Big Ten QB Rankings 2026

Summary

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College Football Bros — Big Ten QB Rankings 2026

Podcast: College Football Bros
Episode: Big Ten QB Rankings 2026
Date: July 18, 2026
Hosts: Michael, Trey (Ryan is absent)

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the College Football Bros ranking all 18 starting quarterbacks in the Big Ten for the 2026 season. Michael leads the in-depth breakdown, with Trey chiming in, as they analyze each quarterback’s performance, ceiling, and fit—mixing data-driven reasoning with their trademark banter. The brothers discuss risers, fallers, and sleeper picks, and consider what this season’s QB group means for the Big Ten relative to other conferences.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Welcome & Context

• [01:33] Trey returns from hiatus
  Trey jokes about his time in Hawaii and expresses excitement for the upcoming season:

  “I'm back from my hiatus... Back to join into the middle of the quarterback rankings means the season is right around the corner.” (Trey, 01:39)

• Michael previews that their full, conference-by-conference season preview is coming soon.

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Rankings Breakdown: #18 – #1

#18 — Ryan Brown, Purdue

• Returning starter but posted poor stats: sub-60% completions, more INTs than TDs, and less than 7 YPA.
• Praised for not looking as “bad” on tape, but hampered by a weak supporting cast.

• "At best, you could put him 16 or 17th, but he's clearly towards the bottom." (Michael, 03:24)

#17 — Hank Brown, Iowa

• Typical low expectations for Iowa QB. Hank Brown (ex-Auburn) likely to start over Jeremy Hecklinski.
• Iowa offense improved post-Brian Ferentz, but QB play likely to remain below-average.

• “I just doesn't give me a lot of confidence that Hank Brown is going to come in and light it up.” (Michael, 04:34)

#16 — Dylan Lonergan, Rutgers

• BC transfer, previously at Alabama. Track record is “meh.”

• "What you've seen from Lonergan is just meh.” (Michael, 05:46)

#15 — Alessio Milivojevic, Michigan State

• Flashed potential in 4 late starts, but sacked too frequently.
• Supporting cast will likely regress, making progression difficult.

• “I just have reasons to like the guys ahead of him more.” (Michael, 06:28)

#14 — Aiden Chiles, Northwestern

• Michigan State transfer, athleticism is a plus; however, production has been middle-of-the-pack.
• Now under Chip Kelly, which could raise his upside.

• “He makes up for it in the running game... The athleticism he brings is maybe what gave him the edge.” (Michael, 07:08)

#13 — Drake Lindsay, Minnesota

• Scouts love his size/arm, but actual performance unconvincing so far.
• Michael admits not underrating him after previous “Kenny Pickett moments.”

• “This is his ceiling for me right now because I need to see some better passing production...” (Michael, 08:27)

#12 — Kaden Houser, Illinois

• Up-and-down at Michigan State, much better after transferring to ECU.
• Low INTs, high efficiency, but faces a thin Illinois O-line.

• “I think he's solid.” (Michael, 09:17)

#11 — Malik Washington, Maryland

• True freshman tested by tough Big Ten schedule, weak supporting cast.
• Great sack avoidance and mobility. Passing must improve.

• “It would take a pretty big jump in the passing game... That’s why he’s as low as 11th for me.” (Michael, 10:25)

#10 — Colton Joseph, Wisconsin

• Explosive Old Dominion transfer. Ran for 1,000 yards and threw deep often—very boom-or-bust.
• Ball security is a concern: high INT and fumble rates.

• “There’s a fairly high variance with him.” (Michael, 11:59)

#9 — Anthony Calandria, Nebraska

• UNLV transfer and former MW offensive POY. Can be great or a disaster.
• High-variance “gunslinger” whose play should benefit from Dan Mullen’s system.

• “When it goes well for Calandria, just like Joseph, it goes really well... But I fear the bust mentality.” (Michael, 12:09)

#8 — Nico Iamala, UCLA

• Tennessee transfer, promising but plagued by rough year at QB-weak UCLA.
• Running ability and a new, QB-friendly staff offer bounce-back potential.

