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Whatever happened to a good old-fashioned quarterback battle?
Sure, there are still a few major ones underway across college football, none more compelling than at Alabama. But offseason competitions at this position seem as if they’re starting to go the way of the fax machine on signing day.
If a major program has two or more QBs competing throughout the offseason, that’s usually due to inexperience. And in this revenue-sharing era, everybody’s paying for the luxury of experience.
Two-hundred FBS scholarship quarterbacks entered the transfer portal in January. We’re expecting to see 30 or more transfers take over as starters for the Power 4’s 68 programs in 2026. Among the QB situations that appear settled exiting spring ball, only 16 of 55 teams (29%) are set to start passers they signed out of high school.
And now that the spring transfer portal has been eliminated, schools must lock in their QB plan in January and spend accordingly.
If a Power 4 program wanted to get an experienced passer out of the portal for the 2026 season, it had to put together a deal for $2 million or more in a lot of cases. When you’re investing that much for a single player on a roughly $15 million rev-share budget, everybody knows who’s starting the opener — no matter how much coachspeak is used in news conferences.
The NCAA establishing harsh penalties for programs that add post-spring “ghost transfers” just reinforced this reality. Everybody’s locked in, including the backups. For Texas’ Steve Sarkisian and his coaching peers who do post-spring meetings with every player in their program, this year’s round was a refreshing experience.
“This year’s exit meetings were a lot more enjoyable for me, because I wasn’t having to deal with the spring transfer portal,” Sarkisian reported in a radio interview with Austin’s 1300 The Zone. “There was never a talk of transferring this year. There was never a talk of, ‘I want more money’ or, ‘So-and-so is offering me more money and I really want to stay, but how can I stay if they’re offering me more?’ None of that was going on.”
Last year, the spring portal proved to be extremely impactful for several QB situations. Tennessee and UCLA made the unprecedented Nico Iamaleava-for-Joey Aguilar swap. Bear Bachmeier left Stanford and ended up leading BYU to a 12-win season as a true freshman. And the most important move was one few paid too much attention to at the time: Ole Miss finding an invaluable backup in Ferris State’s Trinidad Chambliss.
The elimination of the spring portal this year forced quarterbacks to think critically in January about their opportunity for 2026 and whether staying to compete was worth the risk.
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Alberto Mendoza, the younger brother of Fernando Mendoza, signed with Georgia Tech one day after the national title win instead of going through a spring battle with Josh Hoover. Miami’s Emory Williams made a similar decision and lined up a transfer to East Carolina while the Hurricanes were still searching for a big-name starter. Gio Lopez started 11 games for North Carolina last season but believed it was wiser to transfer to Wake Forest than battle with Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards Jr. to win back his job.
How many of these unresolved QB competitions will go all the way to Week 1? Some coaches are getting tired of playing that game. At Florida State, Mike Norvell has already called the race for Auburn transfer Ashton Daniels over Kevin Sperry, even though the Seminoles have top junior college transfer Malachi Marshall arriving this summer.
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz named Ole Miss transfer Austin Simmons his starter last month with the hope that it lets their QB1 be a leader this summer and lets this team rally and grow around him.
“I think one of the things that I went back and looked at where last year didn’t go the way we wanted it to was the error in not naming a starting quarterback soon enough and allowing leadership to take hold within our team,” Drinkwitz told reporters.
Power 4 quarterbacks are moving on from their first school earlier than ever, now that they’re permitted unlimited transfers. Eight ESPN 300 quarterbacks from the 2025 class have already transferred entering Year 2. Moving toward 5-for-5 eligibility in the future and getting out of the four-game redshirt business might help some. But for every QB who isn’t starting, the clock is ticking.
Now that we’re out of spring practice, here are 10 prominent and unresolved quarterback competitions worth watching.
Jump to a QB battle:
Alabama | Tennessee | Clemson | Arizona State
Florida | Virginia | Vanderbilt
Duke | Iowa | Arkansas
Illustration by ESPNAlabama Crimson Tide
Keelon Russell vs. Austin Mack
Within two days of Ty Simpson declaring for the NFL draft on Jan. 7, Alabama re-signed both of his backups for 2026. Coach Kalen DeBoer describes both Russell and Mack as “high-ceiling” talents, who won’t make deciding the starter easy for the head coach and his offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.
