The Big Ten has showcased a plethora of NFL-ready quarterbacks over the past four seasons, with three Big Ten quarterbacks going in the top 10 in the last four drafts, with Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza going first overall to the Las Vegas Raiders a month ago after winning the Heisman Trophy en route to leading the program to its first national title.
While Mendoza was the only Big Ten quarterback to go in the first round of the 2026 Draft, the conference saw three in total get taken in the seven rounds,
including Penn State signal-caller Drew Allar and Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis. Interestingly, the conference could have seen even more get taken in the draft this past year, as Oregon’s Dante Moore elected to return to Eugene despite being mocked in the Top-5, and USC’s Jayden Maiava being projected to go in the third or fourth round if he came out as well.
The 2026 season sees a lot more experience returning. Nine of the 18 schools in the league will have the same quarterbacks they had last season. Seven others bring in experienced transfers, two of whom come with prior Big Ten experience from playing at Michigan State.
Because of the veteran presence in each quarterback room, the Big Ten is expected to have another monster year at the quarterback position, making it all the more difficult to rank the five best quarterbacks across the most successful conference in college football.
Alas, we sift through the Big Ten’s vast landscape of quarterbacks and determine who the best five are as they draw closer to the 2026 campaign.
5. Demond Williams – Washington
Despite entering the transfer portal and engaging in a short legal battle with the Huskies’ athletic department, Washington quarterback Demond Williams ultimately elected to return to Seattle for another season under head coach Jedd Fisch.
Williams had a very successful season in 2025, ranking sixth in the Big Ten with 3,065 passing yards. He had 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions and added 282 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He had a few breakout games that put the country on notice, including 280 yards and four touchdowns in a 42-25 victory against Illinois, and he finished the season with 210 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-10 victory against Boise State in the Los Angeles Bowl.
With another year in Washington’s system, Williams could get himself into the NFL Draft conversation while hoping to get the Huskies back into the Playoffs since falling in the National Championship three seasons ago.
4. Josh Hoover – Indiana
Josh Hoover is hoping to be the third transfer quarterback under head coach Curt Cignetti to immensely improve his game, but he will have massive shoes to fill with the outgoing quarterback winning the Heisman Trophy, a National Championship and going first overall.
Luckily for Hoover, the talent and experience are already there, and he is walking into an offense that will showcase many more weapons than he was used to at TCU. Hoover had 3,472 passing yards, 29 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with the Horned Frogs last season, but that came with a 153.4 passer rating that would have ranked eighth in the Big Ten. He has had accuracy concerns throughout his collegiate career, and it has been reported that he has been working tirelessly to fix that this offseason.
The Hoosiers reloaded in the portal this offseason, bringing in wide receiver Nick Marsh from Michigan State to be the go-to guy, so if Hoover can get the ball his way, Indiana’s offense should be just as explosive in 2026.
3. Jayden Maiava – USC
Jayden Maiava took a big step forward last season for the Trojans, leading the conference with 3,711 passing yards and finishing with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The former UNLV transfer put USC in a strong position all season long, and the Trojans were a few calls away from being in serious conversation for the College Football Playoff. With another year in Lincoln Riley’s offense, Maiava should have all of the tools to put the Trojans in positions for success, especially with the loaded class that USC brought in around him.
Maiava was 2-3 against ranked teams last season, but he averaged 303.4 passing yards per game with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions in those matchups. If he can limit putting the ball in danger, we could see him take his game to an entirely new level.
2. Julian Sayin – Ohio State
Julian Sayin looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the country through the regular season for Ohio State in 2025, but he struggled mightily against Indiana in the Big Ten Championship and Miami in the second round of the CFP.
Sayin led the FBS with a 77 percent completion percentage last season, accumulating 3,610 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Sayin was 12-2 as a starter and broke the four-game losing streak to Michigan, but he threw three interceptions in the final two games, and he took 10 total sacks against the Hoosiers and Hurricanes, getting the brunt of the criticism for how the season ended.
Returning for his second season as a starter, the redshirt sophomore will still have arguably the best receiver room in the country, highlighted by Jeremiah Smith and incoming freshman Chris Henry Jr., and he will have a fire lit behind him with Tavien St. Clair — a 6-foot-4, 230-pound redshirt freshman — competing as a high-end backup.
1. Dante Moore – Oregon
If there was a clear sign NIL has changed the college football landscape, just look at Dante Moore returning to college, despite receiving heavy interest in the NFL Draft.
Nonetheless, Moore has plenty of room to grow at the college level, and one final season with the Ducks could be the key to securing the program’s first football national championship. Moore had 3,565 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in leading the Ducks to the CFP last season, and his decision to bypass the 2026 NFL Draft gives Oregon a legit Heisman Trophy contender. Head coach Dan Lanning also brought in a former Big Ten starter, Dylan Raiola, to sit for a year behind Moore as he recovers from a broken fibula that cut short his sophomore season.
In a best-case scenario, Moore puts together a Mendoza-like season, securing Big Ten and National Championship titles, winning the Heisman Trophy and going first overall in the 2027 NFL Draft. But it is a gamble for a reason, and Oregon is running out of time to cash in on its window of college football domination.
Others to watch: Bryce Underwood (Michigan), Rocco Becht (Penn State), Katin Houser (Illinois), Malik Washington (Maryland), Colton Joseph (Wisconsin), Anthony Colandrea (Nebraska)
