Breaking down the biggest quarterback flips of the 2026 class

The 2026 recruiting cycle hasn’t seen a big influx of commitment flips just yet, but we have already seen some big-name quarterback prospects change their allegiances.

Of the top 25 players at the position, six have flipped from one school to another, including one passer who is now on his third commitment. And it’s possible we’ll see even more before National Signing Day with potential coaching changes on the horizon.

These six decisions have been hugely impactful both for the teams they left and the ones they joined:

Jonas Williams – USC

Williams, a one-time Oregon commit, got the ball rolling back in February on quarterback flips when he moved his pledge from the Ducks to the rival Trojans. At that point, he had been committed to the Ducks for nearly six months. But he took a junior day visit to Los Angeles as Oregon pursued other QB targets, including five-stars Ryder Lyons and Jared Curtis — neither of which ended up in Oregon’s class.

Lincoln Riley and Co. and zeroed in on him as their No. 1 target and got him into a class that currently ranks No. 1 nationally in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

“Coach Riley, he is the driving factor in the my recruitment,” Williams told Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong prior to his decision. “Also what they did with the ’25 class and what they’re doing with the ’26 class is pretty intriguing.”

Jett Thomalla – Alabama

In April, Thomalla gave his verbal to Iowa State, which had beaten out Iowa, Duke, Missouri, Oklahoma State and a host of others for the four-star passer. It was a big victory for Matt Campbell and his staff, but it was ultimately short-lived. A month after his commitment, Alabama extended an offer to the Omaha native. Much like they did with Keelon Russell in the previous cycle, the Tide turned up the temperature quickly in their pursuit.

He still took an official visit to Iowa State the second week of June, but it came after he’d stopped in Tuscaloosa. A few days before the Elite 11 Finals in Los Angeles, Thomalla made a final decision and flipped to Kalen DeBoer. He’s off to a scorching start this fall, throwing for more than 1,000 yards and 20 touchdowns through four games.

Brady Smigiel – Michigan

Florida State struck early on Smigiel, landing his commitment all the way back in June 2024. At the time, the ‘Noles were coming off a terrific season on the field and had a ton of buzz on the recruiting trail. Then their disastrous season on the field hit, the changed offensive coordinators and a lot of questions began to surround Mike Norvell.

Smigiel decided to take a step back from his recruitment and reopened everything. A handful of schools became heavily involved, namely South Carolina, Michigan and Washington. After trips to see the Gamecocks and Wolverines over a two-week span in April, he committed to Michigan. His addition helps build depth around current starter and 2025 No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood.

Peyton Falzone – Auburn

A Pennsylvania native, Falzone has had a winding recruitment. Originally offered by his home state school, Penn State, as a tight end, he opted to commit to Virginia Tech as a quarterback instead. But after an offseason of training and improvement, he received an offer from the Nittany Lions as a quarterback. Soon after, he flipped his commitment and looked to be locked in to head to Happy Valley.

Behind the scenes though, Auburn was working to get him in their class after they missed out on four-star Landon Duckworth. He never made a public visit to the Plains over the summer, but seemingly out of nowhere he flipped his pledge to the Tigers at the end of June. Penn State still has four-star Troy Huhn committed, but the high-upside Falzone looks to be just scratching the surface of his physical potential.

Through four games this season, he has completed 66 of 98 attempts (67%) while throwing for 1,168 yards and 11 touchdowns. A dual-threat, he has added 20 carries for 195 yards and six more scores on the ground.

Bryson Beaver – Oregon

After losing Williams and then missing out on both Lyons and Curtis, the Ducks had to go back to the drawing board. But luckily for them, there was a burgeoning star not far from their backyard in southern California. Beaver initially committed to Boise State in April after a strong junior season where he accounted for 35 touchdowns and threw for more than 3,200 yards.

Two months after his initial pledge — and after throwing for Oregon’s staff — he drew an offer from Dan Lanning and Will Stein and ultimately took it. Ole Miss, Alabama, Colorado and LSU also got in the mix prior to his decision, but after a standout performance at the Elite 11 Finals, he knew he wanted to stay on the West Coast. He has since risen up the rankings and now checks in as Rivals’ No. 7 QB in the class.

Jaden O’Neal – Florida State

One of California’s most prolific high school quarterbacks, O’Neal was sought-after by dozens of programs before he committed to the Sooners in June 2024. Eventually, he even decided to transfer to the Sooner State for his final high school season, moving to Mustang (Okla.). It was supposed to be an opportunity for him to be closer to the program he’d committed to and help with the team’s recruiting efforts.

But in the midst of all this, OU’s staff — which changed offensive coordinators from when he’d pledged — was looking to bring in a second quarterback. Their attention turned to Celina (Texas) star Bowe Bentley, and he did ultimately choose OU on June 20. The day before that, O’Neal decommitted after nearly a year and started looking at other schools. The Seminoles quickly jumped to the top of his list and found their replacement in the class for Smigiel.