Russell, the No. 2 overall recruit in last year’s ESPN 300, got his opportunity to shine in the A-Day spring game: 240 yards and four touchdowns while completing 21 of 33 passes and leading seven scoring drives. He’s an extremely confident dual-threat talent who evoked comparisons to a “video game” player from receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams after his spring performance.
Mack was “dinged up” and limited in the spring game, but he out-snapped Russell (62-36) in backup duties last season, including 22 in relief of an injured Simpson in the Rose Bowl loss to Indiana. One advantage worth noting: Mack is in his fourth year under this coaching staff (including time at Washington).
DeBoer and Grubb will take the competition into fall camp and see who takes care of the football and best leads their offense. Last year, DeBoer informed his team that Simpson would start on Aug. 11. He might take a little longer with this one, but the Crimson Tide do open SEC play early with a Week 2 test at Kentucky.
Faizon Brandon vs. George MacIntyre
Coach Josh Heupel and his staff were in a tricky spot in January and knew their situation could shake out a few different ways. They supported Joey Aguilar in his efforts to seek an additional season of eligibility, which was eventually denied in late February. They brought in coveted Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt for an official visit and stayed in that battle with LSU and Miami until the end. They also considered taking Missouri transfer Beau Pribula while the Aguilar and Leavitt situations were still unresolved.
Instead, they’ve moving forward with a redshirt freshman battling a true freshman. MacIntyre played 18 snaps as a backup last season while redshirting. Brandon comes in with five-star hype as ESPN’s No. 14 overall recruit but has a lot to learn in Heupel’s offense, as all freshmen do. The Vols also brought in transfer Ryan Staub, who made one start at Colorado last season, to push them.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Brandon should be physically ready to play as a freshman and would clearly be the long-term upside play. Can he put in the work over the next few months and play clean enough in fall camp to make Heupel comfortable with rolling out a rookie in the SEC?
Christopher Vizzina vs. Tait Reynolds
Reynolds was undeniably the breakout star of spring practice for the Tigers. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound true freshman, a four-star recruit from Arizona, came in and proved he’ll be ready to play early in his first semester in the program. But coach Dabo Swinney has a lot of faith in Vizzina and his preparedness to step up and embrace his starting opportunity.
The fourth-year junior has appeared in 14 games and logged 233 snaps as a backup to Cade Klubnik. Vizzina got a chance to start against SMU last season and threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns on 29-of-42 passing in a 35-24 loss.
Reynolds competed with three other passers for No. 2 duties this spring and left no doubt he was the best option. Swinney has been describing him as an “elite talent” since signing day, and it seems clear his time will come sooner than later. The fact Clemson opens the season at LSU is tough to ignore in this discussion. Vizzina’s experience is a significant advantage, but Reynolds will keep pushing him in August.
Cutter Boley vs. Jake Fette
Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham never threw a public fit over losing Leavitt to the portal, and there’s a good reason for that. He thanked the Sun Devils’ two-year starter for his contributions and moved forward because Dillingham trusts he can find and develop another great one. Coming out of spring practice, he has some intriguing options.
The Sun Devils quickly locked in on Boley as their portal target and brought in the 6-foot-5 redshirt sophomore. He put enough on tape over his 11 starts at Kentucky to suggest there’s plenty of untapped potential, but Boley will have to earn the job. Fette came in as the No. 147 overall recruit in the 2026 ESPN 300 and wowed with his first impression.
“Jake’s had a great, great spring,” Dillingham told reporters. “Super mature for his age. I’ve been really happy with how he’s progressed and his competitiveness. He’s a competitor.”
Mikey Keene gives ASU more experience with his 34 career starts at Fresno State and UCF, and Cameron Dyer was the backup late last season as a freshman after recovering from a torn ACL. This competition is expected to continue into fall camp. Like Swinney, Dillingham will have to decide if he’s willing to throw a true freshman into the fire with a high-pressure test at Texas A&M looming in Week 2.
Aaron Philo vs. Tramell Jones Jr.
New Gators coach Jon Sumrall is expected to take this quarterback decision into fall camp, and it certainly will be an interesting tone-setter for Year 1 of this rebuild.
