Age isn't just a number, at least when it comes to the starting quarterback of a national championship team in college football.
Having an upperclassman quarterback seems to be a key to success, at least in terms of winning the national championship in the transfer portal era. Since 2019, every quarterback who’s won the national championship has been in at least their third year of college football; all but one of them, with Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy being the lone exception, has been in at least their fourth year of college football.
| SEASON | QUARTERBACK | AGE | YEAR IN SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | FERNANDO MENDOZA (INDIANA) | 22.29 | 4th |
| 2024 | WILL HOWARD (OHIO STATE) | 23.31 | 5th |
| 2023 | J.J. MCCARTHY (MICHIGAN) | 20.97 | 3rd |
| 2022 | STETSON BENNETT (GEORGIA) | 25.38 | 6th |
| 2021 | STETSON BENNETT (GEORGIA) | 24.19 | 5th |
| 2020 | MAC JONES (ALABAMA) | 22.36 | 4th |
| 2019 | JOE BURROW (LSU) | 23.09 | 5th |
| 2018 | TREVOR LAWRENCE (CLEMSON) | 19.25 | 1st |
| 2017 | JALEN HURTS (ALABAMA) | 19.43 | 2nd |
| TUA TAGOVAILOA (ALABAMA) | 19.86 | 1st | |
| 2016 | DESHAUN WATSON (CLEMSON) | 21.32 | 3rd |
| 2015 | JAKE COKER (ALABAMA) | 23.44 | 5th |
| 2014 | J.T. BARRETT (OHIO STATE) | 19.97 | 2nd |
| CARDALE JONES (OHIO STATE) | 22.3 | 4th | |
| AVERAGE | 21.94 | 3.6 |
In 2024, Ohio State used a mix of portal signees paired with top-end recruiting classes to build its roster on its way to a national championship. The Buckeyes had young, in-house talent, a bunch of upperclassmen that returned for a chance to get a ring, and brought in players out of the portal to fill some of the holes on the two-deep. Most importantly, Ryan Day and Co. brought in Will Howard, a fifth-year senior quarterback who transferred to OSU from Kansas State, where he had already played in 34 games. His experience was a difference-maker, especially during Ohio State's impressive four-game run through the CFP.
Fast forward to this season, and an older, experienced quarterback proved to be important yet again.
While Indiana brought in a ton of talent over the last two years, leading to having one of the best wide receiver corps in the country and one of the best defenses in college football, Curt Cignetti and Co. handpicked their starting quarterback out of the portal as well. In 2024, it was sixth-year senior Kurtis Rourke, who spent his first five years at Ohio University. In 2025, it was Fernando Mendoza, who spent his first three years at California, the latter two of which were as the starting quarterback. Mendoza’s experience played a crucial role in leading Indiana to the national championship, as he also won the Heisman Trophy along the way.
Indiana was far from the only team that benefited from having a veteran quarterback in the 2025-26 CFP. All four teams that made the CFP semifinals had upperclassman quarterbacks, including a sixth-year senior in Miami’s Carson Beck and a fifth-year senior in Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss. The same was true in the 2024-25 CFP, when Howard was joined in the semifinals by two true seniors (Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard and Texas’ Quinn Ewers) and one junior (Penn State’s Drew Allar).
Julian Sayin was great in his first year as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, there's no doubt about that. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist who finished with the third-best completion percentage in a single season in college football history. You can't ask for much more than that from a first-year starter. That said, at times when Ohio State needed him the most, Sayin wasn't always at his best. While a lackluster offensive line performance in Ohio State's last two games – both of which were losses – certainly played a part in that, it was evident that Sayin's experience, or lack thereof, also played a role.
The good news is that the current redshirt freshman now has a season of experience as a starter and will be one year older in 2026. Come next season's national championship game, which is set for Jan. 25, 2027, as it somehow continues to get later and later into January, Sayin will be 21.5 years old. He’ll still be younger than most of the quarterbacks who have won national championships in the last seven years, but not far off the average age of national championship-winning starting quarterbacks since the CFP debuted in 2014.
While there’s still value in recruiting and developing quarterbacks like Sayin and fellow five-star quarterback Tavien St. Clair, who will be in his second year of college football in 2026 and is expected to be Sayin’s backup, it’s become increasingly clear that age and experience at the quarterback position is an advantage in an era where many teams are turning to veteran transfers to lead their offenses.
While that put Ohio State at a disadvantage in 2025, it could swing the other way in 2026 now that Sayin will be in his junior year of college with a full year of starting experience under his belt.