• “I just trust [Chesney and his staff] to get the most out of him... he has the potential to be a surprise, bounce back and have a really good year.” (Michael, 14:38)

#7 — Rocco Becht, Penn State

• Veteran presence: 39 career starts at Iowa State. Not flashy, but reliable and efficient.

• “He’s solid, he’s dependable. You know what you’re going to get: a comfortably above average power four quarterback.” (Michael, 16:55)

#6 — Bryce Underwood, Michigan

• Former No. 1 recruit, still only in his second year. Mediocre spring, but massive potential remains.
• New OC should use his mobility more; receiver talent is improving.

• “The upside is still huge... I’m hoping the passing game takes a leap this year.” (Michael, 17:46)

#5 — Josh Hoover, Indiana

• TCU transfer, high-volume, efficient passer with a turnover problem.
• If he cuts down on interceptions, has Heisman-level potential.

• “If that weakness is coached out of him... then he’s got Heisman potential.” (Michael, 19:28)

#4 — Demon Williams, Washington

• Elite dual-threat. 800+ rushing yards and strong passing metrics.
• Needs to produce more in big games. Drama over attempted transfer, but “Jed Fish can get the most out of him.”

• “There’s not much to knock. Yeah, he tried to leave... but water under the bridge.” (Michael, 20:33)

#3 — Dante Moore, Oregon

• Elite but underperforms vs. top defenses; high-level talent and wins, but picks and fumbles are red flags.

• “His numbers took more of a dip than you'd hope for from an elite guy... But those are the reasons I have him a slot or two lower.” (Michael, 21:20)

#2 — Jaden Maiava, USC

• 2025 national QBR leader. Combines explosive plays, smart decision-making, and mobility. Only concern: turnover-worthy throws.

• “The eye test is incredible... he’s a playmaker, and the only issue is interceptions.” (Michael, 22:43)

• Returns a strong O-line and most of the offense.

#1 — Julian Sayin, Ohio State

• As a redshirt freshman, posted the #3 all-time single-season completion percentage (77%) with 3,600 yards and 32 TDs.
• Supported by elite talent (Jeremiah Smith), but is himself a former five-star. Pro Football Focus #1 graded QB; #2 in QBR.

• “He’s got to get some of the credit for all this production... It’s not surprising he’s out there putting up these numbers.” (Michael, 24:36)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I just have reasons to like the guys ahead of him more.” (Michael on Milivojevic, 06:28)
• “They're moving on up mostly due to the running game because it's not like Gronowski was making it rain through the air last year.” (Michael on Iowa, 04:22)
• “I just trust [Chesney and his staff] to get the most out of him... QB development has been a strong point there.” (Michael on UCLA, 14:38)
• "If you’re a Wisconsin fan, I feel like you love hearing that [Colton Joseph is a playmaker]… The offense needs a spark." (Michael, 10:52)
• “Who are those three schools?” “Was it Air Force, Army, and Navy?” “Exactly. Nailed it.” (Trey & Michael on explosive passing offenses, 11:30)

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Segment Timestamps

• 01:33: Trey returns from Hawaii, season anticipation banter
• 02:21: Structure of the episode and Michael’s role as the QB ranker
• 02:42–15:21: QB rankings from #18 to #8 (deep dives, team context, upside)
• 16:50–24:36: QB rankings from #7 to #1 (tiers emerge, elite QB analysis)
• 25:10–27:10: Discussion of tiers, biggest curiosities, and comparison with SEC
• 27:07: Postscript on Brendan Sorsby (Big 12 QB), wrapping remarks

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QB Group Observations & Takeaways

• Michael and Trey see five clear tiers within the Big Ten’s QBs, with a distinct “top 3” group (Sayin, Maiava, Moore), a very strong top 5, and several potential breakout candidates in the next tier.
• Variance: Several quarterbacks (Joseph, Calandria, Lonergan) could rise or fall dramatically depending on how they adapt to the conference/class change or new systems.
• Potential for Big Ten dominance: If Bryce Underwood fulfills his five-star billing, the hosts feel the Big Ten could have better QBs than the SEC this season.

