Does the Big Ten boast the most talented collection of quarterbacks of any college football conference for the 2025 season? If high school recruiting rankings are any indication, it certainly appears that way.
Ahead of the 2025 season, I wanted to find out which Power Four conference had the highest-ceiling collection of signal-callers who are projected to start this year. Using 247Sports’ composite rankings as a baseline, we’ve found the Big Ten has a slight edge in quarterback talent collection over its peer, the SEC. We’ll go over the research of every conference first and then break down each of the projected 18 starting quarterbacks in the Big Ten.
Now, before the “stars don’t matter” crowd picks up their torches and pitchforks, yes, there’s a caveat that stars aren’t shouldn’t be an end-all, be-all declaration on a player. A good chunk of SEC teams would happily secretly trade their quarterbacks for zero-star Diego Pavia or three-star John Mateer. Several Big Ten squads would trade their projected starter for two-star Fernando Mendoza. There are multiple instances of the recruiting industry getting player projections wrong, and frankly, they’re often reflected in players transferring up a level in modern times.
But if you look at the recruiting ranks of the majority of first and second-round NFL Draft picks yearly, they’re mostly five and four-star prospects. Those rankings often serve as a good indicator of how high an athlete’s potential is coming out of high school, and I’ve found they’re fairly reasonable more often than not.
So, these rankings can be a good indicator of how talented each league is under center. Let’s dive into the findings.
Three disclaimers off the bat. Yes, the Big Ten has 18 teams, the ACC has 17 and the Big 12 and SEC each have 16, so there’s a tiny bit of disparity. No. 2, if the school has a QB competition and no clear leader as fall camp approaches, our tiebreaker was to pick the signal-caller with the highest recruiting ranking out of high school for each team.
Starting with the B1G, six of the league’s 18 projected starting quarterbacks were five-star recruits in high school. In other words, one-third of the league boasts a top-tier signal-caller recruit. Thirteen Big Ten projected starting quarterbacks had at least a four-star rating, making up more than two-thirds of the conference. All but one projected starter had a star rating attached to their name in high school.
| Player | School | Star rating | Recruiting class | Overall composite recruiting ranking | Positional ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryce Underwood | Michigan | ★★★★★ | 2025 | No. 1 | No. 1 |
| Nico Iamaleava | UCLA | ★★★★★ | 2023 | No. 3 | No. 2 |
| Dante Moore | Oregon | ★★★★★ | 2023 | No. 4 | No. 3 |
| Julian Sayin | Ohio State | ★★★★★ | 2024 | No. 6 | No. 1 |
| Dylan Raiola | Nebraska | ★★★★★ | 2024 | No. 24 | No. 3 |
| Drew Allar | Penn State | ★★★★★ | 2022 | No. 32 | No. 4 |
| Malik Washington | Maryland | ★★★★ | 2025 | No. 99 | No. 10 |
| Preston Stone | Northwestern | ★★★★ | 2021 | No. 111 | No. 15 |
| Aidan Chiles | Michigan State | ★★★★ | 2023 | No. 168 | No. 13 |
| Luke Altmyer | Illinois | ★★★★ | 2021 | No. 196 | No. 21 |
| Demond Williams Jr. | Washington | ★★★★ | 2024 | No. 205 | No. 12 |
| Athan Kaliakmanis | Rutgers | ★★★★ | 2021 | No. 349 | No. 31 |
| Malachi Singleton | Purdue | ★★★★ | 2023 | No. 389 | No. 26 |
| Jayden Maiava | USC | ★★★ | 2022 | No. 852 | No. 53 |
| Drake Lindsey | Minnesota | ★★★ | 2024 | No. 873 | No. 56 |
| Billy Edwards Jr. | Wisconsin | ★★★ | 2021 | No. 1,589 | No. 103 |
| Fernando Mendoza | Indiana | ★★ | 2022 | No. 2,149 | No. 140 |
| Mark Gronowski | Iowa | NA | 2020 | NA | NA |
The SEC was obviously the closest conference to matching the Big Ten in terms of high-end talent. The “other conference,” as James Franklin tabbed it, has four projected five-star starters – one-fourth of the league. A little more than half the league (nine teams) have a starter who was a four-star recruit or higher. And 14 of the league’s 16 teams have a quarterback who had a composite ranking in high school. The other two started their careers at JUCOs.
