MAC Quarterback Rankings for 2026

NCAAF College Football
August 11, 2026
Akron Zips, Ball State Cardinals, Bowling Green Falcons, Buffalo Bulls, Central Michigan Chippewas, College Football, Eastern Michigan Eagles, Kent State Golden Flashes, Massachusetts Minutemen, Ohio Bobcats, Sacramento State Hornets, Sports, Toledo Rockets, Western Michigan Broncos

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

The MAC’s group of starting quarterbacks for the 2026 college football season is filled with new faces. Just three players — Eastern Michigan’s Noah Kim, Kent State’s Dru DeShields and Western Michigan’s Broc Lowry — qualify as returning starters per Athlon Sports’ metrics. Although turnover among signal-callers is a major storyline in this conference, the group isn’t short on intrigue. UMass’ Pop Watson III, Toledo’s John Alan Richter and Buffalo’s Jason Wright top the list of breakout candidates. Carson Conklin’s return gives Sacramento State a proven signal-caller for its FBS debut, and Miami (Ohio) features an intriguing quarterback competition among three candidates.

Ranking the quarterbacks by conference or nationally is no easy task. To help compile the rankings, some projection was involved for 2026. This was not a ranking of quarterbacks based only on accomplishments so far or pro potential. All factors — pure talent, supporting cast, having a clear hold on the No. 1 position, previous production, '26 projection, and scheme changes (just to name a few) — were considered to rank the quarterbacks in the MAC for 2026.

MAC Preview: Predictions | Coach Ranks | 138 Team Rankings |All-America
Bowl Projections | MAC All-Conference Team

Mizzell and Keldric Luster finished spring practice locked in a tight competition for the job. That battle will resume this fall, as Ball State looks for a quarterback who can jumpstart an offense that averaged only 15.8 points per game last year. Mizzell started his collegiate career at Wake Forest before transferring to Concord prior to ‘25. The North Carolina native shined with the Mountain Lions, throwing for 2,889 yards and 26 touchdowns and rushing for 321 yards and three scores. This stint in Muncie marks the third stop in Luster’s career after spending time at SMU and Texas State. He’s played in nine career games at the FBS level with just 12 pass attempts.

Gotkowski is listed here, but two transfers — Kansas’ David McComb and Fort Hays State’s Caleb Heavner — are battling for the starting job. After showing some initial promise last season, Gotkowski struggled in the RedHawks’ final two contests. The Indiana native connected on seven passes for 92 yards in the MAC Championship Game loss to Western Michigan and completed just six of 22 throws in the bowl loss to Fresno State. Overall, Gotkowski’s play left a lot to be desired (38 of 86 for 575 yards). Can he hold off McComb and Heavner this fall? If Gotkowski does win the job, he would rank a few spots higher on this list.

Conklin is back at Sacramento State after spending the ‘25 campaign at Fresno State. The California native appeared in six games with the Bulldogs last season but has a chance to rank among the MAC’s top quarterbacks under new coach Alonzo Carter. Conklin posted a prolific ‘24 season with the Hornets, throwing for 2,876 yards and 28 scores to rank among the top FCS signal-callers that season. With a new coaching staff and a revamped supporting cast, it may take some time for Conklin and all the new pieces to mesh in the program’s FBS debut.

Parker Navarro leaves big shoes to fill in Athens this fall. However, the Bobcats appear to have two capable options to handle the starting quarterback spot. Poulos played in 12 contests as the backup to Navarro over the last two years, connecting on 26 of 57 throws for 290 yards and two scores, while adding 183 yards and a touchdown on the ground. New Hampshire transfer Matt Vezza will push Poulos this fall after throwing for 2,673 yards and 19 scores and rushing for 601 yards and eight touchdowns at the FCS level last season.

The Bulls are essentially starting from scratch at the quarterback position under new coordinator Tony Tokarz. Wright and Wingate transfer Elijah Holmes have combined to complete zero passes in a Buffalo uniform and are the top candidates to replace Ta’Quan Roberson this fall. Wright flashed intriguing rushing ability in four appearances last fall, recording 43 yards on 15 carries. Holmes brings more experience to the battle after throwing for 3,040 yards and 24 touchdowns at Wingate last year.