  • "If Bryce Underwood lives up to the five-star billing... then I think they will clear the SEC in terms of quarterbacks." (Michael, 26:03)

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Listener Engagement & Forthcoming Episodes

• Listeners (“Fourth Bros”) were given closure on a previous Big 12 QB ranking question about Brendan Sorsby’s hypothetical ranking—third in the Big 12.
• The next episode will feature SEC QB rankings.

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Final Thoughts

The Bros combine humor, familiarity, and data in a candid ranking of Big Ten QBs. Their conversation is peppered with scouting tidbits, banter about “homer” picks, and honest admissions about the uncertainty surrounding rising and falling stars. They also frame the Big Ten race not just internally, but in terms of national conference strength—a theme to be continued in their SEC analysis.

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Transcript

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[Trey Newman]

Welcome to the College football bros. I am Trey Newman.

[Michael Newman]

And I'm Michael Newman.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah, how about this? I'm back from my my hiatus but back to join into the middle of the the quarterback rankings means the season is right around the corner.

[Michael Newman]

Yes sir. Do you have a good time in Hawaii?

[Trey Newman]

Oh yes. Aloha, Aloha Melikalikimaka to all who celebrate. But yeah, it's good but but now I'm glad to be back and that much closer to college football.

[Michael Newman]

It's pretty crazy.

[Trey Newman]

I was just listening on the radio like people were already breaking down. You know, training camps are coming up. It's we've almost made it.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, we are getting this close to our season preview episode. So this kind of in a way is a season preview. But our official conference by conference preview should be coming, I don't know, next couple weeks or so.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah, so. So yeah, last week Ryan and you broke down some of the other conferences but today we're going to break down the Big Ten. And Michael, you had the task of ranking all 18 of these quarterbacks. So you want to get right into it.

[Michael Newman]

Yes sir. Number 18.

[Trey Newman]

Number 18.

[Michael Newman]

Oh yeah, sorry you feed I'M used

[Trey Newman]

to hosting the charge here. This is my show. Yeah. Number 18, Ryan Brown, Purdue.

[Bill Simmons]

Yeah.

[Michael Newman]

So he is of course a returning starter, but it was not a good season. He was under the Mendoza line in any stat you look at under 60% completions, more interceptions than touchdowns, well under 7 yards per pass attempt. I feel like when I watched him the, the couple games I did watch him, he didn't look that bad. So I guess I give him some credit for that. I think it was more just. Not more just, but at least partially the fact that he does not have a good supporting cast at all. We'll see if taking a bunch of transfers will help solve that this off season. But yeah, he's at best, you could put him 16 or 17th, but he's clearly towards the bottom.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah. All right. Now, no surprise in recent years, number 17. We've got an Iowa quarterback.

[Michael Newman]

That's not a knock on them, but

[Trey Newman]

just the way it's been.

[Michael Newman]

No, it's a knock. It's a knock. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But they do win anyway and I'm sure they'll win with Hank Brown or whoever starts at quarterback because they do have Jeremy Hecklinski. Both of those guys were on the roster last year. Both transfers. Hecklinski from Wake Forest, Hank Brown from Auburn. I think they're going to miss Mark Gronowski. He just added a lot of value with his legs. And the Iowa offense was decent last year, 43rd in FPI efficiency. Tim Lester, the offensive coordinator has done a very good job after inheriting an offense that of course under. What was the Ference's name again? The young Ference, Brian Ference was consistently in the 90s and the 1000s in terms of their offensive ranking. But. But yeah, they're moving on up mostly due to the running game because it's not like Gronowski was making it rain through the air last year.

[Trey Newman]

But. Right.

