Welcome to the final edition of “Friday Five” in 2026. It finally happened, folks. After years of in-fighting and petty behavior, the Mountain West split has actually happened. The “departing five” have left to reform the Pac-12. The Mountain West has added the likes of North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, and UTEP to fill the gaps.
We at the Mountain West Connection intend to cover both conferences going forward. “Friday Five” features the five best of, well, anything leading into football season,
alternating between each conference week-to-week. Best quarterbacks, stadiums, mascots, who knows. We saved the best for last: the top quarterbacks in the Mountain West Conference.
5. Nathan Hayes, North Dakota State
The quarterback position tends to be a premium target in the transfer portal. That considered, it’s surprising how many promising quarterbacks the Mountain West has this fall. At #5 I’m putting Nathan Hayes Sr. here. He was a backup in 10 games last season and hasn’t made his mark in Fargo yet, but when a program produces five straight quarterbacks that touched an NFL roster, you’ve more than earned the benefit of the doubt. Expect Hayes to break out this fall.
4. Jack Layne, New Mexico
Layne returns to Albuquerque this fall after starting all 13 games for the Lobos. He had a strong completion percentage of 65%, while throwing for 2,486 yards. The 13 touchdowns to 10 interceptions stat line isn’t the prettiest ratio, but Layne displayed his leadership in crucial moments throughout the season to put the Lobos in position to compete for the conference championship. He’s dealing with a bit of an injury right now, but the hope is that he’ll be ready for Week 1.
3. Jackson Arnold, UNLV
While young, successful Group of 6 quarterbacks tend to move up into the Power 4, the former superstar recruits with checkered results tend to move down to prove their talents. That’s Jackson Arnold. The one-time five-star recruit was expected to be the next big thing at Oklahoma, but that didn’t pan out. The results at Auburn were not much better. He threw for 1,309 passing yards for the Tigers and turned into a running quarterback of sorts for them, effective in that department. Now quarterback guru Dan Mullen will try to unlock Arnold’s talent. I’ll wager he’ll do exactly that.
2. Liam Szarka, Air Force
An Air Force quarterback makes the list?! You bet. Szarka took the Mountain West by storm last season, throwing a surprisingly good ball for an Air Force quarterback. Throwing for 1,294 yards isn’t eye-catching, but it’s pretty solid for a triple option quarterback that missed time due to injury. Szarka also rushed for 933 yards for 13 touchdowns on the way to being voted honorable mention all-conference. Yes, staying healthy is an uphill climb for an option quarterback, but if Szarka can stay on the field he makes Air Force a threat to spoil the party for the conference frontrunners this season.
1. Micah Alejado, Hawaii
Finally, after months of putting together these top five lists, we arrive at the face of the Mountain West in 2026. The preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Hawaii’s Micah Alejado. The now sophomore from Vegas burst onto the scene as a redshirt freshman last season, throwing for 3,106 yards and 24 touchdown passes and kept the interception total at 9 despite the pass-heavy offense. Gaudy numbers considering Alejado missed time due to injury and was nursing an ankle injury all season. Major kudos to Hawaii for hanging onto Alejado, surely the Power 4 vultures were lurking. Alejado is a big reason why people around the country will stay up late to watch the Warriors play and, if healthy, could have a massive season.
Others in consideration: There are still a bunch of quarterback battles brewing in the conference, but I think Wyoming’s Tyler Hughes has the ability to surprise. UTEP’s EJ Colson is also a gifted player, and of course I cannot omit former Hawaii Warriors Luke Weaver, now with San Jose State in a passing system built to put up big numbers. If I had to pick someone from the remaining field to crack the top 5 postseason, it would be Weaver.
