa City this year.

3. Drew Stanton, Michigan State- Anybody who saw last year's Michigan-Michigan State classic knew Stanton was the best player on the field.

The only problem is Stanton was only it for half of the game, and that's his career in a nutshell: brilliant in fleeting glimpses, hurt by injuries and inconsistency.

He was brilliant both through the air and on the ground against Minnesota, Hawaii, and Michigan, but erratic against Iowa and Penn State.

In Happy Valley with a bowl bid on the line, he threw two costly picks and only went 13-for-37 passing.

People tend to overrate him a bit based on his performance against Michigan, who made several running quarterbacks look amazing (last year's defense would have fared better against Dan Marino than even the likes of...say...Carlyle Holiday).

But the bottom is that Stanton is a great leader, dangerous playmaker, and a fiery competitor, and he'll have his chance to finish what he started and get revenge on UM in East Lansing this year.

4. Brandon Kirsch, Purdue- In seasons past, the Boilermakers' spread passing offense has bogged down late in the Big Ten season.

When the winds swirl and conditions worsen, it all comes down to the running game.

Kirsch may not have quite the passing skill of Kyle Orton, but he has experience and a good touch, and his running ability will make Purdue's offense more diversified and difficult to gameplan against. He completed 61.7% of his passes in relief of Orton last year and shows a good command of the offense.

5. Troy Smith, Ohio State- Magnificent against Michigan, ordinary against everyone else.

Yet Buckeye fans pushed him to third in an ESPN.com poll of the Big Ten's best quarterbacks.

Guess that shows just how important "The Game" is to the Buckeye nation.

Smith's only game of 200 or more passing yards was against Michigan, and it was his only rushing game of 100 yards or more.

No doubt Smith has top-tier athletic ability and speed for a quarterback, but he's got a lot of work to do in the passing game to move up this list.

6. Brett Basanez, Northwestern- One website went as far as to call Basanez a star, but most recognition he's earned stems from the fact that's he's been in Evanston for what seems like an eternity, rather than his actual play.

The fourth-year starter is a decent runner, but he only completed 53.7% of his passes in an offense that relies a great deal on screen passes and slants.

7. Anthony Morelli, Penn State- Drew a similar amount of attention as Henne out of high school, and has a huge arm and prototype size. He got very limited playing time last year, but his potential and the addition of top-ranked receiver prospect Derrick Williams to the Lions but him here by default.

Michael Robinson will start out at QB but expect him to eventually shift to wide receiver/tailback. He only threw for 172 yards last year and on 36% passing, and Penn State is too one-dimensional with him behind center.

8. John Stocco, Wisconsin- Another guy that's been around forever but hasn't really impressed. Stocco has made a few big plays and has lots of big game experience, but he's inaccurate, especially on the deep ball, and doesn't have much mobility.

9. Bryan Cupito, Minnesota- Despite the benefits of a stellar running game and nice receivers in big, fast Ernie Wheelwright and sure-handed tight end Ben Spaeth, Cupito only completed a shockingly bad 47.7% of his passes last season.

He must improve his accuracy and mental toughness to keep teams from stacking the box against the Gophers, or coach Glen Mason will try to find someone else who can.

10. Blake Powers, Indiana- Has only thrown 22 passes and completed 9, but he'll work under new coach Terry Hoeppner, a spread guru from the MAC's Miami Red Hawks who helped develop Ben Roethlisberger.

11. Tim Brasic, Illinois- Two years with the Illini and only one pass attempt, he'll help kick off the Ron Zook era in Champaign.