Category: College Football

College football fans who appreciate elite quarterback play are in for a treat next season. This budding crop of elite signal callers in next year’s NFL Draft class is anchored by projected Heisman candidates who will show out in 2026. You should pencil in several scintillating playoff matchups featuring expected first-rounders. 

CBS Sports has spent the offseason flipping on the tape, talking to various staffs and gathering intel on the game’s best this spring, handicapping each Power Four conference at the quarterback position in the form of player rankings. We’re not ignoring the Group of Six arms, either. There’s plenty within that group who could crash the CFP discussion next season, including starters UNLV, Boise State and Memphis.

Think of these Power Four 1-68 quarterback rankings as a fluid exercise with changes coming as more info comes in this offseason, especially once spring practice is over and depth charts are more solid. These rankings are slotted using our conference-by-conference power ratings from individual analysts, then adjusted accordingly from a national scope. The more experienced passers with eye-opening numbers rise while those who have struggled or might be Year 1 as possible starters round out the group.

🏈 Conference QB supremacy

Notre Dame excluded as an independent program

ConferenceAvg Rank ↓Median ↓Top 10Top 25Avg of Top 5 ↓TotalSEC27.325.0486.816Big Ten32.830.0478.018Big 1237.634.50517.416ACC41.844.01419.217

Check out all of our spring quarterback rankings by conference here: SEC | ACC| Big 12 | Big Ten | Group of Six

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STILLWATER — The first piece of Oklahoma State football gear Julian Wilson was handed after being hired onto Eric Morris’ coaching staff was a bright orange shirt.

The perfect item for Wilson’s Bedlam transition.

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A high school star at Southmoore, Wilson played defensive back at OU before a brief NFL career. Now 34 years old, Wilson has been on the rise in the coaching ranks the last several years.

And he has landed back in his home state, following Morris from North Texas.

“The first shirt I put on was bright orange,” Wilson said with a smile. “That was the first thing they gave me when we came here. I already had my Jordans ready to rock with it.

“It’s good, man. You gotta understand, I’m an Oklahoma kid. I’m from this state. I was born here, raised here. That’s my alma mater. It’s nothing but love there. But now, I’m employed by Oklahoma State, so I’m gonna give the Pokes everything I got.”

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Top photos of Oklahoma State football QB Drew Mestemaker, Cowboys in spring practice

Trip White (30) runs drills during Oklahoma State football practice in Stillwater, Okla., on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Top photos of Oklahoma State football QB Drew Mestemaker, Cowboys in spring practice

Trip White (30) runs drills during Oklahoma State football practice in Stillwater, Okla., on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Top photos of Oklahoma State football QB Drew Mestemaker, Cowboys in spring practice

Head coach Eric Morris stands on the field during Oklahoma State football practice in Stillwater, Okla., on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Top photos of Oklahoma State football QB Drew Mestemaker, Cowboys in spring practice

Caleb Hawkins (24) runs drills during Oklahoma State football practice in Stillwater, Okla., on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.

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Top photos of Oklahoma State football QB Drew…

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As spring practice comes to a close for most teams this month, there are five undecided quarterback competitions we’re keeping an eye on across the Power Four ranks, along with several others expected to continue into fall camp later this year.

Schools are allotted 15 spring practices for player development, schematic installation and position battles before breaking for the three-month offseason ahead of the 2026 season. Multiple scrimmages — and a spring game for a few — provide coaching staffs with live action to determine where a competitor stands in the quarterback race and who leads the huddle with precise decisions.

For transfer quarterbacks, spring drills are imperative toward establishing relationships and familiarizing themselves with personnel and terminology before the real fight begins in August.

Tennessee 

Challengers: George MacIntyre, Faizon Brandon, Ryan Staub (Colorado transfer)
Frontrunner: George MacIntyre

The latest ahead of Saturday’s spring game: After a Knoxville judge denied Joey Aguilar’s request for another season with the Vols, Josh Heupel was forced to turn to Plan B — choosing a redshirt freshman, five-star true freshman or a depth signing to lead the first-team next season. MacIntyre had nine total passing attempts last season behind Aguilar, while Staub started two games in three years with the Buffaloes.

Coming out of Tennessee’s second spring scrimmage this month, Heupel didn’t reveal who he was leaning toward, but MacIntyre and Brandon…

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Less than a week remains until Florida football’s annual Orange and Blue Game, which also represents the end of the spring practice season. With the program in reboot mode, many questions still surround the Gators, including the starting quarterback job.

Among the many changes to have taken place over the past few months was the acquisition of former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Aaron Philo through the NCAA transfer portal, as well as the addition of his offensive coach at that same school, Buster Faulkner. Without a clear incumbent for the QB1 spot, Philo is entrenched in a battle with rising redshirt sophomore Tramell Jones.

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The two have served as backups during their young collegiate careers — Jones held the clipboard for DJ Lagway last season in Gainesville while Philo played behind Haynes King in Atlanta. Both are looking to take a step forward this coming fall and take over as the starting play-caller.

CBS Sports writer Brad Crawford recently looked at some of the hottest spring football quarterback battles, including the one happening right now in the Swamp. He currently has Philo out in front, but his ascendance into the starting role is anything but a foregone conclusion at this point.

“Philo may have the leg up on Jones, given the arrival of Buster Faulkner as Florida’s new offensive coordinator,” Crawford begins. “Philo studied under Faulkner the last two seasons with the Yellow Jackets, playing behind veteran quarterback Haynes King. The Georgia native played in two games as a redshirt freshman, including a 373-yard start against Gardner-Webb with King on the mend.”

