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Six starting quarterbacks are back in the Big 12 this season – but it's the transfer quarterback whose status is in question that continues to hang over the conference.
Brendan Sorsby – who led the conference with a 155.1 passer rating – transferred from Cincinnati to Texas Tech. Sorsby, however, is under NCAA investigation for allegations of sports gambling that threaten his eligibility for this season. It also will have a significant impact on Texas Tech.
Who are the five returning starters? Arizona's Noah Fifita, BYU's Bear Bachmeier, Utah's Devon Dampier, Houston's Conner Weigman and Kansas State's Avery Johnson are back. Fifita and Bachmeier passed for more than 3,000 yards last season, and Johnson is still waiting to hit his ceiling analysts pegged him for out of high school.
MORE QB RANKINGS: SEC | Big Ten
Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker, UCF's Alonza Barnett III and Baylor's DJ Lagway are among the high-profile transfers in the conference. Right now, we have eight projected first-year transfer QBs who could start in the conference this season.
Sporting News ranked the quarterback rooms in the Big 12 for the 2026 season.
DECOURCY: Don't blame the gaming industry for Brandon Sorsby's troubles
Ranking Big 12 QBs for 2026
1. Utah
Starter: Devon Dampier (25 career starts; 13 at Utah; 12 at New Mexico)
Backup: Sophomore Byrd Ficklin (0 career starts)
Situation: Dampier ranked 25th in the FBS with 277.1 yards per game last season. He had 2,490 passing yards with 24 TDs and five interceptions and 835 rushing yards and 10 TDs. He ranked seventh in the Big 12 with a 146.8 passer rating. Morgan Scalley takes over as the new coach at Utah, and Utah State offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven will work with Dampier. Ficklin was a significant role player in the offense with 61 carries for 513 yards and 10 TDs. He also had 301 passing yards, three TDs and no interceptions.
MORE: Sporting News post-spring Top 25 rankings
2. Arizona
Starter: Senior Noah Fifita (34 career starts)
Backup: Freshman Oscar Rios (0 career starts)
Situation: Fifita enters his third season as a full-time starter for the Wildcats. He tied for second in the Big 12 last season with 29 TDs and ranked third with 3,228 passing yards. He has 73 career TD passes and cut his interception total from 12 to six last season. That experience should help Arizona – which won nine games – stay in the Big 12 hunt in 2026. Freshman Oscar Rios – a three-star freshman from Downey (Calif.) High School – is in line to be the backup quarterback.
3. BYU
Starter: Sophomore Bear Bachmeier (14 career starts)
Backup: Senior Treyson Bourguet (8 career starts at Western Michigan)
Situation: Bachmeier is a potential Heisman candidate as a sophomore. He's a throwback quarterback who passed for 3,033 yards, rushed for 527 yards and totaled 26 TDs as a freshman. Bachmeier had 147 rushing attempts – and the 6-foot-2, 230-pound quarterback improved as a passer – and that showed with a 325-yard performance in a 25-21 victory against Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The Cougars will be the Big 12 preseason favorites as a result. Bourguet is an experienced backup who made career starts with Western Michigan. He is a reliable backup option behind Bachmeier.
4. Oklahoma State
Starter: Sophomore Drew Mestmaker (15 career starts at North Texas)
Backup: Senior Grant Jordan (11 career starts; 2 at UMass, 9 at Yale)
Situation: The Cowboys were last in these rankings last season. Oklahoma State begins a new era with coach Eric Morris, and Mestemaker should make that an easy transition. The redshirt sophomore followed his coach from North Texas – where he led the FBS with 4,379 passing yards last season. He also had 34 TDs and nine interceptions. Mestemaker – who is 6-foot-4 and 211 pounds – could generate some NFL interest with a huge junior season in the Big 12. Jordan is a two-time transfer quarterback who was an All-Ivy League honorable mention selection at Yale in 2024.
5. Houston
Starter: Senior
(26 career starts; 13 at Houston; 13 at Texas A&M)
Backup: Freshman Keisean Henderson (0 career starts)
Situation: Weigman – a Texas A&M transfer – ranked fifth in the Big 12 in passer rating (147.1) and passing TDs (25), and he finished seventh with 2,705 yards. He's experienced a resurgence with coach Willie Fritz as one of the top returning QBs in the conference. Houston also has Henderson, a five-star quarterback who stayed close to home and gets a year to develop with second-year offensive coordinator Slade Nagle. The Cougars are coming off a 10-win season and are a trendy College Football Playoff sleeper as a result.
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6. Kansas State
Starter: Senior Avery Johnson (26 career starts)
Backup: Junior Jacob Knuth (0 career starts)
Situation: Johnson is a third-year starter who gets a new perspective with first-year coach Collin Klein, who returns to his alma mater after a successful stint as Texas A&M's offensive coordinator. Johnson has piled up 5,576 passing yards, 1,378 rushing yards and 70 total TDs the last three seasons, but the Wildcats slipped to 6-6 last season. Knuth returns as a backup option, but he will be challenged by sophomore Blake Barnett.
7. UCF
Starter: Senior Alonzo Barnett III (27 career starts at James Madison)
Backup: Senior Keyone Jenkins (23 career starts at FIU)
Situation: The Knights have two QBs with a combined 50 career starts heading into Scott Frost's second season with the program. Barnett was limited after his 14-game season throughout spring football after leading James Madison to the College Football Playoff last season and will work with quarterbacks coach McKenzie Milton. Barnett averaged 2,702 passing yards and 515 rushing yards the last two seasons with 72 total TDs. He's a staff-stuffer who should produce in the Big 12. Jenkins was a two-year starter at FIU who has 42 career TD passes – so depth will not be an issue for the Knights.