Philo was the hand-picked portal addition that offensive coordinator Buster Faulker brought with him from Georgia Tech. Sumrall has reported Faulker has “extreme confidence” in Philo, and he has flashed exciting potential in wins over NC State in 2024 and Gardner-Webb in 2025. Two years learning under Faulker gave him a clear head start in operating this offense, but Sumrall didn’t guarantee him the starting job during his recruitment.
That’s because he wants competition at QB and every other position this offseason. Jones earned the backup job behind DJ Lagway as a true freshman last year and played 69 snaps over two games while redshirting. If he can play with efficiency in this offense, he’ll have a chance. The future is bright for both young passers and the supporting cast of skill talent is impressive with running back Jadan Baugh and wide receivers Vernell Brown III, Eric Singleton Jr. and Dallas Wilson.
Beau Pribula vs. Eli Holstein
Much like Tennessee, Virginia was searching for a starter in the portal while simultaneously waiting for a verdict on Chandler Morris’ eligibility for 2026. The Cavaliers eventually got their guy in Pribula from Missouri and then received a pleasant surprise when Holstein was still willing to commit. The Pitt transfer has two more years of eligibility and was open to a situation where he’d have to compete and potentially wait his turn. Pribula and Holstein bring a combined 24 career starts at Power 4 programs and have both put together successful stretches. Pribula helped lead Missouri to a 6-1 start last year, and Holstein rolled to a 7-0 start with the Panthers in 2024.
Jared Curtis vs. Blaze Berlowitz
Heisman finalist Diego Pavia helped convince Curtis to flip his commitment from Georgia last December and stay home. The question is: How quickly can the five-star recruit prove he’s ready to play? Curtis has everything a coach wants from an arm talent standpoint, but Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea wants to see growth in his mental processing as he continues to learn how to command their offense. Berlowitz started his career at New Mexico State and has the advantage of being in his fourth year with OC Tim Beck. That system experience and time learning behind Pavia could ultimately make him the favorite to start the season opener against FCS Austin Peay.
Walker Eget vs. Dan Mahan
When Darian Mensah made his move to Miami right at the portal deadline in late January, Duke didn’t have many experienced options still available in the portal. Coach Manny Diaz and his staff took a chance on Eget, a San Jose State transfer who didn’t get cleared by the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility until Feb. 19. Eget threw for a combined 5,555 yards over the past two seasons with the Spartans (fifth most among G5 passers) and is walking into an ideal opportunity and quality supporting cast with the defending ACC champs. He has impressed Diaz since arriving on campus but will still have to compete with Mahan, a promising redshirt freshman who did not appear in a game last season.
Hank Brown vs. Jeremy Hecklinski
Third-year Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester has an interesting decision to make between two passers who bring different playing styles to his system. Brown is a 6-foot-4 passer who started two games at Auburn and appeared in three games with the Hawkeyes last season. Lester praised his efficiency and ability to generate explosive plays this spring, an encouraging sign for an offense with the fifth-fewest 20-plus yard completions (45) in FBS since 2024. Hecklinski, a former Wake Forest transfer, is listed at 5-foot-11 and prides himself on being more of a playmaker and risk-taker. He is more unproven with 12 career snaps over his first two seasons. Lester saw encouraging improvement from both this spring and has no timetable for a decision.
KJ Jackson vs. AJ Hill
Coach Ryan Silverfield saw enough good things from both Jackson and Hill this spring to keep this competition going into the summer. Jackson, a 6-foot-4 left-hander, showed promise as a redshirt freshman last season in coming off the bench to burn Texas’ defense for 223 total yards and two TDs, and he started the finale against Missouri. He agreed to stay on with the new coaching staff and keep fighting to be QB1. His top challenger, Hill, was a top-100 recruit in ESPN’s rankings and nearly led Memphis to a comeback win over UAB in his college debut last season. The Razorbacks’ offensive direction will depend a bit on who wins this job, with Jackson providing more dual-threat ability if he’s the pick.
More to watch: West Virginia (Michael Hawkins Jr. vs. Scotty Fox Jr.); Kansas (Cole Ballard vs. Isaiah Marshall, Chase Jenkins); Cincinnati (JC French IV vs. Liam O’Brien, Samaj Jones); Rutgers (AJ Surace vs. Dylan Lonergan); South Florida (Michael Van Buren vs. Luke Kromenhoek); Memphis (Marcus Stokes vs. Air Noland); James Madison (Camden Coleman vs. Arrington Maiden, JC Evans, Davi Belfort)
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