Best Players of the Pac-12 Era

WoolleyDoog · February 16

Marcus Mariota QB Oregon - He had his Heisman season and a trip to the title game. He also had three full seasons of greatness in the conference, which really helps him grab the top spot.
Christian McCaffrey RB Stanford - Him not winning the Heisman in 2015 is a joke. One of the best pure players to ever play in the conference and would have been interesting to see what he did in 2016 if he wasn't banged up.
Michael Penix Jr. QB Washington - Had the chance to take the top spot against Michigan and didn't get there. Two Heisman-level seasons. 25-3. Would have been crazy to see him get a third season.
Myles Gaskin RB Washington - He doesn't get enough love in media circles. He was arguably the best offensive player and rock of two Pac-12 champions, which is something I don't know anyone else can say and is third in all-time rushing in the Pac-12.
Sam Darnold QB USC - Won the conference and won a Rose Bowl and finished #3 in back-to-back seasons as the leader of the team. People forget how good he was.
Bo Nix QB Oregon - The crazy thing is Washington might have blocked Nix from winning the Heisman twice. He lacks signature wins but won a ton of games and put up huge numbers.
Caleb Williams QB USC - Hard guy to assess. I'm not one of the haters who doesn't think he is really good. I just think he never one anything at all so it's hard to figure out where to put him. It's wild to think about what he would have done on Oregon or Washington the past two seasons though.
Ka'Deem Carey RB Arizona - He almost ran for 2,000 yards twice and scored 20+ touchdowns twice.
Will Sutton DT Arizona State - You might not remember him but he was a two time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and two time Morris Trophy winner.
Justin Herbert QB Oregon - Visualizing watching him always seems underwhelming but you have to factor in how bad his skill position players were, Crisco's offensive prowess, and how important he was to those teams. The Ducks could have easily been mired in several years of mediocrity and losing had he not magically been planted in Eugene and ended up there.

Honorable Mention (I'm listing a lot because there was a lot to legit consider)

Andrew Luck QB Stanford, Jake Browning QB Washington, Jared Goff QB Cal, LaMichael James RB Oregon, Kenjon Barner RB Oregon, Royce Freeman RB Oregon, Bryce Love RB Stanford, Stepfan Taylor RB Stanford, Rome Odunze WR Washington, Marqise Lee WR USC, Brandin Cooks WR Oregon State, DeForest Buckner DT Oregon, Scooby Wright LB Arizona, Trent Murphy LB Stanford, Budda Baker S Washington