[Michael Newman]

If they do go with Hank Brown and that's who I'm picking here. Just because he's at least got a little bit more experience with his, with his time at Auburn. He's a prototypical kind of big arm pocket passer, which I don't know. Like, I just, I liked the running element that Gronowski made and they haven't had a good passing quarterback for quite a while and I just doesn't give me a lot of confidence that Hank Brown is going to come in and, and light it up.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah, I hear you there. All right. Number 16, Dylan Lonergan of Rutgers.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, he's the transfer From Boston College, started his career at at Alabama. This also seems like a pretty even quarterback battle. AJ Seres, who's been at Rutgers for a couple years but has barely played, is the other guy. I'm ranking Lonergan just because it seems pretty 50 50. And at least Lonergan has a track record to go off of to rank. So he was fine at Boston College last year, but he was benched at one point for Grayson James and kind of lost his job and got it back. Or maybe it was. Maybe James got hurt. I don't remember what happened at the end there, but so clearly it wasn't an amazing season for him. He will have some great skill talent at Rutgers. KJ Duff to throw to, Antoine Raymond to hand it off to. We'll see if that helps. But I would think if you're a Rutgers fan, you're probably cheering for Sarace to emerge as the better option because what you've seen from Lonergan is just me.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah. All right. Number 15, Alessio Milivojevic at Michigan State.

[Michael Newman]

He started four games at the end of last year. He was a redshirt freshman, played pretty well, had 10 touchdowns, three picks, 7.3 yards per pass attempt. I guess I just need to see more. He also took a ton of sacks in those four games, which, which wasn't great. And I think this year the supporting cast will be even worse than last season. And when the supporting cast around you is so bad as it might be, it just seems to be a bad thing for development. So I don't know. I know our Michigan State fans listening will not like this ranking because it's not like he was bad. But I don't know, I just have reasons to. To like the guys ahead of him more.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah, we'll see what he can do for Pat Fitzgerald. And speaking of Pat Fitzgerald, kind of ironic going to Northwestern from Michigan State. Aiden Chiles.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, the Spartan fans are definitely not going to like the order of these two quarterbacks, but I thought overall last year they played about the same in the Michigan State offense. And so here's Aiden Childs in his career, 61% completions, 27 touchdowns, 14 picks, 7.3 yards per pass attempt. Like, he's been, I guess, mediocre, you'd say. Takes a lot of sacks, but he makes up for it in the running game. And now he's going to go play for Chip Kelly. So we'll see if he can get more out of him than. Than Jonathan's. Jonathan Smith. I'm not holding my breath, but he's I guess the, the athleticism he brings is maybe what gave him the edge.

[Trey Newman]

For me, it's always fun. Yeah, you always hold out with that. Number 13, Drake Lindsay Minnesota. Still there.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah. I'm deferring to the scouts a little bit. The, the NFL scouts like him six, five, two, three. He's got a strong arm. He's clearly got potential. It kind of a little bit reminds me of Kenny Pickett. For years would just put up these kind of mediocre numbers. And so I just kept lowering him on my ACC quarterback rankings list. Even though, yeah, like I said, the scouts loved him. Well, finally the scouts were right and he had this massive year and made me look like an idiot. So I'm. I'm not going to put Drake Lindsay maybe as far down as his numbers last year might indicate. He was just a redshirt freshman. The results weren't great. He was pretty inefficient as a passer, didn't do anything on the ground, but maybe he can take a little jump in his second year starting. They've got a lot returning on offense, so that's a good sign. But yeah, I'm not going to. This is his ceiling for me right now because I need to see some better passing production on the field before ranking him any higher. Like you'll see when we get to this next guy. There's no way in my opinion, Drake Lindsay at this point could be ahead of him.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah, no.

[Michael Newman]

And I like, I like this guy,

[Trey Newman]

especially at his last stop. Number 12, Kaden Houser Illinois.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, so he started his career at Michigan State, struggled as a redshirt freshman there in 2023. But that year, anybody they threw out at quarterback struggled. So I don't hold that against him too much. Transferred to ECU and made them their offense a lot better. Had over 8 yards per pass attempt in his two seasons there. Last year in particular, really cleaned up the interceptions, which had been a problem. He took very few sacks. Just had a very good season. We'll see how it translates going back up to the Big Ten. I don't love that Illinois only returns one offensive lineman starter, but he kind of trusts Brett Bielma with that position. Skill, talent is there to have a pretty good offense. And also I'm not ranking the offense around him. I'm ranking him. So, yeah, I think he's. I think he's solid.

