5 College Football Players You Need to Watch This Weekend
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College football is officially back, and Week 1 gives us our first opportunity to see some of the biggest names in the sport.
For me, there are five players I’m going to be watching closer than anyone else this weekend.
All five happen to be quarterbacks.
Some are legitimate Heisman contenders. Others are beginning completely new chapters of their careers. And one is making his first career start at one of the most demanding programs in the country.
Here are my five players to watch in Week 1.
Trinidad Chambliss — Ole Miss
Let’s start with one of the biggest stars returning to college football.
Trinidad Chambliss has a chance to prove last season was only the beginning.
Chambliss helped lead Ole Miss to the College Football Playoff semifinals last season, and now he’s back as the face of a Rebels team ranked No. 9 entering 2026.
But things are different now.
Lane Kiffin is gone, Pete Golding is running the program and Ole Miss has to prove it can remain a national contender without the coach who built it.
Chambliss is the biggest reason to believe it can.
Ole Miss opens Sunday night against No. 24 Louisville in Nashville, giving Chambliss an immediate opportunity to make a statement against a ranked opponent.
If he’s going to become a legitimate Heisman contender, this is a pretty good place to start.
Sam Leavitt — LSU
There might not be another quarterback under a brighter spotlight Saturday night.
Sam Leavitt is officially QB1 at LSU.
After transferring from Arizona State, Leavitt takes over an LSU offense coached by Lane Kiffin and immediately gets thrown into one of the biggest games of Week 1 against Clemson.
Leavitt arrives with plenty of experience.
He has already thrown for 4,652 career yards and 36 touchdowns while adding another 816 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. He also helped lead Arizona State to the College Football Playoff in 2024.
Now we’ll see what he looks like in Kiffin’s offense.
Clemson. Death Valley. College GameDay. Saturday night.
Welcome to LSU.
DJ Lagway — Baylor
This might be the player I’m most interested to see.
We already know how talented DJ Lagway is.
The former No. 1 quarterback recruit showed flashes of being special at Florida, but injuries and inconsistency prevented him from ever completely putting everything together.
Now he’s getting a fresh start at Baylor.
Lagway threw for 4,179 yards and 28 touchdowns during his two seasons at Florida, and Baylor has already named him one of its permanent team captains.
His first opportunity comes against Auburn in Atlanta.
Baylor desperately needs a turnaround after finishing 5-7 last season, and Lagway was brought in to help make that happen.
If he can stay healthy and finally turn all that talent into consistent production, Baylor could become a very interesting team.
Saturday gives us our first look.
Keelon Russell — Alabama
Here’s the wildcard.
Keelon Russell is officially Alabama’s starting quarterback.
The sophomore won the quarterback competition and will make his first career start Saturday against East Carolina.
Obviously, East Carolina isn’t the biggest opponent Alabama will face this season.
That’s not really the point.
This is our first opportunity to see what Alabama’s offense looks like with Russell running it.
Being the starting quarterback at Alabama comes with expectations that very few players in college football have to deal with.
Nobody expects Russell to be perfect in his first start.
But if Alabama wants to get back into the national championship conversation, it needs to know it has found its quarterback.
Saturday is the beginning of that answer.
CJ Carr — Notre Dame
And finally, we have a quarterback who could become one of the biggest names in college football this season.
CJ Carr enters 2026 with legitimate Heisman and NFL Draft hype.
Carr threw for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdowns last season, with Notre Dame averaging 41.8 points per game with him at quarterback. Among returning Power Four quarterbacks, he also led the group in yards per completion.
Now the expectations are even higher.
Notre Dame enters the season ranked No. 4 in the country, and Carr gets one of the coolest Week 1 environments imaginable.
Wisconsin.
Sunday night.
Lambeau Field.
Notre Dame lost plenty of production from its backfield, which could put even more responsibility on Carr this season.
If Notre Dame is going to compete for a national championship, Carr probably needs to take another step toward becoming one of the best quarterbacks in America.
We get our first look Sunday night.
These five quarterbacks enter Week 1 in completely different situations.
Chambliss is trying to prove Ole Miss can remain a contender.
Leavitt is beginning the Lane Kiffin era at LSU.
Lagway is looking for a fresh start.
Russell is making his first career start at Alabama.
Carr is trying to take Notre Dame to another level.
And by the end of this weekend, we could know a lot more about all five.
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