The countdown can begin. We’re officially under 100 days until the start of the 2026 college football season.

To get you ready, The Denver Gazette will preview the upcoming campaign throughout the month of June with a four-part series on the Big 12, ahead of the conference’s annual media days in early July in Frisco, Texas.

Here we conclude our series by ranking the 16 projected starting quarterbacks:

1. Noah Fifita, Arizona

There’s only one place this list could start. It’s with the reigning first-team All-Big 12 player at the position. Players like Fifita are becoming rarer and rarer as he enters year five in the Wildcats program and year four as the starting quarterback. It hasn’t been a smooth ride, but Fifita stuck it out and deserves recognition after a career-best 3,228 passing yards and 29 touchdowns to just six interceptions in 2025.

2. Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State

Is this too high for someone who hasn’t played in the Big 12? Maybe, but discount Mestemaker and the new-look Cowboys at your peril. The former walk-on who didn’t start for his high school team in Austin, Texas, is coming off a season in which he led the nation in passing with 4,379 yards as a freshman at North Texas. He followed coach Eric Morris to Stillwater and should pick up right where he left off as the leader of an explosive offense.

3. Devon Dampier, Utah

The only reason Dampier didn’t find himself a spot higher is because of an offensive coordinator change in Salt Lake City. Jason Beck, who fueled Dampier’s productive last two seasons at both New Mexico and Utah, followed Kyle Whittingham to Michigan and now Dampier is running a unit led by former Utah State coordinator Kevin McGiven. Still, Dampier proved last season with over 3,300 total yards and 34 total touchdowns that he’s one of the Big 12’s best playmakers.

4. Bear Bachmeier, BYU

The Cougars couldn’t have asked for more from their true freshman QB last fall. After spending the spring at Stanford, Bachmeier transferred to BYU in the summer and ran away with the competition. He turned in a productive season (over 3,500 total yards and 26 total touchdowns) while leading his team to a 12-2 record, narrowly missing out on the College Football Playoff. 

5. Conner Weigman, Houston

The move back home has paid off in a big way for Weigman, a Houston-area native and former five-star recruit who played parts of three seasons at Texas A&M. The 2025 season was a breakout one for Weigman and the Cougars as he racked up over 3,400 yards of total offense and 36 total touchdowns while Houston went 10-3 in coach Willie Fritz’s second season.

6. Alonza Barnett III, Central Florida

Now we enter the portion of the list where we must discern between newcomers with plenty of success at lower levels of college football. Let’s start with Barnett, who led James Madison to the CFP last season as one of the top dual-threat QBs at the Group of Six level for a second-straight year. He totaled 6,435 yards of total offense and 71 total touchdowns over the last two seasons.

7. Jaden Craig, TCU

While the jump up from the Ivy League will be big, there’s reason to believe Craig will put up big numbers in a TCU offense, led by new coordinator Gordon Sammis, that often does that. The Harvard transfer had 5,299 passing yards and 48 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions over the last two seasons.

8. Jaylen Raynor, Iowa State

Raynor has three years of productive starting experience at Arkansas State, but he finds himself third in this trio of Big 12 newcomers because of the uncertainty surrounding his supporting cast on an Iowa State team that will look completely different this fall. Still, Raynor is a good player to hand the keys of the offense to with over 8,600 passing yards, over 1,110 rushing yards and 67 total touchdowns to his name.

9. DJ Lagway, Baylor

The enigmatic Florida transfer is the hardest player to place on this list. There’s a good argument he has the most talent of any QB in the conference, but he never put it together in two seasons in Gainesville and now will look to rehabilitate his status as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate at Baylor. This could go really well, or really poorly, for Lagway and the Bears. 

10. Avery Johnson, Kansas State

The Wildcats are hoping new coach Collin Klein, a Loveland native who is also a K-State legend, can finally extract the most out of Johnson. The Wichita native’s career has one big ‘What if?’ so far as he enters his senior season, but he has the potential to be a top-five player in the Big 12 with his dual-threat capabilities, something that was best on display in 2024 when he had 3,317 yards of total offense and 32 touchdowns.

11. Julian “JuJu” Lewis, Colorado

It was really only 2 1/2 games, and that’s why Lewis can’t go any higher on this list. But the freshman looked the part for the Buffaloes. After coming in for the second half of a blowout loss to Arizona, Lewis started the next two games against Arizona State and West Virginia, racking up 460 passing yards and three touchdowns to zero interceptions. He’s in line for a big second season under new offensive coordinator Brennan Marion and his “GoGo” offense.

12. Will Hammond, Texas Tech

Who is Hammond? That’s the question college football is asking after the Brendan Sorsby saga ends with Sorsby giving up any potential chance to play for the Red Raiders this fall. Hammond impressed in limited action last season before tearing his ACL, and that injury uncertainty is why he isn’t higher, even though Texas Tech believes he’ll be ready in September. The sophomore was particularly stellar in the Week 4 win at Utah last season when he was 13-for-16 passing for 169 yards and two touchdowns to go with 61 rushing yards. 

13. JC French IV or Liam O’Brien, Cincinnati

The first uncertain quarterback situation on the list, it’s a battle between two players looking to make the jump up from a lower level. French is the favorite given his production the last two seasons at Georgia Southern (5,760 passing yards and 37 touchdowns), but don’t discount O’Brien, who had nearly 2,400 passing yards and 19 touchdowns last year at Penn.

14. Michael Hawkins, West Virginia

Hawkins might be the biggest wild card on this list. The former five-star recruit left Oklahoma after never finding his footing across his first two seasons, amassing just 950 passing yards, 262 rushing yards and eight total touchdowns in 10 games for the Sooners. He’ll be challenged by sophomore Scotty Fox, but Hawkins is the biggest ceiling-raiser on the Mountaineers roster.

15. Cutter Boley or Mikey Keene, Arizona State

It’s genuinely a toss-up in terms of which player starts for Kenny Dillingham’s Sun Devils. Boley had a solid redshirt freshman season in the SEC, throwing for over 2,100 yards and 15 touchdowns at Kentucky, but turnover problems (12 interceptions) are a reason he was looking for a new home in the offseason. Keene is a multiyear starter with over 8,000 career passing yards and 65 touchdowns, but hasn’t played since 2024 at Fresno State after sitting on the bench all last season at Michigan. 

16. Kansas starter TBD

The final spot on this list is up for grabs between three Jayhawks. Cole Ballard was the backup behind Jalon Daniels for three seasons, putting up 445 passing yards and three touchdowns in limited action, while Isaiah Marshall is looking for an increased role after being used sparingly as a runner in 2025. The wild card is Rice transfer Chase Jenkins, a converted wide receiver who started all 12 games for the Owls last season and racked up over 1,600 total yards and 15 total touchdowns.