8. Baylor
Starter: Junior DJ Lagway (19 career starts at Florida)
Backup: Sophomore Nate Bennett (0 career starts)
Situation: Lagway – whose father Derek played running back at Baylor – gets a fresh start after transferring from Florida. Lagway has some high-end potential. He had a 62% completion percentage with the Gators as a two-year starter. He did lead the SEC with 14 interceptions last season, but eight of those interceptions were in two games. He should settle in as a bounce-back candidate with the Bears. Bennett was the primary backup for Sawyer Robertson last season.
9. Arizona State
Starter: Sophomore Cutter Boley (11 career starts at Kentucky)
Backup: Senior Mikey Keene (34 career starts; 11 at UCF; 23 at Fresno State)
Situation: Kenny Dillingham rebuilt the quarterback room after Sam Leavitt transferred to LSU with a pair of experienced transfers. Boley is the favorite to start. He had 2,160 yards, 15 TDs and 12 interceptions after taking over as the starter at Kentucky last season. Keene played at UCF and Fresno State before spending one season at Michigan as a backup. Boley is a potential breakout candidate if he maintains a 65.8% completion percentage and cuts down on mistakes – which is possible under Dillingham.
10. Colorado
Starter: Freshman Julian Lewis (2 career starts)
Backup: Sophomore Isaac Wilson (7 career starts at Utah)
Situation: Lewis made a pair of starts last season – and the four-star recruit compiled 589 passing yards with four TDs and no interceptions. He had a 55.3% completion percentage – and Colorado coach Deion Sanders hired Sacramento State head coach Brennan Marion as the new offensive coordinator. How will that impact the offense? Lewis took 11 sacks in his two starts, so the protection will have to be better, too. Danny Scudero transferred in from San Jose State after leading the nation in receiving. Isaac Wilson played two seasons at Utah and had a 56.4% completion percentage – but he threw just one pass in 2025.
11. TCU
Starter: Senior Jaden Craig (24 career starts at Harvard)
Backup: Freshman Adam Schobel (0 career starts)
Situation: Craig is an intriguing first-year transfer quarterback who replaces three-year starter Josh Hoover, who transferred to Indiana. Craig had 2,869 passing yards, 25 TDs and seven interceptions at Harvard last season. The Crimson finished 9-2 and reached the FCS playoffs. He had five games with 300 or more passing yards last season and should fit into Sonny Dykes' offense with the Horned Frogs. Schobel – whose father Matt and uncle Aaron both played at TCU and in the NFL – will be the backup quarterback.
12. Iowa State
Starter: Senior Jaylen Raynor (36 career starts at Arkansas State)
Backup: Zane Flores (8 starts at Oklahoma State)
Situation: It's anybody's guess how the offense will progress at Iowa State under first-year coach Jimmy Rogers. Raynor leads a projected unit that will be made up almost completely of transfer players. He averaged 2,898 passing yards and 394 rushing yards per season at Arkansas State the last three seasons. The 6-foot, 202-pound quarterback will be a hit-or-miss playmaker. He had six games with 300 or more passing yards the last two seasons.
13. Texas Tech
Starter: Freshman Lloyd Jones Jr. (0 career starts)
Backup: Junior Kirk Francis (10 starts at Tulsa)
Situation: This is a fluid situation given Sorsby was supposed to be the starting quarterback. Sorsby remains under an NCAA investigation into gambling allegations, and his status for the season opener is uncertain. Will Hammond is rehabbing a torn ACL and is not expected to be ready for Week 1. That leaves Jones, a redshirt freshman who saw limited action last season; and Francis, who made 10 starts at Tulsa through the last three seasons and ultimately could be the best short-term option for the defending Big 12 champions.
14. Cincinnati
Starter: Senior JC French IV (26 career starts at Georgia Southern)
Backup: Senior Liam O'Brien (10 career starts at Penn)
Situation: Brendan Sorsby – a two-year starter – transferred to Texas Tech. That leaves a battle between French and O'Brien. French started the last two seasons at Georgia Southern. He totaled 5,882 passing yards, 38 TDs and 20 interceptions. He also had 612 rushing yards and eight TDs. O'Brien had 2,924 yards of total offense as a first-team All-Ivy League quarterback with the Quakers last season. It's an interesting decision for fourth-year coach Scott Satterfield, who is 15-22 since taking over at Cincinnati.
15. West Virginia
Starter: Sophomore Michael Hawkins Jr. (4 career starts at Oklahoma)
Backup: Sophomore Scotty Fox Jr. (5 career starts)
Situation: Rich Rodriguez opens Year 2 at West Virginia with another quarterback battle. Mountaineers QBs combined for 10 TDs and 11 interceptions last season. Fox made five starts for West Virginia last season – and he had 1,276 passing yards, 7 TDs and six interceptions. He added 201 rushing yards on 2.4 yards per carry. Hawkins had 950 passing yards, six TDs and two interceptions with 262 rushing yards on 3.1 yards per carry the last two seasons at Oklahoma. This battle will stretch into fall camp.
16. Kansas
Starter: Sophomore Isaiah Marshall (1 career start)
Backup: Junior Cole Ballard (0 career starts)
Situation: The Jalon Daniels' era is over at Kansas, and there is a wide-open competition for the starting spot. Sixth-year coach Lance Leipold has options. Marshall made one start last season. Ballard has played in 15 games through the past three seasons. He totaled 445 yards, three TDs and four interceptions. He has 160 rushing yards on 10.7 yards per carry in limited action. Rice transfer Chase Jenkins also could factor in the competition in fall camp. It's too close to call at this point – but there will be growing pains.
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