2 weeks Ago
From potential Heisman Trophy contenders, like Penn State’s Drew Allar and Illinois’ Luke Altmyer, to young prospects in Ann Arbor and Columbus and major additions in Iowa City and Westwood, there is no shortage of intrigue among Big Ten quarterbacks. With spring practice wrapping up over the next week, it’s a prime opportunity to break down each program’s quarterback situations. Rather than rank them, we split them into five categories.
Let’s start with UCLA, the program deserving of its own section. Advertisement UCLA Who would have expected that UCLA would be the story of the spring ? Nico Iamaleava made his signing official Sunday, and the Bruins have massively upgraded at quarterback. Whether it will come with headaches remains an open question.
Iamaleava completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions last year at Tennessee. He guided the Vols to a College Football Playoff berth before entering the portal this spring following a reported financial impasse.
Iamaleava now slots in as the starter ahead of senior Joey Aguilar, who left Appalachian State for Westwood during the winter. Aguilar threw for 3,003 yards and 23 touchdowns last season, and his future remains undetermined. The transfer portal closes on Friday.
Returning starters Drew Allar’s overall body of work puts him near the top of all returning college football quarterbacks. He completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 3,327 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions while leading Penn State to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Allar chose to return for his senior season, which in turn led talented backup Beau Pribula to transfer. The biggest question facing Allar — and Penn State — is whether he can win games in clutch situations. During the Nittany Lions’ three losses, Allar completed 53.
7 percent of his passes for an average of 169 yards. He threw only three touchdowns and four interceptions. Against both Oregon and Notre Dame, he had the ball with a chance to win or tie but tossed game-losing interceptions inside the final 100 seconds.
With Penn State trailing by a touchdown against Ohio State, Allar threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal at the Buckeyes’ 1-yard line. If Allar can elevate his performance in key moments, Penn State could not only win the Big Ten, it could also claim the national title. And Allar might win the Heisman Trophy in the process.
Advertisement Luke Altmyer has become Illinois’ most consistent high-level quarterback since Kurt Kittner led the program to its last Big Ten title in 2001. Last year, Altmyer guided the Fighting Illini to four Top 25 victories, and he threw three game-winning touchdown passes in the final minute of regulation or overtime. Overall, the senior quarterback completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,717 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions.
With Illinois’ returnees and a favorable schedule, Altmyer’s profile should grow considerably. Games against College Football Playoff teams Indiana and Ohio State could boost him into Heisman consideration. In turn, the Illini could jump into the CFP themselves.
Demond Williams backed up Will Rogers for most of last season, but when he had a chance to play, he left some wondering if his talent has a ceiling. As a true freshman, Williams started the season finale at Oregon and completed 17 of 20 passes for 201 yards. Then, in the Sun Bowl against Louisville, Williams threw for 374 yards and four touchdowns.
He added 48 rushing yards and another score on the ground. Williams, a sophomore, initially signed with Jedd Fisch at Arizona, then followed Fisch to Washington last winter. With a full offseason, Williams has a chance to become one of college football’s breakout stars.
As a true freshman last year, Dylan Raiola displayed the arm talent that led him to five-star status, but he was prone to inconsistency, like many first-year quarterbacks. He completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 2,819 yards and 13 scores, which were solid numbers in his inaugural season as a starter.
However, from the Huskers’ fifth game onward, Raiola passed for only five touchdowns and nine interceptions. Still, Raiola brings plenty of promise for a program coming off its first bowl appearance since 2016. There’s plenty of room to grow for the sophomore, and that’s exciting for Raiola and the Huskers.
Aidan Chiles oozes potential, which he flashed on occasion in his inaugural season at Michigan State. But Chiles, a junior, also displayed maddening inconsistency after transferring from Oregon State. Chiles completed more than 66 percent of his passes against Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana and Iowa.
However, he was under 50 percent against Boston College and Purdue. Overall, he completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Advertisement Athan Kaliakmanis returns for his second season leading the Scarlet Knights. He produced mixed results last fall in leading Rutgers to seven regular-season wins. A senior, Kaliakmanis threw for 2,696 yards, 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions but completed just 53.
5 percent of his passes. That fits a trend for the former Minnesota quarterback, who posted a 53.1 completion percentage as the Gophers’ starter in 2023.
New starters Mark Gronowski hasn’t thrown a single pass in spring football, but there’s little doubt that the senior transfer from South Dakota State will start for the Hawkeyes this fall. Gronowski had surgery on a slight shoulder tear, which he played through last season. It was an elective procedure, and Gronowski will be fully healthy by June 1.
In Gronowski, the Hawkeyes pick up the 2023 Walter Payton Award winner as the top FCS player. In four seasons at South Dakota State, Gronowski threw for 10,309 yards, 93 touchdowns and 20 interceptions while rushing for 1,767 yards and 37 scores. He led the Jackrabbits to a pair of national titles, plus another final and semifinal appearance in four seasons.
After a solid and inspirational season at Cal, Fernando Mendoza has established himself as the Hoosiers’ starter under second-year coach Curt Cignetti. Last year, Mendoza and the Bears made a bowl game in their first ACC season. He passed for 3,004 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 68.