[Trey Newman]

Number 11, Malik Washington Maryland.

[Michael Newman]

A little bit of a tough one to rank.

[Trey Newman]

I saw. I mean, I saw some lists, Big Ten and National that, like, people are really high on him.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, I think way more. You got to bake in a pretty big jump to have him, you know, in the seven or eight range of your list. I have him 11th here, so. Yeah, I mean, it was just a true freshman season. He was going up against a Big Ten schedule with not a great supporting cast around him. He has receivers dropping balls left and right, so take that into account. And when you look at it that way, then, yeah, he was pretty good. His mobility adds value both running the ball. He had over five yards of carry. Also was elite at avoiding sacks. He was. So he was second in the power four in terms of percentage of pressures that turned into sacks. That was second only to Brendan Sorsby. So that's kind of some hidden yardage that he doesn't give up there. Passing the ball needs to improve 58% completions, 6.3 yards per pass attempt. Just not going to get it done. And so, like, it would take a pretty big jump in the passing game for me to be like, oh, he's, he's good. So that's, that's why he's as low as 11th for me.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah, passing the ball is important as a, as a quarterback.

[Michael Newman]

It's pretty important. Yeah.

[Trey Newman]

Number 10, Colton Joseph, Wisconsin.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, so these next two, I really struggled with, with how to rank. You'll see who the next guy is, but I think regardless of the order, they belong right next to each other. So Joseph, transfer from Old Dominion. He was a big time playmaker there, which if you're a Wisconsin fan, I feel like you love hearing that. The offense desperately needs a spark. They need someone to, to make plays, and that's what hopefully he can do. He ran for a thousand yards last year, 6.4 yards per carry. He had 15.2 yards per completion last year. Only three schools in the country had a higher yard per completion than ODU last season. Trey, who are those three schools?

[Trey Newman]

Yards per completion. Oh, my gosh. Oh, was it. Was it Air Force, army and Navy?

[Michael Newman]

Exactly. Nailed it. Nailed it.

[Bill Simmons]

Very good.

[Michael Newman]

So, yeah, that's. That's the kind of boomer bust guy that he is. The negatives, of course, step up in class from the Sun Belt. He was also turnover prone. High interception rate, second in the nation in fumbles. So, yeah, it just can. It could go either way. Like, I feel like there's a fairly high variance with him.

[Trey Newman]

All right, so then you kind of hinted that this, this next one guy that we've liked for a few years, number nine, Anthony Calandria, Nebraska.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, when it goes well for Calandria, just like Joseph, it goes really well. So saw that last year at unlv. Mountain west offensive player of the year. He was, he was awesome. He was a gunslinger. Put up great numbers, ran the ball, did it all. Unfortunately, when it goes bad for him, it goes very bad. And we saw that the year before at Virginia. Threw way too many picks, took too many sacks, fumbles too much. He just has these blow up games so you just don't know which guy you're going to get. And when he was at the Power 4 level of Virginia, you kind of saw the bad goes down in class and of course was great. But I'm at Nebraska this next year. I'm, I'm leaning optimistic. I'm thinking Dan Mullen's development last year will kind of carry forward somewhat to this season. I think he's got some decent receivers, a decent O line in front of him. He's now experienced so I don't see it being a disaster like it was at times at Virginia. I'm, I'm bullish. I like if anything I'm like am I too low on him? I, I, I think I just, I think I fear the bust mentality. Oh, talking another. Nevermind. We're not going to get into the bust conversation again but.

