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Back in the day, it was rare that a freshman QB would start, and it meant you had a problem.  Today, QBs out of HS are far better prepared to pass than they were ca. 1975.  If you want to recruit passing QBs, you need to pass a fair bit.  Same with WRs etc.

Elite QBs want to play in a system that preps them for Sundays.

A team like GaTech that runs a version of the option (or used to) is at a disadvantage.

the sooners back in the day had some frosh QBs that started and did well.

Wasn't much passing to get them in trouble

Osborne wasn't a fan of allowing freshman to play at any position

yes sir, they could turn the ball over

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbbF-nw7l1o

I couldn't even beat out Greg Frey or Kent Graham..."



"...and then I lost a Bowl Game to Air Force." 

I was trying to think through best/good option candidates in each conference. Here's what I got:

Big 10 - 
Illinois - A program always looking for identity that seemingly never recruits all that well or has buzz.
Other ideas: Maybe NW, which has gone through a weird history of offenses. If it was at its pre 1995 success levels, this would be a given. Instead it became a power downhill team, then an early spread innovator and slipped into a spread that felt as stodgy as people consider the option. Since that offense has been bad for years and Fitz is a defensive coach, why not.

SEC - 
Vandy - They need to be weird, though Andy Ludwig got them kinda good at pro style for a second
Other ideas: IF Kentucky hadn't gotten good with the current ground and pound, that would be the pick. Otherwise, you're looking for a team that would sacrifice the highest end ceiling and recruiting for some moments of glory. No one really fits unless Mizzou hits a big ole snag. 

Big 12
Kansas: Already bad, get weird
Other ideas: K State. They used to run the option. They've basically always run a kinda single-wingish old-school spread. Not too much of a stretch.

ACC
The pick: Ehhh, it's tricky. I guess Syracuse? Duke and Wake would be options, but both have good coaches doing good things. 
Other options: Pitt might want it given their normal identity. Tech might regret leaving it. Boston College has often been running offenses where the alternative can't be so much worse. 

Pac-12
Oregon State: This is always the one floated because its the least resourced and its floor is always the lowest. 
Other ideas: Cal? A school that is often not very good, bad on offense right now and mostly doesn't recruit well? I could buy it.

The teams that blur the line the most in using the option the most without running it nearly exclusively were the Syracuse teams (late 80s, early 90s).  They really sprinkled the option in throughout the game, instead of tiny spurts or one-offs. 

The thing that impressed me about those Syracuse offenses in that era was that they seemed to be able to do nearly anything reasonably well.  

That is rare.  For example, a lot of pass-the-ball-every-down teams are horrible at running to run clock to maintain a close lead late in a game.  Similarly, a lot of power running and/or option teams look like a fish out of water if they get down late and HAVE to pass.  It seemed to me, in that era, that Syracuse was pretty darn good at just about everything rather than having an identity.  That had to be hell for an opposing DC to prepare for.