| Player | School | Star ranking | Recruiting class | Overall composite recruiting ranking | Positional ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arch Manning | Texas | ★★★★★ | 2023 | No. 1 | No. 1 |
| DJ Lagway | Florida | ★★★★★ | 2024 | No. 7 | No. 2 |
| Jackson Arnold | Auburn | ★★★★★ | 2023 | No. 8 | No. 4 |
| Ty Simpson | Alabama | ★★★★★ | 2022 | No. 26 | No. 3 |
| Garrett Nussmeier | LSU | ★★★★ | 2021 | No. 84 | No. 14 |
| Gunner Stockton | Georgia | ★★★★ | 2022 | No. 124 | No. 7 |
| LaNorris Sellers | South Carolina | ★★★★ | 2023 | No. 256 | No. 18 |
| Austin Simmons | Ole Miss | ★★★★ | 2023 | No. 292 | No. 19 |
| Marcel Reed | Texas A&M | ★★★★ | 2023 | No. 296 | No. 20 |
| Beau Pribula | Missouri | ★★★ | 2022 | No. 464 | No. 29 |
| Zach Calzada | Kentucky | ★★★ | 2019 | No. 476 | No. 19 |
| Blake Shapen | Mississippi State | ★★★ | 2020 | No. 714 | No. 27 |
| Taylen Green | Arkansas | ★★★ | 2021 | No. 1,224 | No. 79 |
| John Mateer | Oklahoma | ★★★ | 2022 | No. 1,766 | No. 119 |
| Diego Pavia | Vanderbilt | NA | 2020 | NA | NA |
| Joey Aguilar | Tennessee | NA | 2020 | NA | NA |
The ACC is where it gets interesting. Only one of its projected starters was a five-star recruit out of high school, so it’s lacking the top-end talent in comparison for 2025, but it’s a very deep quarterback league, with 12 out of 17 quarterbacks ranked as four-stars or higher. All 17 projected starting quarterbacks had a composite rating, too.
| Player | School | Star ranking | Recruiting class | Overall composite recruiting ranking | Positional ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cade Klubnik | Clemson | ★★★★★ | 2022 | No. 6 | No. 1 |
| Devin Brown | Cal | ★★★★ | 2022 | No. 43 | No. 6 |
| Miller Moss | Louisville | ★★★★ | 2021 | No. 76 | No. 12 |
| Eli Holstein | Pitt | ★★★★ | 2023 | No. 86 | No. 8 |
| Haynes King | Georgia Tech | ★★★★ | 2020 | No. 131 | No. 5 DUAL |
| Dylan Lonergan | Boston College | ★★★★ | 2023 | No. 154 | No. 12 |
| Rickie Collins | Syracuse | ★★★★ | 2023 | No. 231 | No. 17 |
| Elijah Brown | Stanford | ★★★★ | 2024 | No. 247 | No. 16 |
| Carson Beck | Miami | ★★★★ | 2020 | No. 254 | No. 9 PRO |
| Kyron Drones | Virginia Tech | ★★★★ | 2021 | No. 263 | No. 28 |
| Robby Ashford | Wake Forest | ★★★★ | 2020 | No. 306 | No. 13 |
| CJ Bailey | North Carolina State | ★★★★ | 2024 | No. 432 | No. 29 |
| Chandler Morris | Virginia | ★★★ | 2020 | No. 485 | No. 18 DUAL |
| Thomas Castellanos | Florida State | ★★★ | 2022 | No. 535 | No. 33 ATH |
| Gio Lopez | North Carolina | ★★★ | 2023 | No. 1,324 | No. 63 |
| Kevin Jennings | SMU | ★★★ | 2022 | No. 1,535 | No. 95 |
| Darian Mensah | Duke | ★★★ | 2023 | No. 2,289 | No. 135 |
As you might expect, the Big 12 is lagging a bit behind the others in quarterback talent in this exercise. The Big 12 has one five-star prospect and 10 of the league’s projected 16 starters were rated as a four-star or better (though if we’re being honest, one of those includes BYU, which is in a three-way quarterback competition with two three-star quarterbacks and one four-star true freshman).