[Trey Newman]

Well, I mean this next guy has had some, some boomer bust, but number eight, Nico Iamala at ucla. True.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, we saw him at Tennessee in a good scheme that is very quarterback friendly and he was solid. You know, I know maybe left wanting a little bit more from Tennessee fans but I think we were kind of expecting more if he had stayed there and got another year of development under Josh Hyper. But yeah, went to ucla, didn't have a lot to work with and it was just a disaster season. Of course coaching staff fired and just, it was just, it was bad. So the passing efficiency was, was not great. But he took care of the ball, made a ton of plays with his legs and at least kept the offense like somewhat competent. Like he could kind of will them to. They didn't have a good offense at all but at least be not horrible. Me having him this high is kind of a bet on Chesney and his staff. I just trust them to get the most out of him like they did with Alonzo Barnett. Like they did with when he was at, he had Sluka at. Yeah. At Holy Cross. Is that right? Yeah, he was at Holy Cross.

[Trey Newman]

I don't, I assume they crossed Pat. Well, yeah, he would have because he was only at JMU for yeah, am

[Michael Newman]

I getting that right? Or was Sluka. Was Sluka at. Did Sluka go from Holy Cross to unlv, then to jmu?

[Trey Newman]

I don't know.

[Michael Newman]

I think that's right. Anyway, they do a good job with quarterbacks is the point. I think that he has the potential to be a surprise, bounce back and have a really good year, especially with all the transfers they brought in around him. Like, I just think there's a chance he kind of gets closer to his

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[Trey Newman]

All right, number seven, Rocco Becht Penn State.

[Michael Newman]

Of course, we are all very familiar with Rocco Becket. He's been around forever. 39 career starts at Iowa State. Career, 61% completions, 7.9 yards per pass attempt. He's got 83 total touchdowns, 27 picks. So nothing crazy there, but he's just. He's solid, he's dependable. You know what? You're going to get a comfortably above average power four quarterback.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah, we've talked about it. It'll just be interesting to see basically, Iowa State east at State College there. All right, number six, Bryce Underwood Michigan.

[Michael Newman]

I kind of don't love having him this high because I just feel like I haven't heard enough positive things about him out of spring practice. And of course, the spring game wasn't great, for whatever that's worth. But he's still a former number one overall recruit. I mean, he's only a year removed from that.

[Trey Newman]

Right.

[Michael Newman]

This is only his second year in college football. He's a good runner, and I think his new offensive coordinator, Jason Beck, is going to take better advantage of that. Last year's receiving core dropped a lot of passes. It's hopefully going to be better this year. You got Andrew Marsh, now a sophomore, hopefully taking a leap. J.J. buchanan coming in from Utah, also a sophomore. He could take a leap himself. So the upside is just. Is still huge. You know, you. You start to lose the upside every year, but in year two, it's still there. Year three or four is when you start kind of having to drop him. But. Yeah, I mean, I'm just. I'm hoping that the passing game takes a. Takes a leap this year, Phil, still, doesn't it?

[Trey Newman]

Number one. Number one. P.S. like five years later, he's still talks.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, he's. Yeah, he has a. He's a P.S. number one forever in Phil. Steel heads like. No, I'm trying to think. Yeah, like, I mean, who's. Who's an example of a guy that would be just an outrageous PS number one to have in your. I mean, Nico. Nico, I'm sure is a PS number one. There were worse examples.

[Trey Newman]

It just. It just.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, there's got to be.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah.

[Michael Newman]

Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure. Who is it? Wait, I'm forgetting his name somehow is Malachi Nelson. That's his name.

[Trey Newman]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Michael Newman]

Malachi Nelson. He's still PS number three or something like that.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah. By style.

[Michael Newman]

Where did he go? He's. He's a backup. Is he at Syracuse. I forget he's somewhere. Look at him.

[Trey Newman]

Bounced around.

[Michael Newman]

He has really bounced around Boise.

[Trey Newman]

And then where is he?

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, he's at Syracuse.

[Trey Newman]

Wow. All right.

[Michael Newman]

But yeah, he was. Oh, yeah. Usc, Boise, utep, now Syracuse.

