Predicting Starting Quarterbacks for All 138 College Football Teams in 2026

NCAAF College Football
June 1, 2026
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College football’s 2026 season is less than 100 days away, which means it’s never too early to start looking at quarterbacks and how all 138 teams stack up at the position. With this being the most important position on the field, how a team develops, recruits or attracts transfers can have a significant impact on a team’s outlook for the upcoming year. Since the rule change allowing immediate eligibility as a transfer, along with the creation of the portal, major movement in the quarterback ranks has been a hallmark of the offseason. Instead of waiting for the starter to graduate or depart to the NFL and take over after learning a couple of years in the system, quarterbacks can transfer to find a place to play right away.

The quarterback position is especially loaded in 2026 with Texas’ Arch Manning, Notre Dame‘s CJ Carr, Oregon’s Dante Moore, Ohio State‘s Julian Sayin, Ole Miss‘ Trinidad Chambliss, and Miami’s Darian Mensah headlining some of the top options. Additionally, Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, Alabama’s Keelon Russell, and Mississippi State‘s Kamario Taylor lead a strong collection of breakout candidates.

With spring practice completed and transfer portal movement finished, the quarterback depth charts for all 138 teams should be settled. With fall practice up next, it’s all about the competition for the No. 1 spot.

Which quarterbacks are expected to start in 2026? And how will each conference be impacted by transfers next year? Athlon Sports takes a way-too-early look at the projected starters heading into fall practice:

Note: These projections will be updated throughout the offseason.

Predicting Starting QBs for All 138 College Football Teams in 2026

Power 4 Conferences

ACC

Sep 27, 2025; Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (3) throws the ball for an interception by the Boston College Eagles during the first half at Alumni Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images


	Projected Starter	Notable Backup
Boston College	Mason McKenzie	Grayson Wilson
California	Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele	Jackson Brousseau
Clemson	Christopher Vizzina	Tait Reynolds
Duke	Walker Eget	Dan Mahan
Florida State	Ashton Daniels	Kevin Sperry/Malachi Marshall
Georgia Tech	Alberto Mendoza	Grady Adamson
Louisville	Lincoln Kienholz	Davin Wydner
Miami	Darian Mensah
NC State	CJ Bailey	Will Wilson
North Carolina	Billy Edwards Jr.	Miles O’Neill
Pitt	Mason Heintschel	Holden Geriner
SMU	Kevin Jennings
Stanford	Davis Warren	Mike Mitchell Jr.
Syracuse	Steve Angeli	Amari Odom/Malachi Nelson
Virginia	Beau Pribula	Eli Holstein
Virginia Tech	Ethan Grunkemeyer	Bryce Baker
WakeForest	Gio Lopez

Big 12

Arizona Wildcats quarterback Noah Fifita after scoring a touchdown.Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images


	Projected Starter	Notable Backup
Arizona	Noah Fifita
Arizona State	Cutter Boley	Jake Fette/Mikey Keene
Baylor	DJ Lagway
BYU	Bear Bachmeier
Cincinnati	JC French IV	Samaj Jones/Liam O’Brien
Colorado	Julian Lewis	Isaac Wilson
Houston	Conner Weigman	Keisean Henderson
Iowa State	Jaylen Raynor	Zane Flores
Kansas	Cole Ballard	Isaiah Marshall/Chase Jenkins
Kansas State	Avery Johnson
Oklahoma State	Drew Mestemaker
TCU	Jaden Craig
Texas Tech	Will Hammond	Kirk Francis/Lloyd Jones III
UCF	Alonza Barnett III	Keyone Jenkins
Utah	Devon Dampier	Byrd Ficklin
West Virginia	Michael Hawkins	Scotty Fox Jr.

Big Ten

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore. Ben Lonergan / Imagn Images


	Projected Starter	Notable Backup
Illinois	Katin Houser
Indiana	Josh Hoover	Tyler Cherry
Iowa	Jeremy Hecklinski	Hank Brown
Maryland	Malik Washington	Devin Kargman
Michigan	Bryce Underwood	Tommy Carr/Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi
Michigan State	Alessio Milivojevic	Cam Fancher
Minnesota	Drake Lindsey
Nebraska	Anthony Colandrea	TJ Lateef
Northwestern	Aidan Chiles	Ryan Boe
Ohio State	Julian Sayin	Tavien St. Clair
Oregon	Dante Moore	Dylan Raiola
Penn State	Rocco Becht	Alex Manske
Purdue	Ryan Browne	Evans Chuba
Rutgers	AJ Surace	Dylan Lonergan
UCLA	Nico Iamaleava	Madden Iamaleava
USC	Jayden Maiava
Washington	Desmond Williams Jr.
Wisconsin	Colton Joseph	Deuce Adams

SEC

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning throws a pass during the first half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.Scott Wachter-Imagn Images


	Projected Starter	Notable Backup
Alabama	Keelon Russell	Austin Mack
Arkansas	KJ Jackson	AJ Hill
Auburn	Byrum Brown
Florida	Aaron Philo	Tramell Jones Jr.
Georgia	Gunner Stockton	Ryan Puglisi/Ryan Montgomery
Kentucky	Kenny Minchey
LSU	Sam Leavitt	Husan Longstreet
Mississippi State	Kamario Taylor	AJ Swann/Jaden Rashada
Missouri	Austin Simmons	Matt Zollers
Oklahoma	John Mateer
Ole Miss	Trinidad Chambliss	Deuce Knight
South Carolina	LaNorris Sellers
Tennessee	George MacIntyre	Faizon Brandon/Ryan Staub
Texas	Arch Manning	KJ Lacey/Dia Bell
Texas A&M	Marcel Reed	Brady Hart
Vanderbilt	Jared Curtis	Blaze Berlowitz