His competition is “a former three-star signee in 2025 who flipped his commitment from Florida State, re-signed with the Gators in December after meeting with first-year coach Jon Sumrall.” Jones completed 21 of 35 passes for 191…

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TCU coach Sonny Dykes has agreed to a multi-year contract extension with the Horned Frogs, according to ESPN. Coming out of his fourth season at the program, Dykes is 36-17 overall at TCU, which includes 13 wins during his first year in 2022 when he led the Horned Frogs to the College Football Playoff National Championship.

Dykes made just over $7 million in salary last season, which ranked third-highest in the Big 12. The offensive guru’s success rate since taking the job ahead of the 2022 campaign after leaving SMU following Gary Patterson’s illustrious tenure is impressive, and now he’s being rewarded for it.

Dykes, whose previous contract in Fort Worth was good through 2028, has posted consecutive 9-4 finishes.

The Horned Frogs enter a transition year under Dykes in 2026 after offensive coordinator Kendal Briles and offensive line coach Randy Clements left for vacancies on Shane Beamer’s staff at South Carolina. Among several personnel changes, starting quarterback Josh Hoover entered the transfer portal and signed with reigning national champion Indiana. 

Former UConn assistant Gordon Sammis will be calling plays for TCU this season, and Dykes expects fewer mistakes offensively as a result.

“Look, numbers are numbers and stats are stats,” Dykes said this spring. “I think (ex-TCU quarterback) Josh (Hoover) started 31 games here as a quarterback, and we turned the ball over 40 — he turned the ball over 42 times in those 31 starts. And you look at Gordy was the offensive coordinator last year at Connecticut, and their quarterback turned it over twice.”

TCU’s administration has changed since Dykes’ arrival. Mike Buddie became the Horned Frogs’ ninth athletic director on June 1, 2025, following Jeremiah Donati’s departure to South…

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Florida State is searching for more talent in the secondary in its 2027 recruiting class. They landed a commitment from three-star athlete Dayon Cooper on Saturday, who they’re recruiting as a cornerback.

Speaking of cornerbacks, FSU held its second scrimmage of the spring, and blue-chip recruit Joshua Vilmael was in attendance. His visit went great, and the 6-foot-3, 185-pounder has locked in an official visit with the Seminoles for June 19, per Chris Nee of Noles247.

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Vilmael received an offer from Florida State back in January. Getting him to set an official visit after his first trip to campus is a good sign for the Seminoles. Two weeks before he comes back to Tallahassee, Vilmael will take an official visit to Houston.

It was a productive junior campaign for Vilmael. He registered two interceptions, seven pass breakups, four forced fumbles, four blocked kicks, and three tackles for loss. He garnered All-District 21-6A First Team honors for his efforts.

The Fort Bend Travis High School star is the nation’s No. 235 prospect and the No. 29 cornerback per the 247Sports composite rankings. In the state of Texas, Vilmael is the No. 33 recruit.

Contact/Follow us @FSUWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes and opinions. You can also follow Matthew on X @StarConscience

This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU Football: CB Joshua Vilmael sets official visit with Florida State

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Israel Abrams, a four-star recruit and the No. 2 quarterback in the 2027 signing class, has committed to Miami, he anounced Friday. Abrams is ranked as the No. 14 overall prospect in his class, per 247Sports, and that makes him the highest-ranked quarterback Mario Cristobal has landed at Miami.

Abrams, a rising senior at Montini Catholic in Arlington Heights, Ill., owns a 24-0 record as a starter in high school. Abrams has led the Broncos to back-to-back state championships — one at the Class 3A level and another at the Class 4A level.

This past season, Abrams completed 68.5% of his passes for 4,072 yards, 40 touchdowns and just six interceptions. He also rushed for 224 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the state title game, Abrams threw for 425 yards while totaling five touchdowns.

247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins compared Abrams to UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava while highlighting his “easy exit velocity with a rapid release.” Ivins also described Abrams as a “potential high-level distributor for a College Football Playoff hopeful.”

While it may not be surprising to see Miami doing well on the recruiting trail, this is a different tact for the program give how it has handled the quarterback position in recent years.

Miami steering away from high-profile transfers?

In each of the last three years, the Hurricanes have spent big on hired guns at the quarterback position. It was Cam Ward in 2024, Carson Beck led the team to the national title game last season, and Miami lured Darian Mensah away from Duke this offseason.

Thus far, it’s been tough to argue with the results. Ward and Beck put together a combined record of 23-6. The former went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, which certainly doesn’t hurt…

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Tennessee is recruiting toward its 2027 football signing class.

Four-star safety Ta’Shawn Poole named Tennessee in his top six schools, along Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Georgia and Florida State, according to Hayes Fawcett of On3.

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The 6-foot-2, 185-pound prospect is from Howard High School in Macon, Georgia. 247Sports ranks him as the No. 4 safety in the class and No. 6 player in Georgia.

Tennessee offered Poole a scholarship on Feb. 21, 2025. He unofficially visited Tennessee for the Vols’ game against Arkansas on Oct. 11, 2025 and for a spring practice on Thursday. He has an official visit to Tennessee scheduled for June 5.

UNLV was the first school to offer Poole a scholarship on Aug. 1, 2024. Other schools to offer him scholarships include Louisville, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Auburn, Missouri, Delaware State, Miami, North Carolina State, Kentucky, Nebraska, Georgia State, Sacramento State, Florida, Howard, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Memphis, Connecticut, North Carolina, Penn State, Ole Miss, Indiana, Wake Forest, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech.

Tennessee has six commitments in its 2027 football recruiting class: linebacker JP Peace, offensive tackle Princeton Uwaifo, defensive lineman Kadin Fife, quarterback Derrick Baker, athlete Jaden Butler and wide receiver KeSean Bowman.

This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: 2027 four-star safety names Tennessee football in top six schools

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