[Trey Newman]

Oh, my gosh. Number five, the Hoosiers. Hoover. Hoosier. Josh Hoover. Yeah.

[Michael Newman]

This is where you start to become. These five guys are all very confident the top five are going to have great seasons. Hoover, of course, three year starter at tcu, was very solid there. Led some good offenses, ton of volume, pretty good efficiency. Interceptions are the problem. Yes, he throws a few too many a year. But even with that weakness, like there's enough good that he brings to the table that he doesn't even need to get better. He still would be a good Big Ten quarterback. But if that weakness is coached out of him, if he takes advantage of a really good O line in front of him, probably a really good receiving core, then he's got Heisman potential like he. Him coming in. We think higher of him than we did of Curtis Rourke and of Fernando Mendoza. So the, the sky is the limit in this offense. If he trims down that interception rate to 2% from 2.8%, then he's elite.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah. All right, here's your guy, Michael, number four. I bet you wanted to put him even higher but you couldn't. Now number four, Damon Williams, Washington.

[Michael Newman]

I thought about it. I thought about it, but it would have been a little crazy. I get not. Well, anyway, I love Demon Williams. Great runner. Had 800 yards rushing on 6.4 yards per carry. That's excluding sacks. And he's a good passer too. 8.7 yards per pass attempt. Doesn't turn the ball over. He's got to play better in the big games, but overall, like, I just. There's not much to knock. Yeah, he tried, he tried to leave. I don't know how much his teammates loved that, but I think water trust

[Trey Newman]

Jed Fish and, and get the most out of him. All right. Yeah. So now it, this is interesting because these, this top three, I don't know about you, it would have been hard for me to kind of rank these three, so. But number three, you have Dante Moore at Oregon, which I don't know. I bet most people might, might have had him higher, but it's.

[Michael Newman]

I'm not criticizing. I think most people would have had him one or two. Probably most. Two. But yeah, I, I don't think many would have him. Third. I'll get to my homer. Reason for, for him falling here, so sometimes I Don't like bringing what I'm about to bring up up. Because every player plays better against the bad teams and worse against the good teams over a long enough sample like so. Cherry picking can sometimes be unfair, but I don't know, maybe it's not so unfair in Dante Moore's case, especially when we're splitting hairs among these elite quarterbacks. I think that's just what holds him back a little bit against the best defenses. His numbers took more of a deep. A dip than, than you'd hope for from, from an elite guy. And just overall last year he threw a couple more interceptions than you would like, fumbles a bit more than you would like. So he's great, you know, put up great numbers, led Oregon to a lot of wins. But those are the reasons I have him a slot or two lower than, than some other people.

[Trey Newman]

And I'm curious to see without Will Stein this year. Offensive coordinator.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know, he might. The receiving core, they did not have consistency at that position last year. So in his defense that would be. If you're looking for a reason that he could have a better season this year then yeah, hopefully there has to be one. Yeah.

[Trey Newman]

Okay. Homer boy. Number two, USC Jaden Mava.

[Michael Newman]

I, I just love Jade Mava. I think he is, yeah, incredibly impressive. Led the nation in QBR last year, 9.2 yards per pass attempt which was about a half a yard more than Dante Moore. And just he's the eye test is incredible. Makes a ton of big time accurate throws. He picks his spots really well. As a runner he is able to extend plays with his legs, yet he's continues to look up field to, to pass. Just so he's elite. Sack avoidance just he's a playmaker and the only issue is interceptions and those turnover worthy throws which is, you know, a significant issue. But I think with his entire offensive line back another year in the system just he'll be better protected this year. Like I didn't think in past protection USC was, was great. They had a lot of injuries on the offensive line so I thought it was, I thought he did a pretty good job working with that. Yeah, I mean he's. Two years, two years ago he was

[Trey Newman]

like pure gunslinger last year he kind of reined it in a little bit and you would think there's the veteran presence now should be better because last

[Michael Newman]

year was the first off season that he was the guy going into 2025. He was the guy the year before he took over midway through the season or late in the season after Miller Moss didn't work out. So I think there's a reason that he was so good last year. You know, in. If you're trying to make the argument for Dante Moore, you'd say, well, Dante Moore didn't have Mai Lemon to throw to, which I was just gonna say

[Trey Newman]

I've seen some people talk about Jacobe Lane and Makai Lemon, but I don't know. Lincoln Riley, offense and SC talent usually will poke, poke somebody.