Independents

Aug 31, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr (13) drops back to pass against the Miami Hurricanes during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images© Sam Navarro-Imagn Images


	Projected Starter	Notable Backup
Notre Dame	CJ Carr	Noah Grubbs
UConn	Jake Merklinger	Tucker McDonald/Kalieb Osborne

Group of 6

American


	Projected Starter	Notable Backup
Army	Cale Hellums
Charlotte	Cole Gonzales	Conner Harrell/Grayson Loftis
East Carolina	Mitch Griffis	Emory Williams
Florida Atlantic	Caden Veltkamp	Drew Devillier
Memphis	Marcus Stokes	Air Noland
Navy	Braxton Woodson	Jackson Gutierrez
North Texas	Chris Jimerson Jr.	Tom von Grote/Tayven Jackson
Rice	Jacurri Brown	Gael Ochoa
South Florida	Michael Van Buren	Luke Kromenhoek
Temple	Jaxon Smolik	Ajani Sheppard
Tulane	Zeon Chriss-Gremillion	Kadin Semonza/Dagan Bruno
Tulsa	Baylor Hayes	Dexter Williams II
UAB	Ryder Burton
UTSA	Owen McCown

Conference USA

Delaware Blue Hens quarterback Nick Minicucci (4) winds up for a pass against Western Kentucky during Delaware’s first home CUSA football game, which was nationally televised, at Delaware Stadium in Newark on Oct. 3, 2025. Western Kentucky won 27-24.© Benjamin Chambers/Delaware News Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images


	Projected Starter	Notable Backup
Delaware	Nick Minicucci
FIU	JJ Kohl	Zach Marker
Jacksonville State	Caden Creel
Kennesaw State	Rickie Collins	Landon Varnes
Liberty	Deshawn Purdie	Jaylen Henderson
Middle Tennessee	Roman Gagliano
Missouri State	Henry Belin IV	Skyler Locklear
New Mexico State	Trey Hedden	Adam Damante
Sam Houston	Landyn Locke
Western Kentucky	Rodney Tisdale Jr.	Brock Glenn

MAC

Western Michigan sophomore Broc Lowry throws a pass during the home-opening game against North Texas at Western Michigan University on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.© Becca Mahon/Battle Creek Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images


	Projected Starter	Notable Backup
Akron	Reese Poffenbarger
Ball State	Tyler Mizzell	Keldric Luster
Bowling Green	Austin Novosad	Jay Kastantin
Buffalo	Jason Wright	Elijah Holmes
Central Michigan	Angel Flores	Jadyn Glasser
Eastern Michigan	Noah Kim
Kent State	Dru DeShields
Miami (Ohio)	Thomas Gotkowski	David McComb/Caleb Heavner
Ohio	Nick Poulos	Matt Vezza
Sacramento State	Carson Conklin
Toledo	John Alan Richter	Khamoni Robinson
UMass	Pop Watson
Western Michigan	Broc Lowry	Trey Petty

Mountain West

Oct 18, 2025; Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; Hawaii Rainbow Warriors quarterback Micah Alejado (12) is pressured by Colorado State Rams linebacker Paul Tangelo (52) in the first quarter at Sonny Lubick Field at Canvas Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images© Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images


	Projected Starter	Notable Backup
Air Force	Liam Szarka
Hawaii	Micah Alejado
Nevada	Carter Jones	Luke Duncan
New Mexico	Jack Layne	Luke Moga/James Laubstein
North Dakota State	Nathan Hayes
Northern Illinois	Jalen Macon	Brady Davidson/Ean Hamric
San Jose State	Luke Weaver	Robert McDaniel/Daniel Rolovich
UNLV	Jackson Arnold	Alex Orji
UTEP	EJ Colson	Raymond Moore III
Wyoming	Tyler Hughes	Mason Drube

Pac-12

Boise State Broncos quarterback Maddux Madsen (4).Michael Caterina-Imagn Images


	Projected Starter	Notable Backup
BoiseState	Maddux Madsen
Colorado State	Hauss Hejny	K’saan Farrar
Fresno State	Khristian Martin	Jayden Mandal
Oregon State	Maalik Murphy	Braden Atkinson/Brady Jones
San Diego State	Jayden Denegal	Stone Saunders
Texas State	Brad Jackson
Utah State	McCae Hillstead	Grady Brosterhous
Washington State	Caden Pinnick	Owen Eshelman/Julian Dugger

Sun Belt

Louisiana Tech quarterback Trey Kukuk throws a pass against Washington State at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium on Nov. 15, 2025, in Pullman, Washington.© James Snook-Imagn Images


	Projected Starter	Notable Backup
Appalachian State	Malachi Singleton	Henry Hasselbeck
Arkansas State	Trey Owens	Ethan Crawford/Drew Dickey
Coastal Carolina	Deuce Bailey	Osiris Lopez/Trever Jackson
Georgia Southern	Max Johnson	Weston Bryan
Georgia State	Cameran Brown
James Madison	Camden Coleman	Arrington Maiden/JC Evans
Louisiana	Lunch Winfield
Louisiana Tech	Blake Baker	Trey Kukuk
Marshall	Carlos Del Rio-Wilson	Zion Turner
Old Dominion	Quinn Henicle	Jaxon Potter
South Alabama	Bishop Davenport	Jared Hollins
Southern Miss	Ethan Hampton	Landry Lyddy/John White
Troy	Goose Crowder	Tucker Kilcrease
ULM	Aidan Armenta

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Jun 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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