| Player | School | Star ranking | Recruiting class | Overall composite recruiting ranking | Positional ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conner Weigman | Houston | ★★★★★ | 2022 | No. 22 | No. 2 |
| Avery Johnson | Kansas State | ★★★★ | 2023 | No. 104 | No. 9 |
| Sawyer Robertson | Baylor | ★★★★ | 2021 | No. 134 | No. 16 |
| Kaidon Salter | Colorado | ★★★★ | 2021 | No. 143 | No. 17 |
| Behren Morton | Texas Tech | ★★★★ | 2021 | No. 149 | No. 19 |
| Tayven Jackson | UCF | ★★★★ | 2022 | No. 198 | No. 13 |
| Nicco Marchiol | West Virginia | ★★★★ | 2022 | No. 289 | No. 19 |
| Hauss Hejny | Oklahoma State | ★★★★ | 2024 | No. 295 | No. 19 |
| Sam Leavitt | Arizona State | ★★★★ | 2023 | No. 311 | No. 21 |
| Bear Bachmeier | BYU | ★★★★ | 2025 | No. 425 | No. 28 |
| Rocco Becht | Iowa State | ★★★ | 2022 | No. 572 | No. 33 |
| Noah Fifita | Arizona | ★★★ | 2022 | No. 690 | No. 38 |
| Josh Hoover | TCU | ★★★ | 2022 | No. 709 | No. 41 |
| Brendan Sorsby | Cincinnati | ★★★ | 2022 | No. 1,012 | No. 66 |
| Devon Dampier | Utah | ★★★ | 2023 | No. 1,693 prospect | No. 88 |
| Jalon Daniels | Kansas | ★★★ | 2020 | No. 2,278 prospect | No. 48 DUAL |
With the data out of the way, let’s take a closer look at each of the 18 projected starting quarterbacks for the Big Ten.
Bryce Underwood, Michigan
Five-star in 2025 recruiting class: No. 1 prospect, No. 1 QB
Breakdown: Underwood hasn’t been named the starter at Michigan yet, but you don’t pay a guy the type of contract he reportedly received if you don’t see him as a sure-fire starter on day one. The highest-ranked recruit of any projected starting Big Ten quarterback, Underwood offers Michigan tremendous upside with his arm and his legs, but he’s also a true freshman and could struggle in his inaugural season, much like other highly touted prospects on this list did. How quickly Underwood adapts to the college game could dictate how Michigan’s season turns out.
Nico Iamaleava, UCLA
Five-star in 2023 recruiting class: No. 3 prospect, No. 2 QB
Breakdown: There certainly wasn’t a bigger story out of the spring portal than Iamaleava. Regardless of the theatrics that put him at UCLA, he’ll be tasked with guiding the Bruins to a bowl game in DeShaun Foster’s second season as head coach. At Tennessee last season, Iamaleva threw for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions. He’ll have a worse surrounding cast around him than he did in Knoxville, so it’ll be interesting to see how his season turns out.
Dante Moore, Oregon
Five-star in 2023 recruiting class: No. 4 prospect, No. 3 QB
Breakdown: Oregon is attempting to strike gold with a third transfer quarterback in Moore. Following an underwhelming freshman season at UCLA, Moore sat behind Dillon Gabriel last season and had a year to learn the Ducks’ system. Much will be expected out of the Michigan product, considering Oregon won the Big Ten in its first year in the league and has playoff expectations every season.