Novosad is short on experience, but the Texas native brings intriguing upside to Bowling Green after transferring in from Oregon. The former four-star prospect in the ‘23 signing class attempted just 15 passes over seven appearances with the Ducks but was stuck behind ultra-talented quarterbacks in Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore. Novosad needs to prove he can reach his potential and must hold off Assumption transfer Jay Kastantin for the job to break out in ‘26.

Five different quarterbacks attempted a pass for the Chippewas last season, but coach Matt Drinkall is hoping for a little more stability in ‘26. Angel Flores is back after throwing for 195 yards and two scores, but the bulk of his damage came on the ground with 527 yards and eight touchdowns. Glasser is back after missing nearly all of ‘25 due to injury. In two appearances last year, he connected on seven of nine throws for 78 yards and rushed for a score. If Glasser develops as a passer, and Flores is able to contribute as a change-of-pace quarterback, Drinkall would have a solid one-two punch under center.

Optimism is running high for Watson III to provide the UMass offense with a much-needed spark in 2026. The Massachusetts native returned to his home state after spending three years at Virginia Tech. During his stint with the Hokies, Watson III threw for 558 yards and one score and added 81 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Watson III posted big-time career numbers as a high school signal-caller in the state, which included over 7,000 passing yards and 81 touchdowns through the air. No UMass quarterback has recorded more than 10 passing scores in a season over the last six years. Expect that to change with Watson III at the controls.

New Toledo coach Mike Jacobs oversaw an offense at Mercer that finished 2025 ranked third nationally at the FCS level with an average of 318.2 passing yards per game. Although it may take a few games to get on track with just one returning starter on offense, Jacobs and new coordinator Cris Reisert hope to rekindle that attack with the Rockets. Richter played in nine games at Toledo over the last three seasons and fared well in those limited snaps. The Georgia native connected on 63 of his 96 attempts for 699 yards and seven touchdowns against one pick. Richter doesn’t have a ton of experience. However, the small sample size was promising, and Jacobs can produce prolific offenses. That combination should help the first-year starter rank among the best in the MAC.

Poffenbarger has racked up the frequent-flyer miles in college, as Akron is his fifth stop after previous stints at Old Dominion, Albany, Miami and North Texas. The Maryland native has played sparingly with six appearances over the last two years. However, Poffenbarger was a prolific passer at the FCS level, throwing for nearly 6,000 yards at Albany. In his ‘23 season with the Great Danes, Poffenbarger led all FCS quarterbacks with 3,603 passing yards and recorded 41 overall scores.

Kim's return is a big reason Eastern Michigan should reach a bowl in 2026 after a two-year drought. The former Michigan State and Coastal Carolina signal-caller led the MAC with 2,817 passing yards and tied for third with 18 touchdown tosses. Kim connected on 61.4 percent of his throws and added six more scores on the ground. The Virginia native paced the MAC with 110 completions of 10-plus yards but also landed his share of deep connections (eight of 40-plus).

After missing his first two years at Kent State due to injury, DeShields emerged as one of the MAC’s top signal-callers last season. The Ohio native thrived on big plays, landing 11 completions of 40-plus yards and six of 50-plus for a Kent State offense that ranked fifth in the MAC in per-game production. DeShields finished ‘25 with 2,030 yards and 18 touchdowns against three picks and added three additional scores on the ground. Additionally, his 8.5 yards per attempt tied for No. 18 nationally among quarterbacks.

Lowry enters 2026 as the clear top quarterback in the MAC. The former Indiana quarterback shined as a runner in his first season as Western Michigan’s starter, recording 963 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground. Lowry averaged only 18.7 pass attempts per game but made the most of those opportunities. The Ohio native completed 63.4 percent of those throws for 1,803 yards and nine touchdowns against only three picks. Lowry connected on six bombs of 40-plus yards and tossed two scores in Western Michigan’s 41-6 bowl rout of Kennesaw State.

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Aug 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos

MAC Quarterback Rankings for 2026

Archives