Transfer Portal Rankings: Top 25 quarterbacks to watch

The NCAA transfer portal is open, and thousands of student-athletes have flooded its gates since midnight ET on Jan. 2. This includes many big-time college football players, including some major talent at the quarterback position.

This past season, many QBs found success at their new schools after hitting the portal. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza transferred from Cal and eventually won the Heisman Trophy. Trinidad Chambliss came in from Division II Ferris State and has Ole Miss in the national semifinal. Carson Beck, John Mateer and more all experienced College Football Playoff levels of success after transferring to their new programs.

That being said, here are the top 25 quarterbacks to enter the NCAA transfer portal as of Jan. 2, according to the On3’s transfer portal rankings. Read below how the list shakes up.

1. Sam Leavitt, Arizona State

Leavitt was looked at as one of college football’s top returning quarterbacks in 2025 after leading Arizona State to a Big 12 Championship and subsequent College Football Playoff appearance. That season, he threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Injuries got in the way of a breakout 2025 season, but finished the year with 1,628 passing yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s currently the No. 2 overall player in the transfer portal behind former Auburn WR Cam Coleman.

2. Drew Mestemaker, North Texas

Drew Mestemaker completed 68.9% of his passes during the 2025 season while leading FBS in passing yards with 4,379 yards across 14 games. He threw for 34 touchdowns (tied for second nationally) compared to just nine interceptions and was named the American Conference’s offensive player of the year as a result.

Mestemaker’s former head coach, Eric Morris, has taken over the head job at Oklahoma State. The duo helped lead North Texas to a 12-2 record this past season.

3. Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati

Sorsby will be in his fifth season of college football in 2026 after spending two seasons at Indiana and two at Cincinnati. However, he used his freshman redshirt in 2022 after appearing in just one game with the Hoosiers.

In 2025, Sorsby went 207-336 passing (61.6%) for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns, against just five interceptions. He was also a dual-threat option, rushing for 580 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging a career-high 5.8 yards per carry.

4. Byrum Brown, USF

Byrum Brown spent all four years of his college career so far at USF with his most successful yet coming in 2025. Helping lead the Bulls to wins over Boise State and Florida to start the year, USF finished the season with a 9-3 record. His former head coach at USF, Alex Golesh, has since been hired at Auburn.

During his time at USF, Brown appeared in 35 games throwing for 61 touchdowns compared to 19 interceptions. A dual-threat QB, he has 92 touchdowns overall in his career.

5. Dylan Raiola, Nebraska

Dylan Raiola’s 2025 season was cut short after undergoing successful surgery to heal a broken fibula. A former five-star recruit, Raiola has been the starting quarterback at Nebraska since his true freshman season a year ago.

Raiola finished his second at Nebraska with 2,000 passing yards and 18 touchdowns, compared to just six interceptions. He posted an impressive 72.4% completion percentage before being shut down for the rest of the season.

6. Josh Hoover, TCU

For the past three seasons, Hoover has been the primary starting quarterback for the Horned Frogs. In 26 career games at TCU, he completed 65.2% of his passes for 9,629 yards and 71 touchdowns to 33 interceptions. He also has eight rushing touchdowns, but isn’t known for his dual-threat abilities.

Notably, he was committed to Indiana out of high school before eventually de-committing and playing for Sonny Dykes in Fort Worth. He is a former three-star recruit.

7. DJ Lagway, Florida

There was hope that DJ Lagway would lead Florida to the College Football Playoff in 2025. Instead, the season didn’t go exactly how Lagway or the Gators planned, finishing with a 4-8 record after an eight-win season in 2024.

Lagway ultimately played in all 12 games for Florida this season. He completed 63% (213-337) of his passes while throwing for 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions across 2,264 yards. He’s a former five-star recruit.

8. Deuce Knight, Auburn

Deuce Knight, a former five-star recruit, finished his true freshman season with 259 passing yards and two touchdowns. He added 13 carries for 178 yards and four additional scores during two appearances.

He made one start — the Nov. 22 matchup vs. Mercer. Knight finished the game 15-20 (75 percent) passing for 239 yards while also running for 162 yards during the contest. He accounted for six total touchdowns during the contest.

9. Rocco Becht, Iowa State

Rocco Becht has spent the last three seasons as Iowa State‘s starting quarterback, leading the Cyclones to a 26-13 record in that span. He surpassed the 3,000 passing yard mark in both 2023 and 2024, but passed for just 2,584 yards this season.

His former coach with the Cyclones, Matt Campbell, has taken the same job at Penn State. He has already visited the Nittany Lions.

10. Kenny Minchey, Notre Dame

Kenny Minchey spent the 2025 season as Notre Dame’s backup QB to CJ Carr. In six appearances this season, he completed 20 of 26 passes for 196 yards. He also rushed seven times for 84 yards and a touchdown.

Minchey ultimately spent three seasons in South Bend. He is a former four-star recruit.

On3 Transfer Portal QB Rankings 11-25

11. Ethan Grunkemeyer, Penn State
12. Cutter Boley, Kentucky
13. Aidan Chiles, Michigan State
14. Beau Pribula, Missouri
15. Katin Houser, ECU
16. Lincoln Kienholz, Ohio State
17. Anthony Colandrea, UNLV
18. Colton Joseph, Old Dominion
19. Aaron Philo, Georgia Tech
20. Billy Edwards Jr., Wisconsin
21. Jaden Craig, Harvard
22. Bryce Baker, North Carolina
23. Austin Simmons, Ole Miss
24. Dylan Lonergan, Boston College
25. JC French, Georgia Southern