Quarterbacks are always the centerpiece of a recruiting class. Even in today\u2019s landscape \u2014 where nearly 40 percent of FBS teams started a transfer at the position in Week 1 \u2014 many programs would prefer to find a long-term answer from the high school ranks.<\/p>\n
The Class of 2026 quarterbacks are almost halfway through their senior seasons of high school. The class consists of five five-star prospects and 29 blue-chippers in the 247Sports Composite. Only two of the top 50 remain uncommitted. There likely will be a few flips before it all becomes official in December, but for the most part, we know who is going where.<\/p>\n
To get a better understanding of this group of quarterbacks,\u00a0The Athletic spoke to personnel evaluators around the sport to find out who they like the best, who is underrated and who is the best leader. They were granted anonymity for their candor.<\/p>\n
And one Group of 5 staffer was especially honest, politely declining to partake in the survey. \u201cI won\u2019t waste your time,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019d be talking out of my ass if I commented. \u2026 I don\u2019t even bother wasting my time watching things I can\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Note: Staffers were not allowed to answer with quarterbacks committed to their own programs.<\/p>\n
Power 4 director of player personnel 1
\nPower 4 offensive coordinator
\nPower 4 director of player personnel 2
\nPower 4 director of player personnel 3
\nPower 4 assistant director of player personnel 1
\nGroup of 5 director of player personnel 1
\nPower 4 director of player personnel 4
\nPower 4 recruiting coordinator 1
\nPower 4 director of player personnel 5
\nPower 4 director of player personnel 6
\nPower 4 general manager
\nWho is your favorite QB in the class?<\/p>\n
P4 director of player personnel 1: Bowe Bentley (Oklahoma commit). Undefeated state champion. Kid is a winner. Kid\u2019s got confidence, but he\u2019s also got this humility to him. He\u2019s a super smart, cerebral kid, and I think he\u2019s got enough athleticism to thrive in the modern era of college football. I wouldn\u2019t say he\u2019s John Mateer\u2019s level of athleticism, but he\u2019s got some (stuff) to his game that reminds you of John Mateer \u2014 the moxie, the swagger.<\/p>\n
P4 offensive coordinator: Bowe Bentley. He\u2019s an absolute freak. He\u2019s mature. He\u2019s smart. The ball comes out of his hands (well). He\u2019s extremely competitive. He can run. He\u2019s kind of got all of it.<\/p>\n
P4 director of player personnel 2: I really liked the (Matt) Ponatoski kid (Kentucky). I think he\u2019s a really good one. He is smooth. I think he\u2019s pretty much college-ready. I guess the question will be what he does with baseball. (Note: Ponatoski is also a top baseball prospect and is a potential first-round pick in the 2026 MLB Draft.)<\/p>\n
P4 director of player personnel 3: I\u2019ve always loved Ryder Lyons (BYU). I always thought he was a really good one. Keisean Henderson (Houston) has special athletic ability, and I think the throwing tools will get there.<\/p>\n
P4 assistant director of player personnel 1: Jonas Williams (USC). He\u2019s elite. I feel like he fits that (Caleb Williams\/Patrick Mahomes) mold the best. He\u2019s a really dynamic player, elite prospect.<\/p>\n
USC QB commit Jonas Williams balled out this week for 358 yards, 4 TDs, and some unreal throws\ud83d\udc40\u270c\ud83c\udffb\ud83d\udd25#FightOn<\/a>\u270c\ud83c\udffb pic.twitter.com\/seRuWT7XZk<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Arrogant Nation\u270c\ud83c\udffb (@FightOnRusty) August 31, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Group of 5 director of player personnel 1: Kane Archer from Arkansas. He\u2019s committed to UCF \u2014 13-0 as a starter, 57 touchdowns, two interceptions (as a junior). Really accurate. He\u2019s got good size. Can run as well. I mean, the kid\u2019s a winner. He\u2019s one of the most talented quarterbacks I\u2019ve seen. He ran for 800 yards and 10 touchdowns, too.<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 4: The problem is my favorite quarterback is (in the Class of 2025), Brady Hart (current Texas A&M freshman). Landon Duckworth (South Carolina) is obviously up there, but it would have been Brady for me (before he reclassified). And then my third one would be Dia Bell (Texas).<\/p>\n P4 recruiting coordinator: I love Dia (Bell). Obviously, he can do everything on the football field. That\u2019s evident. But he\u2019s such a good kid. I (also) love Landon Duckworth. Freak athlete, he can throw the ball. He\u2019s nowhere near close to scratching the surface of being a quarterback.<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 5: The guy that I really liked was Jake Fette (Arizona State). We were kind of on him early, really liked him, dual-threat guy. He was just kind of a man amongst boys in the league that he\u2019s playing in. Very accurate. He\u2019s just super efficient. And then had good feel, knew when to take off with his feet. He was pretty talented.