Julian Sayin, Ohio State
Five-star in 2024 recruiting class: No. 6 prospect, No. 1 QB
Breakdown: For the record, when Ryan Day says there’s a true quarterback competition between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz, he means it. That’s not lip service this year, though it certainly has been in other seasons. Regardless, Sayin is still the favorite to emerge as the Buckeyes’ starter Week 1 against Texas, though it’s not impossible both could see action similar to the plan for Kyle McCord and Devin Brown early in the 2023 season. Sayin boasts a lightning-quick release and has drawn rave reviews from his teammates, both current and past, who praise his talent any time they’re given a chance. He has the best collection of weapons in the conference, so whoever wins the starting job has a clear pathway to success.
Dylan Raiola, Nebraska
Five-star in 2024 recruiting class: No. 24 prospect, No. 3 QB
Breakdown: Raiola’s freshman season had its ups and downs. The former Ohio State commit showcased his natural ability by completing 67.1 percent of his passes and throwing for 2,819 yards in year one, but turned the ball over far too often with 11 interceptions compared to 13 touchdowns. Raiola could be in line for a big improvement in year two, with Nebraska having a favorable schedule.
Drew Allar, Penn State
Five-star in 2022 recruiting class: No. 32 prospect, No. 4 QB
Breakdown: No quarterback in the league has more pressure on him to deliver this year than Allar. That’s a symptom of high expectations for his team, similar to what Ohio State dealt with a year ago, but also to change a narrative that he and James Franklin fail in big moments. Nonetheless, Allar is a very good quarterback hoping to elevate himself to great in 2025. Last year, he completed 66 percent of his passes, threw for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions despite having a lackluster receiving corps. PSU is optimistic it has improved in that regard, especially with the addition of Syracuse transfer Trebor Pena.
Malik Washington, Maryland
Four-star in 2025 recruiting class: No. 99 prospect, No. 10 QB
Breakdown: It’s not a sure thing that Washington starts to begin the season as a true freshman, considering he’s battling it out with UCLA transfer Justyn Martin (a four-star recruit in his own right). But Maryland’s season should be predicated on finding pieces to build around for the future, and Washington boasts the highest ceiling for the Terps and should inevitably play a lot this year.
Preston Stone, Northwestern
Four-star in 2021 recruiting class: No. 111 prospect, No. 15 QB
Breakdown: Stone is Northwestern’s starter by default, considering his competition, Jack Lausch, has left the program to focus on his baseball career. The SMU transfer had a breakout 2023 season and threw for 3,197 yards and 28 touchdowns to only six interceptions. One year later, Stone fell out of favor with SMU and was eventually benched for Kevin Jennings, which turned out pretty well for the Pony Express as they made the CFP last season. Now, Stone hopes to revitalize his career with the Wildcats and be a trendbreaker, considering Northwestern has been the place transfer quarterbacks go to hit a wall of late, to put it bluntly.
Aidan Chiles, Michigan State
Four-star in 2023 recruiting class: No. 168 prospect, No. 13 QB
Breakdown: You can make an argument that Chiles is the most fun quarterback to watch in the conference only if you’re a neutral observer. No one has as much of a YOLO mindset as this guy, who never met a deep ball he didn’t like. But with great arm strength and risky decisions comes the potential for turnovers and Chiles certainly had his fair share in 2024. Chiles completed 59 percent of his passes last year and threw for 2,415 yards, 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He could be in for a big year two with the Spartans under Jonathan Smith and has a legitimate playmaking wide receiver in Nick Marsh.
Luke Altmyer, Illinois
Four-star in 2021 recruiting class: No. 196 prospect, No. 21 QB
Breakdown: When factoring in both proven production and experience, Altmyer seems like he has the second-highest floor in the league outside of Allar. Altmyer helped lead the Fighting Illini to a 10-win season a year ago while completing 60 percent of his passes for 2,717 yards and 22 touchdowns to six interceptions. Illinois is a popular sleeper pick to make the College Football Playoff this season and Altmyer’s ability to replicate his success will be instrumental in living up to those expectations.
