The college football teams with the best quarterbacks will enter any season ranked among best in the country. So it’s no surprise that when it comes to ranking the best quarterback rooms, the collection includes many of the teams expected to contend for championships in 2024.
Quarterback remains the most important position on the field, but the ability to remain in championship contention has. at times, required the use of not just a high-level starter but quality backups who can step up when their number is called.
Just last season, Texas needed Maalik Murphy to step in for the injured Quinn Ewers on the way to a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff appearance; Tua Tagovailoa famously stepped in for Jalen Hurts in Alabama’s epic overtime win against Georgia in 2017 in the national title game; and Ohio State needed not just two but three quarterbacks en route to winning it all in 2014.
Having one quarterback you can trust gives you a shot to contend for championships, but in the ups and downs of a title run, there may be times where the depth at the position is tested, and that’s where having a healthy quarterback room proves to be so valuable.
So which teams have the best quarterback rooms in the country? We’ve identified a handful below, plus a few extra to keep an eye on heading into the 2024 season.
1. Texas
If Ewers faces another midseason bump that requires him to miss some time, Texas will once again be in great shape to keep their playoff pursuit alive thanks to the best quarterback room in the country. At this point in Ewers’ career, his experience and production have caught up to his talent to make him among the most well-rounded quarterbacks in the country. Then, behind him, we have former five-star No. 1 overall prospect Arch Manning, who has now been developing in the program for a year and a half and looked outstanding running Steve Sarkisian’s offense in the Longhorns spring game in April.
Sarkisian gets a lot of questions about Manning given his talent and star power, but when the Texas coach is discussing his quarterback room, you will often hear Trey Owens’ name added to the conversation. The 6-5, 236-pound true freshman from Cypress, Texas, is not a threat to overtake the QB1 or QB2 spot heading into fall camp, but he’s a high school All-American talent coming off a senior season that saw him throw 43 touchdowns to just four interceptions at the 6A level.
2. Georgia
Carson Beck is your current Heisman Trophy favorite and the top quarterback on many way-too-early mocks for the 2025 NFL Draft. But Georgia’s strength at the quarterback position extends beyond Beck, as he’s supported by a group that — like most of Kirby Smart’s rosters — is loaded with former blue-chip talent. Beck’s first full season a starter was a roaring success; he ranked in the top five nationally in passing yards (3rd with 3,941) and completion percentage (4th at 72.4%) on the way to a 13-1 record.
There’s a narrative about Beck taking a next step in 2024, and if that’s the case, Georgia’s offense is in for a special season because even replicating last year’s production is going to be enough to keep the Bulldogs in title contention all season. Behind Beck is Gunner Stockton, a former in-state, four-star prospect with experience in the program, and Jaden Rashada, another former four-star who arrives as a transfer from Arizona State after a much-publicized falling out with Florida. Rashada had three starts during his true freshman season with the Sun Devils, dealing with a knee injury in the fall and then a thumb injury that limited his action in the spring.
3. Ohio State
Ryan Day has yet to officially name a starter, but the Buckeyes have so many viable options on paper it’s impossible to put them too far down the list of top quarterback rooms. On one end of the experience spectrum is former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard, who totaled 28 starts and earned All-Big 12 honors (2023) during his career with the Wildcats. The Buckeyes also have experienced program backup Devin Brown, who possesses impressive athleticism but has dealt with injuries, and redshirt freshman Lincoln Kienholz, who was thrust into action in the Cotton Bowl at the end of last year.
At the other end of the experience spectrum is a pair of highly touted true freshmen in Julian Sayin and Air Noland. Sayin technically arrived as a transfer from Alabama in the wake of Nick Saban’s retirement, but he transferred in time for spring practice and drew rave reviews with his performance. Day may be faced with a quarterback-of-the-future conundrum throughout the season, but he’s got enough good options on both sides of that debate to feel confidence in the Buckeyes’ ability to contend for a title with this room.
4. Oregon
Speaking of quarterback of the now vs. quarterback of the future, Oregon may have picked up both in the transfer portal during this offseason. Dillon Gabriel is expected to be the starter as the sixth-year senior hopes to follow in the footsteps of Bo Nix with a wildly productive finish to his college career. Gabriel has shown at both UCF and Oklahoma that he can fill it up with yards and touchdowns, so using this final year of eligibility to help guide the Ducks’ offense was a perfect marriage that should benefit both sides.
Behind Gabriel is former UCLA quarterback Dante Moore, who was a top prospect coming out of high school but had some ups and downs during his true freshman season. Moore threw 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions with five starts for the Bruins in 2023, and now gets to reset a bit with the program the former five-star initially committed to during his much-followed recruitment. The room is rounded out with Austin Novosad, a potentially reliable option as a former four-star prospect in his second year with the program.
5. Alabama
The work Kalen DeBoer did constructing an offense that helped showcase Michael Penix’s best skills bodes well for what Jalen Milroe can accomplish in his second season as Alabama’s starter. Milroe’s playmaking made him a true x-factor as the Crimson Tide marched to an SEC championship last season, and now we get to see how that foundation is built upon by the new staff in Tuscaloosa.
Behind Milroe is an interesting collection of talented options that includes familiar names like Ty Simpson and Dylan Lonergan, who both participated in the quarterback battle that resulted in Milroe behind named starter in 2023. But there’s also a newcomer with Austin Mack, a 6-6, 226-pound redshirt freshman, following DeBoer as a transfer from Washington. Mack was a four-star prospect and one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the 2023 recruiting class, and with a couple years of physical development, he could end up as a part of Alabama’s future at quarterback.
Honorable mention
- Notre Dame (Riley Leonard, Steve Angeli, Kenny Michel, CJ Carr)
- Penn State (Drew Allar, Beau Pribula, Ethan Grunkemeyer)
- Ole Miss (Jaxson Dart, Walker Howard, Austin Simmons)
- Florida (Graham Mertz, DJ Lagway, Clay Millen)
- SMU (Preston Stone, Kevin Jennings)
