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Which QBs were so-so in college and then lit it up in the pros?  Tarkenton comes to mind, but I don't know much about Tittle, Stauback mentioned above, Starr was solid in college even though his numbers by today's metrics are mundane.  I'm thinking back then NFL teams would get some QB and keep him for a decade or more and maybe he was so so in college.  I'm trying to think of the other guy, went to Lousiana something something.  Geesh, Bradshaw, I had to search for it.

How many top QBs in the NFL were spectacular in college?  Stafford was pretty good in college, you could see the raw talent.

*Timeout*
I was fretting seeing Staubach up and down this thread, but instead, Mahomes has been mentioned multiple times.

What's wrong with Staubach?

I wholeheartedly disagree with the notion that an MNC makes for a top-tier college quarterback. It is a team sport, and guys like Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Andrew Luck did a lot more at their position in college than Craig Krenzel and the like ever did. Were Cal, Purdue, or Stanford ever legitimate MNC contenders? Of course not--it's a team sport, and they didn't have the teams. But those three guys made those teams click because they were that good. There's a reason that they were high draft picks and Heisman candidates, despite not playing for the right teams to get them the trophy. That's more an indictment of the Hypseman than the players who didn't win one. Cal went 11-1. Cal. They haven't been to a Rose Bowl since 1959--and didn't go Rodgers' last year because Texas went instead, which, itself is a bit of controversy. Brees took Purdue to the Rose Bowl. First time in over 30 years. Luck took Stanford to the Orange Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl. I would take those three, based on their body of work in college, over most college quarterbacks who have won national titles. And...none of them made my Mt. Rushmore.

Staubach did enough playing for Navy in the waning years of academy football relevance to get it to #2 and a shot at #1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl. There's a reason he won the Heisman. Do his stats measure up to modern standards? Not close. Is there a reason he was considered the best player in college football in 1963? Yes there is. Was he a "system" quarterback who was just the most recognizable player on an otherwise good team? His years in the NFL suggest not. But his performance in college won him the Heisman and won Navy a whole bunch of football games. Good enough for me.

I don't want to get into it about Staubach.
As for NC winners vs not NC winners, it's up to the person/poster.  Neither of you is right or wrong, it's just your opinion.  So volunteer your 4 names however you wish.

Going forward, for all of these Mt Rushmore threads, just please assume the player died in a tragic accident the day after their last college game.

Thank you.

Oh I was just curious. I'm no student of history, but I feel strongly that a Mount Rushmore type of assembly means getting players from different eras of football. Staubach stood out to me for being the best of his day, but it's not like I did a deep dive into the matter. 

I don't want to get into it about Staubach.
As for NC winners vs not NC winners, it's up to the person/poster.  Neither of you is right or wrong, it's just your opinion.  So volunteer your 4 names however you wish.

Going forward, for all of these Mt Rushmore threads, just please assume the player died in a tragic accident the day after their last college game.

Thank you.

Honors & Awards

Member of Two Nebraska National Championship Teams (1994, 1995)
University of Nebraska Graduate (December, 1995)
Phillips 66 Academic All-Big Eight (1995)
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Nominee (1995)
Second-Team All-Big Eight (AP, 1994)
Honorable-Mention All-Big Eight (Coaches, 1994)
ABC/Chevrolet Nebraska Player-of-the-Game (Oklahoma, 1994)
Four-Time Big Eight Offensive Player-of-the-Week Nominee (1994)
7-0 Record as NU's Starting Quarterback (1994)
Career
Brook Berringer led the Huskers to the national title game in 1994 with a 7-0 record as a starter. Berringer was called to action when Tommie Frazier went out with blood clots. Berringer was instrumental in the Huskers' 24-17 win over Miami for the 1994 national title in the Orange Bowl, hitting tight end Mark Gilman for a 19-yard touchdown to bring NU within 10-7. Berringer served as Frazier's backup in 1995 as well in the Huskers' run for their second title. With good size, speed and arm strength, he was sure to be picked in the 1996 NFL Draft on April 20-21, but was killed in a plane crash on April 18. In his career, Berringer passed for 1,769 yards, rushed for 396 and scored 20 touchdowns.

1995 (Senior)
Berringer spent majority of his senior season on the sideline after narrowly losing the starting job to a returning Frazier. Berringer selflessly accepted his backup role, appearing in nine games, completing 26-of-51 passes for 252 yards, as the Huskers rolled to a second straight national title.

1994 (Junior)
Berringer was 94-of-151 passing in 1994 for 1,295 yards. He owned a 62.3 completion percentage with 10 TDs and five interceptions. With his 1,000 passing yards, Berringer joined 18 other Huskers who had accomplished that feat before him (since 1946). His pass efficiency rating stood at 149.5, which led the Big Eight and would have ranked seventh nationally (did not qualify for NCAA rankings which required at least 15 attempts per game).

Although he started just seven games, Berringer ranked second in the Big Eight to KSU's Chad May in touchdown passes with 10 on the season. His 62.3 completion percentage (.630 in 1993) was the best for a Husker starter on a season since Craig Sundberg completed 53-of-84 in 1984 (.631). Berringer passed for over 100 yards in seven games, including the last five. He rushed 71 times for 279 yards and six touchdowns (3.9 yards per carry, 23.3 yards per game) and was sacked just five times. Berringer started 99 drives and led NU to a score on 40 of them (35 TDs) for a 41.4 efficiency rating. He was 26-of-32 (.813) on drives in the red zone. He earned second-team All-Big Eight honors from the Associated Press and honorable-mention by the coaches.

Yeah, he was that, but in an era as noted when QB statistics often were ... unimpressive, by standards of today.  He likely was the best SEC QB among a legion of mediocre alternatives.  It's just interesting to me.  Some of these lesser known dudes then lit up the NFL after a rather prosaic college career.

Yeah, he wasn't "so-so", my terminology is inept, as usual.  I might have said instead "one with rather mediocre looking stats".... then they become HoFers in the League.