[1] As of September 2017, the top five universities in terms of the most NFL quarterback passing yards were 219,064 for Purdue, 183,296 for Notre Dame, 157,855 for USC, 152,627 for Stanford and 142,524 for Washington.
[3] In August 2018, an Altoona Mirror writer sought to name "Quarterback U" by player achievements, such as NFL starts, Pro Bowl appearances, and Heisman Trophies won.
In 2005, the Deseret News wrote that the last great BYU signal caller was 2001 Heisman Trophy runner-up Brandon Doman, who also later served as the Cougars' offensive coordinator.
It also asserted that, upon Doman's graduation, head coach Gary Crowton rotated quarterbacks so frequently that it adversely affected their performance.
[9] NC State had been in the conversation as early as 2016 when a CBS Sports article ranked the school at number two behind the University of Southern California on a list that also included Purdue, Boston College, and Michigan.
As early as 1975, the term Quarterback U had been applied to Stanford University, which had produced such players as Frankie Albert, John Brodie, Jim Plunkett, Don Bunce, and Mike Boryla.
[20] This reputation was enhanced when Bill Walsh joined the Cardinal as head coach, and quarterbacks Guy Benjamin, Steve Dils, and Turk Schonert promptly led the NCAA in passing in 1977, 1978, and 1979.
In 2005, a Sporting News writer described Texas Tech as Quarterback U in an article that bestowed several positional "U" monikers with the criteria being college performance since 2000.
[28][29][30] In 2005, The Washington Post reapplied the label to the Terrapins under head coach Ralph Friedgen and offensive coordinator Charlie Taaffe, after Sam Hollenbach became the Atlantic Coast Conference's leading passer.
"[33] George Mira, Jim Kelly, Bernie Kosar, Vinny Testaverde, Steve Walsh, Ken Dorsey, Craig Erickson, and Gino Torretta are some Hurricanes quarterbacks that influenced his use of the term.
In 2008, all three Miami quarterbacks entered the season with no game experience, and pundits charged head coach Randy Shannon with rebuilding the program's reputation of producing high-quality signalcallers.
"[40][41] Elvis Grbac, Todd Collins, Tom Brady, Jim Harbaugh, Brian Griese and Chad Henne are some of the Wolverine quarterbacks who have gone on to start in the NFL.
[44][45] Washington's Pro Football Hall of Fame member Warren Moon is fourth in all-time passing yardage, reflecting his CFL and NFL careers.