Stanford football: 15 greatest quarterbacks in Cardinal history

It may have taken Guy Benjamin a little while to take over the reins from Mike Cordova, but by the time he became the full-time starter at Stanford, he was ready to lead the program.

Benjamin would end up playing for the Cardinal for four seasons, appearing in 42 games, while becoming one of the more productive quarterbacks in school history.

Benjamin played under Bill Walsh at Stanford. In the NFL, he also reconnected with Walsh later in his career, winning a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers. At Stanford, Benjamin was the best quarterback in the country during the 1977 NCAA season, finishing sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting, while winning the Sammy Baugh Trophy, given to the best passer in the country.

On the West Coast, Benjamin was an absolute star, winning the W.J. Voit Memorial Trophy, which is given to the Most Outstanding Player on the Pacific Coast. To cap off that 1977 season, Benjamin led the Cardinal to a stunning victory over the LSU Tigers in the Sun Bowl. He would go on to be a second-round pick in the 1978 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins.

To this date, Benjamin is still one of the top 10 quarterbacks in school history in terms of passing yards and his touchdown mark is sixth overall.