Average Size of College Football Quarterbacks (Height & Weight)
I’ve been a collegiate sports performance coach for 20 years. One thing I always loved doing was going through and checking out the sizes of the other teams in our conference.
It helped give me (and our staff) an idea of how we stacked up against our competition. It also could be used as motivation with our team both during the season and, often, during the following off-season.
So, this is essentially the same research I’ve always done, but now I’m sharing it with you. I took starting depth charts for each team in the FBS (a total of over 3000 players) going into the 2023 season and broke them down by position.
For this guide, I took an average of the heights and weights of the over 100 starting Quarterbacks* across college football. In addition, I broke down the sizes of quarterbacks by conference and individual players.
Go ahead and impress someone today with your newfound random football knowledge.
Average Height of a College Football QB
The average height of a College Football Quarterback is 74.31 inches (just over 6’2 1/4″).
Average Weight of a College Football QB
The average weight of a College Football Quarterback is 212.35 pounds.
Want to see how college football Quarterbacks compare with the size of NFL Quarterbacks? Good news, I’ve also run the numbers on the guys at the next level.
Which Conference Has the Tallest Quarterbacks?
| Conference | Avg Height (Inches) |
|---|---|
| ACC | 75 |
| MAC | 74.83 |
| SEC | 74.64 |
| Big 10 | 74.57 |
| Mountain West | 74.5 |
| Sun Belt | 74.36 |
| AAC | 74.14 |
| Big 12 | 74 |
| Pac 12 | 73.75 |
| Independents | 73.67 |
| Conference USA | 73.67 |
Which Conference Has the Heaviest Quarterbacks?
| Conference | Avg Weight |
|---|---|
| SEC | 219.29 |
| ACC | 215.5 |
| MAC | 214 |
| Mountain West | 213.42 |
| Conference USA | 212.89 |
| Big 10 | 212.71 |
| Pac 12 | 212.58 |
| Independents | 212 |
| Big 12 | 211.36 |
| AAC | 210.14 |
| Sun Belt | 203.07 |
Who Are the Tallest Quarterbacks in College Football?
There are 11 FBS starting QBs listed at 6’5″. But, there are only two that are listed as taller than 6’5″. And, interestingly enough, both are playing in the Mountain West this year.
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Brumfield | 6’6″ | 225 | UNLV |
| Taylen Green | 6’6″ | 223 | Boise State |
Who Are the Shortest?
Think you have to be 6’4″ to play quarterback at the highest level in college?
Not so.
There are 7 guys listed at under 6’0″ tall (and another 15 listed at exactly 6’0″).
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mikey Keene | 5’11” | 184 | Fresno State |
| Trenton Bourguet | 5’11” | 185 | Arizona State |
| Mitch Griffis | 5’11” | 193 | Wake Forest |
| Sam Jackson | 5’11” | 195 | Cal |
| Garrett Greene | 5’11” | 195 | West Virginia |
| Dillon Gabriel | 5’11” | 204 | Oklahoma |
| Taulia Tagovailoa | 5’11” | 208 | Maryland |
Who are the Heaviest Quarterbacks in College Football?
There are definitely some big dudes taking snaps across the country. There are six guys who are listed at over 240 pounds.
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| DJ Uiagalelei | 6’4″ | 251 | Oregon State |
| KJ Jefferson | 6’3″ | 247 | Arkansas |
| Drew Allar | 6’5″ | 243 | Penn State |
| Mason Garcia | 6’5″ | 242 | East Carolina |
| Will Howard | 6’5″ | 242 | Kansas State |
| Donovan Smith | 6’5″ | 241 | Houston |
Who are the Lightest?
Quarterbacks come in all shapes and sizes. Bryce Young is the most recent example of how you don’t have to be a giant to play the position at an elite level.
Here are the four lightest, all listed at under 190 pounds.
| Name | Height | Weight | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mikey Keene | 5’11” | 184 | Fresno State |
| Trenton Bourguet | 5’11” | 185 | Arizona State |
| Noah Kim | 6’2″ | 185 | Michigan State |
| Malik Hornsby | 6’2″ | 185 | Texas State |
Important Notes
As a former sports scientist, I tend to take data pretty seriously so I must stress that these ‘averages’ should be used for entertainment purposes only.
Why do I say that?
There are multiple issues that can make all the data in this article flawed.
First and foremost, it’s pretty commonplace in athletics to lie about heights and weights. I once worked at a school where it was standard procedure to add an inch and 5 to 10 pounds to almost every player on the roster.
Why?
The best answer that I was ever given is that it could potentially help with NFL scouting. However, I can’t imagine in 2023 that anyone is fooling an NFL scout with the size listed in a program. I think the real answer is it’s just part of the culture in sports.
*I used the heights and weights of all the projected starters leading into Week 0. Whether it’s through injury or performance, starters can and will change throughout the season.
In fact, it took me a week to gather all these numbers and by the time I was done I would bet that there were at least a couple of starting positions that had already changed hands.
And, if a couple of 6’4″ 220-pound players are swapped out with a couple of 6’0″ 190-pound players, the sample size is small enough that this could substantially affect the overall averages.
Finally, I can tell you for a fact that players’ weights can fluctuate pretty wildly from week to week and sometimes even day to day and, especially, over the course of a season.
Just because a guy weighed 205 on the first day of camp when weights were put in the program, does not mean that’s what he weighs in Week 8.
So, have fun with the data above, but this is just a reminder to not take the numbers too seriously.
More Info
I also broke down the sizes of Offensive Lines across college football that you can check out.
Or, if you really want to have your mind blown, check out the best quarterback 40 times that some of these big guys have put up at the NFL Combine over the years.