<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 6: I would say my favorite one in the class is probably Faizon Brandon (Tennessee). I just think that talent-wise, he\u2019s the best. I don\u2019t know the kid, but just from a football ability standpoint, it\u2019s really hard to find something that he\u2019s not good at on tape, and I can see why he\u2019s ranked as high as he is. Sometimes with those quarterbacks, they\u2019re ranked super high off of upside, but for him, I see a really high floor. It\u2019s just really hard for me to find something on tape that he can\u2019t do well. Even on the game tape, too. There\u2019s not much of a difference between the game tape and the highlight (reel), which is certainly what you want.<\/p>\n P4 general manager: Keisean Henderson. I just think what he is athletically, talent-wise, he\u2019s very, very special and has every bit the chance to be not only incredibly dominant but also (dominate) in every facet of his game \u2014 not only throwing the ball but running the ball. He\u2019s a threat no matter where the ball is in his hand. Let me put it that way.<\/p>\n Who is the most underrated QB in the class?<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 1: Luke Fahey (Ohio State) is probably underrated, but he\u2019s just small. Femi Babalola, Boston College\u2019s guy. I think he has the traits.<\/p>\n P4 offensive coordinator: Quinn Murphy (Baylor), without a doubt. He\u2019s got a really, really live arm, especially down the field. He\u2019s extremely intelligent. He has a football mind, so you can talk concepts with him. He\u2019s actually a lot more athletic than people give him credit for. He\u2019s going to be very similar to the Sawyer Robertson kid.<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 2: The Femi (Babalola) kid from Nashville. I think he\u2019s got a chance to be \u2014 if he figures it all out \u2014 a Sunday player. It\u2019s just a matter of if someone takes him and tries to make him a tight end or lets him try to be a quarterback. When you watch him, he\u2019s got a bunch of tools. He\u2019s just got to figure out how to throw the ball with more accuracy, which is a hard thing to improve. But he certainly has tools. I like him a lot.<\/p>\n Take a look at some of Boston College QB commit Femi Babalola’s (@FemiBab2026<\/a>) best plays from Ravenwood’s 42-10 win over Franklin HS (TN)@BostonCollegeSI<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/H1NoixZJG0<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mason Woods (@mawoods_) September 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 3: Oregon State has done a good job getting their claws in Deagan Rose. He\u2019s not really looked around at all. His baseball background, he\u2019s a good thrower. We were definitely intrigued by him.<\/p>\n P4 assistant director of player personnel 1: Luke Fahey from Mission Viejo. We were really, really high on him. He\u2019s a big-time player. I think the other one would be Michael Mitchell Jr. (Vanderbilt). The ball comes off his hands well. He\u2019s very undersized, though. I think he\u2019ll be a good player as well.<\/p>\n Group of 5 director of player personnel 1: Miles Teodecki from Vandegrift, Texas. (He was) 15-1 as a starter (as a junior), 48 touchdowns, seven interceptions. Kansas State commit, but he snuck into Kansas State and didn\u2019t have any other real big offers. Pretty sure he was a state champion there, and he\u2019s really impressive. (Kansas State) kind of hid him under the radar.<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 4: Tristan Zale (uncommitted). He\u2019s got nothing going on (with offers), but he can spin it. His camp tape, holy s\u2014. He has really good film.<\/p>\n P4 recruiting coordinator: I like the Xavier Stearn kid (Rutgers). Years from now, he could be a guy. I think Michael Clayton, the Illinois commit, if he can dial in, he\u2019s got all the talent in the world to be legit. And then that kid from Cincinnati, Matt Ponatoski, I might give him as my answer. I don\u2019t know why Ohio State never went (in) on him.<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 5: Michael Mitchell Jr. He was a guy from California, Archbishop Riordan. Came out to camp, and he\u2019s a little dude. We\u2019ve got him at 5-9 and change. But this dude could rip it. Committed to Vanderbilt. I think people were probably a little turned off by his size, but from an arm talent perspective, he can really throw it.<\/p>\n I would roll with Kyden Barker (as my favorite G5 quarterback). I just think he\u2019s a good quarterback. He\u2019s a good player. He\u2019s a confident passer. He improved a ton over the year. He\u2019s committed to Tulsa. Maybe somebody else will come grab him.