Demond Williams Jr., Washington
Four-star in 2024 recruiting class: No. 205 prospect, No. 12 QB
Breakdown: Based on the small sample size Williams put together a year ago, the sophomore Huskies’ quarterback has one of the highest ceilings in the league this season. In his freshman year, Williams completed a whopping 78.1 percent of his passes on 105 attempts for 944 yards and eight touchdowns to just one interception. He’s also a true dual-threat quarterback and ran for 282 yards and two touchdowns a year ago. His emergence has many analysts forecasting Washington to have a better-than-expected season in 2025.
Athan Kaliakmanis, Rutgers
Four-star in 2021 recruiting class: No. 349 prospect, No. 31 QB
Breakdown: It appears that transferring to Rutgers can be productive for one’s career. Following an up-and-down tenure at Minnesota, Kaliakmanis delivered competent quarterback play for the Scarlet Knights last year, passing for 2,696 yards and 18 touchdowns with seven interceptions. His 53 percent completion percentage needs to improve if Rutgers wants to head to a bowl game this year, but he’s also a threat on the ground, running for 251 yards and three touchdowns in 2024.
Malachi Singleton, Purdue
Four-star in 2023 recruiting class: No. 389 prospect, No. 26 QB
Breakdown: Full disclosure, of all the quarterbacks listed on the list, Singleton is the least likely to start Week 1 (or at all), considering he’s in an open competition with three other signal callers: Bennett Meredith, Ryan Browne and Evans Chuba, all of whom were three-star recruits in high school. Nonetheless, the Arkansas transfer has the most highly touted recruiting profile of the four, had a strong showing against Ole Miss last season and thus earns the 11W nod to be the projected starting quarterback of what could be the Big Ten’s worst team in 2025. (It honestly could be any of the four of them; his recruiting profile serves as our tiebreaker here.)
Jayden Maiava, USC
Three-star recruit in 2022 recruiting class: No. 852 prospect, No. 53 QB
Breakdown: Considering the school he plays for and the cache of weapons at his disposal, Maiava really outkicked his coverage regarding his recruiting ranking. Maiava transferred in from UNLV last year and started USC’s final few games following the benching of Miller Moss and completed nearly 60 percent of his passes for 1,201 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. Lincoln Riley felt confident enough in Maiava to not go shopping in the portal for a quarterback replacement. Considering how the past few seasons have gone at USC, Riley needs a big year, so he’s making a big bet on Maiava.
Drake Lindsey, Minnesota
Three-star in 2024 recruiting class: No. 873 prospect, No. 56 QB
Breakdown: This will be Lindsey’s first year as a full-time starter, with the Arkansas native redshirting in his freshman season in 2024. Lindsey appeared in three games for the Gophers last season and attempted only five passes. Running back Darius Taylor is the focal point of Minnesota’s offense, but Lindsey will have a chance to elevate PJ Fleck’s squad this year.
Billy Edwards Jr., Wisconsin
Three-star recruit in 2021 recruiting class: No. 1,589 prospect, No. 103 QB
Breakdown: Edwards is at his third school as he heads into his final year of eligibility in line to start for the Badgers. Edwards was Maryland’s primary starter a season ago, as he completed 65 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,881 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
Two-star recruit in 2022 recruiting class: No. 2,149 prospect, No. 140 QB
Breakdown: It’s amusing that the quarterback who had the second-lowest rating in high school of B1G QBs is some pro scouts’ most favored draft-eligible quarterback in the conference. Mendoza performed well at Cal last season with little to no help around him, completing 68 percent of his passes, throwing for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns with six interceptions. Now, he’ll be tasked with helping the Hoosiers build off their surprising College Football Playoff berth a year ago.
Mark Gronowski, Iowa
Zero-star recruit in 2020 recruiting class
Breakdown: The lone projected Big Ten starting quarterback without a composite ranking in high school, Gronowski dominated the FCS level, leading South Dakota State to a 49-6 record across his 55 starts. He led the FCS in passing efficiency in 2023 (179.67), won the Walter Payton Award (most outstanding offensive player in FCS football) and led the Jackrabbits to a national title. Now, he’ll attempt to do the impossible: Complete forward passes at Iowa. Jokes aside, Gronowski has a better skillset than any Iowa signal caller in recent years and has a chance to elevate the Hawkeyes’ offense.
