High school football: Top 2026 quarterbacks off to a hot start this season

The nation’s top 2026 high school quarterbacks have largely lived up to their lofty billing through the first few weeks of the football season.

A few have unfortunately suffered injuries — including a couple of the season-ending variety — but others have carried their teams to hot starts. That includes a handful of highly coveted five-stars, but a handful of other passers are making a strong case for being considered one of the nation’s best by the time the season ends.

Rivals dives into the stats below:

5-star Jared Curtis – Georgia

High School: Nashville Christian (Tenn.)
Stats: 42/60 (70%), 515 yards, 7 TD
28 CAR, 193 YDS, 3 TD

Curtis has lived up to the billing as one of the nation’s premier quarterbacks early in his senior year, but suffered an injury midway through Nashville Christian’s third game and has missed the past two.

5-star Dia Bell – Texas

High School: American Heritage (Fla.)
Stats: 42/68 (61.8%) 522 yards, 4 TD

Bell opened the season with a couple strong performances, but is sidelined for the rest of his senior campaign due to an injury.

5-star Faizon Brandon – Tennessee

High School: Grimsley (N.C.)
Stats: 11/15 (73.3%), 155 yards, 1 TD
13 CAR, 62 YDS, 1 TD

Brandon, one of the top overall prospects not only in North Carolina but nationally, has struggled with injuries so far. With only one game under his belt, Brandon is looking to get back on the field soon.

5-star Keisean Henderson – Houston

High School: Legacy School of Sports Sciences (Texas)
Stats: 99/124 (80%), 1,560 yards, 20 TD
17 CAR, 233 YDS, 3 TD

Henderson put on one of the most memorable Texas high school football performances in recent memory against Port Arthur two weeks ago. He finished 30 of 38 for 517 yards and rushed for 116 more while accounting for six touchdowns.

5-star Ryder Lyons – BYU

High School: Folsom (Calif.)
Stats: 97/128 (75.2%), 1,191 yards, 10 TD

The California five-star has been deadly accurate through Folsom’s first few games, leading the Bulldogs to a 4-1 record and a state top-10 ranking.

4-star Helaman Casuga – Texas A&M

High School: Corner Canyon (Utah)
Stats: 93/148 (62.8%), 1,663 yards, 18 TD
36 CAR, 245 YDS, 5 TD

The future Aggie has been lighting it up for Utah powerhouse Corner Canyon, already throwing 16 touchdowns and rushing for five more. The Chargers are Utah’s No. 1 ranked team after five weeks and sport an unblemished 5-0 record.

4-star Matt Ponatoski – Kentucky

High School: Moeller (Ohio)
Stats: 92/136 (68%), 1,000 yards, 13 TDs

A two-sport standout, Ponatoski has been electric on the gridiron this fall for Ohio powerhouse Moeller. In doing so, he has helped them pull off wins over Kentucky’s No. 1 team and a top-10 CPA team out of Nashville.

4-star Jett Thomalla – Alabama

High School: Millard South (Neb.)
Stats: 59/77 (77%), 1,067 yards, 20 TD

Thomalla set the Nebraska Class A career record for touchdown passes last week in a 70-7 romp over rival Millard North. With the pace he’s currently on, he’s in line to rewrite even more of the state’s record books by the time he’s done.

Other notable top quarterbacks in the 2026 class

4-star Bryson Beaver – Oregon
High School: Vista Murrieta (Calif.)
Stats: 70/102 (69%), 831 yards, 9 TDs

4-star Bowe Bentley – Oklahoma
High School: Celina (Texas)
Stats: 71/93 (76%), 1,006 yards, 6 TDs
42 CAR, 201 YDS, 6 TD

4-star Briggs Cherry – Louisville
High School: Baylor School (Tenn.)
Stats: 48/60 (80%), 977 yards, 10 TD

4-star Landon Duckworth – South Carolina
High School: Jackson (Ala.)
Stats: 51/81 (63%), 865 yards, 9 TD
24 CAR, 162 YDS, 2 TD

4-star Jake Fette – Arizona State
High School: Del Valle (Texas)
Stats: 74/118 (62.7%), 931 yards, 8 TD
32 CAR, 241 YDS, 4 TD

4-star Will Griffin – Florida
High School: Jesuit (Fla.)
Stats: 65/115 (56.5%), 912 yards, 9 TD
26 CAR, 102 YDS, 2 TD

4-star Troy Huhn – Penn State
High School: Mission Hills (Calif.)
Stats: 84/108 (78%), 1080 yards, 14 TD

4-star Oscar Rios – Arizona
High School: Downey (Calif.)
Stats: 65/112 (58%), 1,068 yards, 11 TD
29 CAR, 256 YDS, 1 TD

4-star Jonas Williams – USC
High School: Lincoln-Way East (Ill.)
Stats: 76/111 (68.5%), 1,192 yards, 16 TD

4-star Derek Zammit – Washington
High School: DePaul Catholic (N.J.)
Stats: 67/9 (68%), 951 yards, 8 TD
32 CAR, 246 YDS, 1 TD