Quarterback Cullen Harper had a breakout season in 2007, passing for 2,991 yards and 27 touchdowns to lead Clemson to a 9-4 record, including five conference wins.

Harper, recently selected as the pre-season Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, threw only six interceptions on his way to becoming the highest-rated passer in the conference. The red-shirt senior completed 65.1% of his passes--a better total than Boston College star Matt Ryan, the Atlanta Falcons’ first-round pick and QB of the future.

Look for Harper to have another big year for the Tigers, the favorite to win the conference championship. Although he has come a long way since his high school days—he only played two games as a senior at Sequoyah High (GA) due to injury, then spent his first few years of college playing behind Charlie Whitehurst and Will Proctor—he is one of the most accurate passers in all of college football. He does not get the same attention as a Chase Daniel, Tim Tebow, or Pat White, but deserves to be in that class. With a strong supporting cast, including standout tailbacks James Davis (1,064 rushing yards in '07) and C.J. Spiller, the Tigers’ offensive unit is projected to put up a lot of points. This will certainly help his status in the NFL draft, as 2009 is considered a weak class for the position.

According to Scout.com, in fact, Harper is the premier senior QB in the nation eligible for the draft.

Another QB to keep an eye on is Hunter Cantwell, who will begin his first season as the starter at the University of Louisville. Cantwell, who originally came to Louisville as a walk-on after a standout prep career at Paducah Tilghman High School in Kentucky, has been blocked on the depth chart for his entire collegiate career by the best player in program history, Brian Brohm.

Brohm, competing for the backup job with the Green Bay Packers, forced Cantwell to the bench for another season by deciding not to enter the NFL draft following his monster junior campaign. The hometown hero is gone now, though, opening the door for the Paducah native to emerge as one of the best QBs in the Big East Conference. A physical specimen, he has been impressive while filling in for an injured Brohm, and has the ability to attract some interest in the draft. If he can lead the Cardinals, picked to finish near the bottom of the conference in several pre-season publications, to a respectable finish, look for him to move up some draft boards.