We talk all the time about how college football has changed, but one thing hasn’t changed: if you don’t have a quarterback, you’d better have one hell of a football team around him.
Going into the 2026 season, there are several quarterbacks I really like. Some have already proven themselves. Some are still living partly on potential. And there are a couple on this list that I’m taking a chance on.
This isn’t necessarily a ranking of who will be the first quarterback drafted. It’s my ranking of the quarterbacks I think can have the biggest impact on college football this season.
- Josh Hoover — Indiana
I’ve got Josh Hoover at No. 1 because I think he gives Indiana exactly what you want at quarterback: experience, toughness and the ability to run an offense without constantly putting his team in bad situations.
Hoover has played a lot of football, and at this position that matters. You can have all the arm talent in the world, but there’s something to be said for a quarterback who has seen just about everything a defense can throw at him.
Indiana has become a legitimate national program, and Hoover steps into a situation where the expectations are no longer just to have a good season. They’re expected to compete for championships.
- Trinidad Chambliss — Ole Miss
Some people may think I’m too high on Trinidad Chambliss.
I don’t.
Chambliss is one of the most interesting quarterbacks in the country because he brings something defenses absolutely hate dealing with: he can hurt you when the play breaks down.
He can throw it, he can run it, and he has that improvisational ability that turns what looks like a busted play into a 25-yard gain.
After what we saw from him last season, I’m buying in. I think Chambliss has a chance to become one of the biggest names in college football this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we’re talking about him in the Heisman conversation.
- LaNorris Sellers — South Carolina
Physically, there may not be another quarterback in college football quite like LaNorris Sellers.
He’s huge. He’s athletic. He can run through you, run around you and throw the football down the field.
The question with Sellers isn’t talent. We’ve already seen the talent.
For him to take the next step, I want to see more consistency as a passer and better decision-making from the pocket. If that happens, his ceiling is enormous.
And when you’re built like a linebacker but can run like a tailback and have an NFL-caliber arm, defensive coordinators don’t get much sleep the week they’re preparing for you.
- Darian Mensah — Miami
Mensah is another quarterback I’m expecting to make a significant jump.
What I like about him is his combination of arm talent and composure. He doesn’t have to rely entirely on athleticism to make things happen. He can operate from the pocket, work through an offense and deliver the football.
Now he’s at Miami, where playing quarterback comes with expectations.
Miami isn’t looking for eight wins and a nice bowl trip. They’re trying to compete for the ACC championship and get into the College Football Playoff.
Mensah has the talent to take them there.
- DJ Lagway — Baylor
This is probably the quarterback I struggled with the most when putting this list together.
I was extremely high on DJ Lagway last year.
And frankly, he disappointed me.
I expected him to take that big step and become one of the dominant quarterbacks in college football, and it just didn’t happen the way I thought it would.
So why do I still have him fifth?
Because he’s still the same athlete I was so high on in the first place.
The arm didn’t disappear. The athletic ability didn’t disappear. The physical tools didn’t disappear.
Sometimes we forget these are young quarterbacks and development isn’t always a straight line. I’m willing to give Lagway another shot.
But this year I need to see it.
At some point, potential has to become production.
- John Mateer — Oklahoma
Mateer is the kind of quarterback I enjoy watching because he’s not afraid to make something happen.
He’s aggressive, athletic and capable of creating offense outside the structure of the play.
That can occasionally get quarterbacks into trouble, but I’d rather have to calm a quarterback down than constantly try to convince him to pull the trigger.
If Oklahoma can give him protection and some help around him, Mateer has enough ability to make the Sooners dangerous.
- Sam Leavitt — LSU
I’ll admit this one too.
I may have Sam Leavitt a little high.
But there’s something about his game I like.
He’s confident, mobile and isn’t afraid to push the football downfield. And now we’ll find out what he looks like when the expectations are enormous and every SEC defense has spent the offseason studying him.
That’s why I have him seventh instead of putting him near the top.
The talent is there.
Now I want to see whether the production follows.
- Bryce Underwood — Michigan
This one is about upside.
Bryce Underwood has everything you’re looking for physically. He’s big, athletic and has the kind of arm that makes coaches believe they can call anything on the play sheet.
He’s also still developing.
There are going to be mistakes. There are going to be moments when he looks young. But there are also going to be plays where you look at the television and say, “Good Lord.”
If the game starts slowing down for him, Underwood could move much higher than No. 8 before this season is finished.
- Arch Manning — Texas
There probably isn’t another quarterback in America who has been discussed more than Arch Manning.
Some of that is obviously because of the last name.
But eventually we have to stop evaluating Arch as Peyton and Eli Manning’s nephew and evaluate him as Arch Manning.
The talent is certainly there.
I want to see consistency. I want to see him take over games. I want to see him become the reason Texas wins rather than simply being the quarterback of a talented Texas football team.
This could be the season when that happens.
- Marcel Reed — Texas A&M
Marcel Reed rounds out my top 10, and he’s another quarterback who can create problems with both his arm and his legs.
He’s dangerous when things break down, and that’s becoming almost mandatory at quarterback in modern college football.
What I’m looking for from Reed is another level of consistency throwing the football. If he develops that part of his game, Texas A&M becomes a much more difficult team to defend.
And he could make this No. 10 ranking look way too low.
THE BOTTOM LINE
There isn’t a Trevor Lawrence or Joe Burrow sitting at the top of this list where I can tell you there’s a massive gap between No. 1 and everybody else.
That’s actually what makes this group interesting.
Hoover is my No. 1. Chambliss is my guy to make a serious run at becoming a superstar. Sellers may have the best collection of physical tools on the entire list.
Lagway is my biggest question mark because I expected so much more from him last season, but I’m not ready to give up on that talent.
Leavitt might be a little high.
Underwood might end up being way too low.
And Arch Manning still has an opportunity to show everybody that the hype surrounding him wasn’t simply because of his last name.
That’s the fun of preseason rankings.
They look great in August. Then they start playing football and make all of us explain ourselves in October.
— JB’s Talking Sports