[Michael Newman]

The receiving core will still be really good. Jacobe Lane, I don't think. I think they can replace Mai Lemon. That's. That's the tough one. So we'll see.

[Trey Newman]

Yep. All right, that leaves number one, Ohio State's Julian Saiyan.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, as a redshirt freshman last year, he was third all time in completion percentage in a single season only behind Bo Nix and Mac Jones. 77% had 3, 600 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, eight picks. Number one graded quarterback in PFF. For that's worth. For what that's worth. Number two in QBR. I get that he's got a great supporting cast. He's got Jeremiah Smith to throw to, makes things easy. But he was a five star recruit himself. So like he's got to get some of the credit for all this production. It's. It's not surprising that he's out there putting up these numbers.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah. All right. So yeah, that's. I think it's a, I mean I think it's a pretty good list. I. The. I think there's, like you said, I think there's a clear. Personally, the way we had it. I think there's a clear top three with more Mayabba saying. And I also think there's a clear top five with who you add in Hoover and Williams. But then you've kind of got, you know, I think there's some pretty kind of tiers of five distinct, fairly distinct tiers.

[Michael Newman]

Yeah, I, I would agree on that. I think, yeah, the top five is, is very strong even going down. That, yeah, that next group of five is, is pretty strong because I have colton Joseph at 10th. Like.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying.

[Michael Newman]

He ran for a thousand yards last year.

[Trey Newman]

Joseph, Calandra, Emaliava, Becton, Underwood, any of those. I can see obviously being a top five quarterback. Maybe Becht kind of is what he is. But, but there's some. That's a good next five.

[Michael Newman]

I agree that the guys I'm most curious about this season are. Well, at least somewhat curious about are the quarterbacks moving up in class, Calandria and Colton Joseph. We'll see. I feel like one of those guys is gonna light it up and one of them's gonna suck.

[Trey Newman]

Yeah.

[Michael Newman]

If I had to guess, I'm hoping it's Calandria that lights it up and also Kate and Hauser to a lesser extent. I don't think his ceiling is as high as either of those two guys, but we'll just see how those three guys make the jump. That'll kind of determine how deep this list of quarterbacks is. And then if Bryce Underwood. Yeah, like he can put the Big Ten to where the SEC group of quarterbacks just can't touch the Big Ten. Like if, if Bryce Underwood lives up to the five star billing this year, takes off in Jason Beck's offense, then I think they will clear the SEC in terms of quarterbacks. But if he doesn't, and I'm not. I'm not super bullish that he will do that, then we'll. I guess we'll talk about that in the SEC episode once we. Once you rank them, we can talk about which one's better. But yeah, so I'll stop.

[Trey Newman]

Yep. Very good. Very good.

[Michael Newman]

Oh, by the way, by the way, we. In our last episode that where when Ryan was ranking the Big 12 quarterbacks, we brought up Brendan Sorsby and I said, hold that thought, Ryan. We'll wait to the end of the episode and. And talk about where Brendan Sorsby would. Would rank on this list. And of course we forgot to get to it. So. But I did off pod. I discussed it with Ryan and he said, yeah, if Brendan Sorsby were still at Texas Tech, he would have had him third. He said third behind. Yeah, Devin Dampier and Noah Fafida. So we'd have him ahead of Drew Mastamaker. So there you go. You got your answer. Stop bitching. In the emails. No, no one said a thing, but I imagine some people were like, hey, what the hell?

[Trey Newman]

Very good. All right, well, thanks, Michael. That means that gets to lead us to our final one. Our next. Our next episode will be the sec. But. But yeah, thanks again for listening and have a good one.