<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 6: The first one is committed to Boston College, Femi Babalola. I like him a lot. I think he\u2019s a really interesting player. We did a lot of background on him, and I really like the kid. I liked what he was about. People in the area said really good things about him. If we didn\u2019t have our guy, he\u2019d certainly be a guy that I think we\u2019d look at. You\u2019ve got a ton of raw ability. He\u2019s not really fully a complete package but totally worth taking the risk on and (has) extremely high upside. Those are the guys that you take your swing at. \u2026 I think Ryan Hopkins, who committed to Wisconsin. I\u2019m surprised that a school like UCLA wouldn\u2019t be all over him or a school like Cal or even Washington. I like that guy a lot. He\u2019s not the biggest guy, not the strongest guy in terms of arm talent, but he\u2019s just really well-rounded, high floor. He\u2019s pretty underrated.<\/p>\n And then Nathan Bernhard, who\u2019s committed to App State, I think he\u2019s really good. To me, there\u2019s no way that he\u2019ll sign G5. I\u2019d be just shocked, especially after his senior year. You see a huge progression from sophomore to junior year. Really good athlete, three-sport guy, massive frame. He\u2019s listed on most of the sites somewhere around 6-5, 230. But he looks like he\u2019s 6-5 and maybe 240. Just going to be hard to tackle in college.<\/p>\n P4 general manager: Before I would\u2019ve said Bryson Beaver, but I feel like a lot of people have gotten on that hype train, especially once he flipped from Boise to Oregon. But that\u2019d be my answer on him, still. I think he\u2019s every bit a really, really good player and special.<\/p>\n Who will be the biggest surprise in three years?<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 1: I was high on Gavin Sidwar (Missouri) initially and he\u2019s just been kind of quiet.<\/p>\n P4 offensive coordinator: The Femi Babalola kid. He\u2019s a freak, man. He\u2019s going to go to Boston College and people are going to be like, \u201cWho is this kid?\u201d He\u2019s 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, he can run, he can throw it. Great kid. Very competitive. I really like him.<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 3: Daniel Rolovich (San Jose State). He\u2019s a good athlete with good arm strength and a good head on his shoulders. I think he\u2019s just getting a little smoother mechanically, but he\u2019s one to watch.<\/p>\n P4 assistant director of player personnel 1: Ryder Lyons, when he comes off his mission.<\/p>\n Group of 5 director of player personnel 1: Probably Brodie Vehrs or Nathan Bernhard, but I\u2019d say Brodie Vehrs. He committed to North Texas. He was originally committed to Northern Arizona. He\u2019s from Basha (Ariz.) High School, kind of a smaller quarterback. But he\u2019s really good. He\u2019s gonna be a good one.<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 4: Gavin Sidwar. He\u2019ll be better than people think. I think he\u2019s a system guy, and I think the system he\u2019s going to will help him. I think he\u2019s better than the other guys. I think he\u2019s better than (current Missouri freshman Matt) Zollers. He\u2019s more consistent. I think if you put all those guys in a room together, he\u2019s gonna come out on top.<\/p>\n P4 recruiting coordinator: Jyron Hughley, the West Virginia commit. There\u2019s something about kids that, kind of like Lamar (Jackson), where people wanted to move him to other positions and he\u2019s just talented enough at quarterback but the conviction of wanting to excel at that position and digging your heels in and saying, \u201cI\u2019m going to a smaller school because I want to play quarterback and I\u2019m gonna go do my thing.\u201d I\u2019ve got a lot of respect for that. And he\u2019s super athletic. He fits that system and that conference.<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 5: I\u2019m gonna go with Legend Bey (Tennessee). He\u2019s a quarterback from North Forney (Texas). I don\u2019t know that he ends up as a quarterback. There\u2019s probably some opportunity for him to maybe play some wildcat or maybe they use him as a quarterback. He\u2019s definitely a very, very dynamic athlete, and he\u2019s got a unique skill set of size and power.<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 6: One that I think will be in a positive light is the kid Oscar Rios, committed to Arizona. That\u2019s another great take. That\u2019s a great take on their part, and I really like the guys at Arizona. I hope they can keep a hold of him. But I think he\u2019ll be a really, really good player.<\/p>\n P4 general manager: Travis Burgess (North Carolina), probably just for upside. I just think he\u2019s borderline, probably just scratching the surface. Between him probably or Oscar Rios.<\/p>\n Who is most ready to start right away?<\/p>\n P4 director of player personnel 1: Probably Jared Curtis (Georgia). The size profile. The maturity levels. From the aspect of throwing the football. I think Dia Bell, from an accuracy perspective, is far along. I think Bowe Bentley, from an intelligence perspective, will be ready early, but I don\u2019t think he\u2019ll have to go in early.<\/p>\n Jared Curtis out there looking like Matt Stafford\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/V6Yo1vPVZj<\/a><\/p>\n