The newest buzz from college football’s biggest quarterback competitions

Alabama Crimson Tide

Can the Tide afford to not start Keelon Russell? 

This is a tight battle between second-year freshman Keelon Russell and redshirt junior Austin Mack. Sources have shared strong reviews on the talent level of Russell, but redshirt junior Austin Mack, who began his career under Kalen DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb at Washington, has experience with this offensive system dating back to 2023. Mack was a more consistent game manager during the spring, per sources.

One source put it in the 60-40 range that Russell ends up starting the Crimson Tide’s opener against ECU. Another put it at 55-45. Russell is a former No. 2 overall recruit from the 2025 class who Alabama paid handsomely to sign, and then eschewed hitting the transfer portal for a quarterback to replace Ty Simpson in part because that would have scared off Russell, so there’s plenty of logic that suggests the Tide are pulling for him to win the job. 

In order to lock that down, though, Russell will have to improve his consistency. Sources have also shared that there’s still an element of unknown in terms of how he’ll look and respond at points when the defense is able to hit him, which hasn’t happened often this offseason. 

Arkansas Razorbacks

The SEC’s most anonymous QB battle

Compared to some of the other national headliners, there’s an under-the-radar quarterback competition ongoing in Fayetteville. Part of that is because neither challenger for the job has much experience.

KJ Jackson enters this year with one career start while Memphis transfer AJ Hill threw only 32 passes last season as a true freshman. They are each former four-star recruits, though, which gives Arkansas a nice talent floor at the position. Arkansas is optimistic about its options.

The competition remains ongoing, but it’s fair to say Jackson holds the edge going into fall camp because of his experience. 

“He’s the older kid. He’s played. He’s been around,” a source stated this summer. “AJ is still young.”

Arizona State Sun Devils

Two good options to replace Sam Leavitt

Kentucky transfer Cutter Boley is the favorite to replace Sam Leavitt as Arizona State’s starting quarterback. Boley, who ranked as a four-star transfer, started the final 10 games for Kentucky last season as a redshirt freshman.

“It’s his job to lose,” a source stated.

However, Boley will have to continue to hold off a group that includes Mikey Keene, formerly of UCF, Fresno State and Michigan. While it’s likely that Boley wins the job, sources have shared that Keene — who’s made 35 career starts — fared well during the spring and will be an option if Boley struggles during fall camp or the season. The team also likes four-star true freshman Jake Fette.

Florida Gators

It’s Philo’s job to lose

Aaron Philo has the edge in this competition entering fall camp. 

While redshirt freshman Tramell Jones had a few practices during the spring where he outperformed Philo, the Georgia Tech transfer — who played under new Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner at Georgia Tech — was the more consistent of the two during the spring and clearly outperformed Jones in about 10 of those 15 spring practices, per sources.

Philo, who was Haynes King’s backup last season, also impressed sources with his ability to bounce back from any lackluster days he had during spring practice.

“If Philo had a tough day, then the next day he’d kill it,” a source stated.

Tennessee Volunteers

Ballyhooed 5-star freshman should win job

While nothing’s been decided, there’s a ton of steam on five-star true freshman Faizon Brandon entering fall camp. The No. 3 prospect in the class of 2026 is the favorite to win the job over George Macintyre. 

“George operated better (overall) during the spring, but physically, Faizon’s really gifted,” a source stated.

Sources have raved about the mental makeup and advanced maturity level of Brandon, who won two state championships for at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina. He’s also added a good amount of quality weight since first arriving in Knoxville, per sources.

There were normal freshman growing pains during spring practice, but there were also moments where Brandon wowed folks with his arm talent. Sources were impressed at different stages with his ability to bounce back from mistakes and how he handled going against a defense led by new Tennessee defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

“This kid’s got moxie,” a source stated. “He’s got the ability obviously, but he’s also got that moxie, personality and confidence.”

Vanderbilt Commodores

Is 5-star frosh immediate Pavia replacement?

It may just be the year of the freshman QB in the SEC. Right ahead of Brandon in the Top247 rankings for the class of 2026? Jared Curtis, who is vying to win the Vanderbilt job as the heir apparent to Diego Pavia. 

The No. 2 overall player in the 2026 class and the top-ranked recruit in program history, Curtis arrived at Vanderbilt with lofty expectations. He largely met them during the spring, impressing the staff with arm talent and arm strength that team sources view as being as good as anyone in the SEC.

“He’s as good as we hoped he’d be,” a source stated over the summer.

But that doesn’t mean Curtis is a lock for the starting job Week 1.

He’s still a freshman and makes some of the mistakes young passers make. And he’s up against long-time system veteran Blaze Berlowitz, who came with some of the offensive staff from New Mexico State. Berlowitz had a strong spring, and the quarterback competition remains undecided entering fall camp.

Fall camp updates on top 5 QBs in 2026 class

Player	School	Newest
Keisean Henderson	Houston	QB2 to Conner Weigman
Jared Curtis	Vanderbilt	Battling for QB1
Faizon Brandon	Tennessee	Battling for QB1
Jett Thomalla	Alabama	Battling for QB3
Dia Bell	Texas	Battling for QB3

It seems likely that Curtis will end up starting at some point in 2026 — and sources shared that the staff was happy with his work during the summer — but Berlowitz nevertheless shouldn’t be discounted entering fall camp.

“The other guys in the room are playing good football right now,” the source stated. “It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out.”

Other QB battles we’re tracking

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights’ QB battle is too close to call entering fall camp with returnee AJ Surace battling Boston College transfer Dylan Lonergan. Surace has the advantage in system experience but Longeran has played far more with 292 career passing attempts compared to just nine for Surace. 

Iowa: Iowa’s other quarterback transfers from the 2025 offseason alongside Mark Gronowski are now battling for the starting job. Hank Brown came from Auburn and Jeremy Hecklinski from Wake Forest. Both, particularly Hecklinski, showed enough last season for Iowa to hold pat in the portal. Brown closed the gap in spring ball and it’s neck-and-neck going into fall camp. 

Kansas: The Jayhawks might have the most open quarterback competition in the country as junior Cole Ballard and sophomore Isaiah Marshall received equal reps in the spring. Meanwhile, Rice transfer Chase Jenkins was limited by injuries but remains in the mix. Kansas head coach Lance Leipold stated at Big 12 media days he expects both Ballard and Marshall to play this fall no matter who wins the job out of camp. 

Duke: The Blue Devils QB competition is a clash of system experience versus on-field reps. There’s a lot of confidence in redshirt freshman Dan Mahan in Durham, but he’s yet to throw a pass in his career. That’s why Duke made the last-second call following Darian Mensah’s transfer to add San Jose State’s Walker Eget, who’s made 18 career starts with 5,563 passing yards in his career. Eget was recovering from an injury for a lot of spring, so he had limited reps. The competition remains ongoing.