7 percent of his passes in 11 games. Mendoza replaces Kurtis Rourke, who guided Indiana to the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff and its first 11-win season in school history. The Badgers signed former Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards, who threw for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns last year for the Terrapins, in December.
Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell told BTN he wanted Edwards to lead from the second he arrived in Madison, and he immediately installed the senior as his starting quarterback. In all three of Fickell’s seasons, he has acquired a starting quarterback through the transfer portal. Two years ago, it was SMU’s Tanner Mordecai.
Last year, it was Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke, who since has transferred to SMU. Both quarterbacks missed time with injuries, and their backup, Braedyn Locke, played in 16 games before transferring to Arizona this offseason. Advertisement The Wildcats’ quarterback play has fluctuated wildly over the past six seasons.
That’s doubly true among transfers, with their levels of success ranging from solid (Peyton Ramsey in 2020, Ben Bryant in 2023) to underwhelming (everybody else). Northwestern brought in former SMU starter Preston Stone, who threw for 3,197 yards, 28 touchdowns and only six interceptions in 2023 but was benched in favor of Kevin Jennings as the Mustangs reached the CFP last fall. Now, Stone will direct Northwestern’s passing offense, which ranked 131st nationally in yards per attempt, with seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
Trending starters After backing up Heisman Trophy finalist and Big Ten offensive player of the year Dillon Gabriel, Dante Moore has become the Ducks’ likely starter with a solid spring. Moore, a redshirt sophomore, was a five-star prospect in the class of 2023 and signed with UCLA. After splitting reps as a true freshman, Moore transferred to Oregon, where he redshirted.
The competition isn’t over, with several other quarterbacks, including Austin Novosad and Luke Moga, also vying for the starting role. But Moore is way ahead right now. Jordan Maiava replaced Miller Moss (who has since transferred to Louisville) as the Trojans’ starter for the final four games of last season and finished 3-1.
Maiava threw four touchdown passes, including the game-winner with 8 seconds left to rally from a 17-point deficit against Texas A&M in the Vegas Bowl. Maiava finished with 11 touchdowns, six interceptions and 1,201 passing yards while completing 59.8 percent of his throws.
Maiava has competition with five-star freshman Husan Longstreet and transfer Sam Huard (Utah/Cal Poly/Washington) this spring. Maiava, a junior who began his career at Liberty, then transferred to UNLV, remains the odds-on favorite to open the season. But that’s far from automatic.
Longstreet ranked as the No. 4 quarterback in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports. The Gophers opened the spring with a wide-open competition, but by the midpoint, redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey established himself as the likely starter.
Lindsey, who completed four passes and a touchdown over three appearances in 2024, was supposed to compete with Georgia Tech transfer Zach Pyron. Lindsey outperformed him in spring practice, though, and Pyron transferred to South Alabama this week. Advertisement “Drake’s playing at a really high level,” Minnesota coach P.
J. Fleck told reporters. “Probably at a higher level than any other young player I’ve ever had at that position.
” Still open The most interesting full-scale competition is in Ann Arbor, where three players are vying to lead the Wolverines. All eyes are on true freshman Bryce Underwood , the nation’s top-ranked prospect in the 2025 class. He’s too talented to leave on the sidelines, and if the season started in May, he’d be the starter.
Whether it’s as a starter or high-valued consigliere, senior Mikey Keene will undoubtedly see action this fall. A Fresno State transfer, Keene has thrown for 8,245 yards and 65 touchdowns in four seasons, including 5,870 and 41 touchdowns in the past two years. He was out all of spring ball with an injury.
Overlooked, though clearly talented, redshirt freshman Jadyn Davis also has starting potential, but he’s currently behind Underwood. Michigan may add another quarterback from the portal, too. How the situation shakes out is undetermined, but it’s much better than it was a year ago.
College football’s spotlight shines the brightest on the national champion Buckeyes. The glare is most intense on the quarterback position, where redshirt freshman Julian Sayin has an edge over sophomore Lincoln Kienholz . Perhaps unexpectedly, the duo has enjoyed a solid competition this spring.
Sayin, a five-star recruit in 2024, vaulted up the depth chart last year while preserving his redshirt status. He played in four games and completed 5 of 12 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Kienholz didn’t play last year, but he has pushed Sayin.
It’s a healthy development for the program as it reloads following its third national title since 2002. Two quarterbacks have stood out this spring for Maryland, but true freshman Malik Washington could wind up with the job after an impressive spring, according to 247Sports’ Jeff Ermann. Washington ranked as the No.
5 overall quarterback in the 2025 class, and he brings every element to the forefront. Justyn Martin, a UCLA transfer, saw action in three games for the Bruins last year and continues to battle Washington. Advertisement Perhaps no power conference program faces as many challenges this year as Purdue, and the quarterback situation is just as murky as its other position groups.
Nobody has claimed the starting role this spring, with former Arkansas transfer Malachi Singleton and former Washington State transfer Evans Chuba battling with junior Bennett Meredith. E.J.
Colson entered the transfer portal on Thursday, and former Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne, who transferred to North Carolina last winter, committed to the Boilermakers on Saturday. Chances are, this will be an ongoing battle throughout camp and probably well into the regular season. (Photo of Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin: Ben Jackson / Getty Images).
