The top 10 qb’s in the college football transfer portal

Written By Aaron Torres

Via Brendan Sorsby/Instagram

(Benjamin Hodge is an NFL Draft writer who’s work can be found at Fantasy Trading Room - here is his ranking of the top quarterbacks available in the transfer portal. You can find more of his work on Twitter @BenjaminWHodge)

With the transfer portal in full swing, it seems like a perfect time to drop a top 10 transfer portal quarterbacks ranking. There are currently over 100 quarterbacks currently in the transfer portal, so there is a wide variety to choose from. This list will also include quarterbacks who have already committed to different schools.

Before I get into my list, I’d like to cover what I value in quarterbacks.

The top two traits for me in quarterbacks are arm talent and processing.

Arm talent is much more than just throwing the ball hard. Can a guy throw with touch when needed or switch up velocities on certain route concepts? Those are additional questions to be asked.

Processing is pretty self explanatory. If a quarterback has zero clue what he’s looking at as far as route concepts and coverage rotations, it’s nearly impossible for a quarterback to find sustained success.

I’ll also say that I much prefer a quarterback that works within structure as opposed to a quarterback that overly relies on out of structure playmaking. Winning from within the structure of the offense is much more sustainable over the course of a season, and subsequently, a career.

Take Cam Ward for example. He possessed the ability at Miami, and now with the Tennessee Titans, to deliver highlight plays out of structure, but he was also a surgeon within structure with his impeccable timing and pre-snap recognition.

Similarly Trinidad Chambliss delivers wild highlight plays out of structure, as made evident in the Georgia game, but he as well is also a surgeon within the pocket, especially in the quick game. Playmaking is an important aspect of playing the quarterback position, but it shouldn’t be your primary calling card.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into some honorable mentions before we begin the top 10 countdown.

Honorable Mentions

Katin Houser - East Carolina → Illinois

Colton Joseph - Old Dominion → Wisconsin

Michael Van Buren - LSU → ?

Jaylen Raynor - Arkansas State → Iowa State

Ethan Grunkemeyer - Penn State → ?

Dylan Raiola - Nebraska → ?

Deuce Knight - Auburn → ?

DJ Lagway - Florida → ?

Now, let’s get into the top 10.

11. Byrum Brown - USF → ?

Byrum Brown kicks off this list at 10th. Brown is a bit outside of the style that I described earlier, but he’s as athletically gifted as they come. At 6’3” and 231 pounds, he has a rocket arm, can absolutely fly, and is as strong a quarterback as you’ll find.

He’s taken some steps in terms of accuracy and processing, but still has a ways to go. However, the dynamism he brings as an elite rushing threat raises his floor. As far as his college production goes, following his former head coach Alex Golesh to Auburn may be the best schematic fit for him.

10. Demond Williams - Washington → ?

Demond Williams entered the portal four days after signing an extension with Washington, and Washington is prepared to take all legal action so this one will be very interesting to monitor. But what does Demond Williams bring as a player?

Williams is an undersized gamer with great athleticism who still struggles to process efficiently. 2025 was his first full season as a starter as a true sophomore, so he still has plenty of time to clean that up. If he can get with the right staff, he could be scary.


9. Sam Leavitt - Arizona State → ?

Sam Leavitt is next up at ninth. I’m as far away from consensus on Leavitt as anyone I’ve seen, and I think he’s a player who’s highs are attractive yet are few and far between.

While he does possess a plus arm and is very athletic, he bails from the pocket at the first sign of pressure and rarely ever gets beyond his first read. He can also put his offensive line in a bad position at times due to his poor management of the pocket. I do recognize that he is capable of making highlight plays that many others may not be able to make, but his consistency from down to down leaves a lot to be desired.

8. Cutter Boley - Kentucky → Arizona State

Cutter Boley continues this list at eighth. Boley certainly had his ups and downs in his first full season as a starter, but there were glimpses of a possible future star sprinkled in there.

Boley has the requisite size at 6’5” and 220 pounds, and while he doesn’t have as strong an arm as that size may lead you to believe, he throws with great touch both over the middle of the field and outside the hashes. I was also impressed with his ability to make quick decisions in the short passing game with his pre-snap identification and essentially be a point guard-like distributor. Now, he had way too many turnover worthy plays and absolutely has to clean that up, but I’m betting on the process to project for the future rather than the bare bone results and I’m excited to see what he can do with Kenny Dillingham in Tempe.

7. Alonza Barnett III - James Madison → UCF

Coming in at seventh is Alonza Barnett III. Barnett III is someone that I’ve continued to be impressed with in terms of his growth. Not only has his accuracy, especially downfield, grown incrementally, but I was very impressed by the grit and toughness, both physically and mentally, that he played with against Oregon.

Barnett doesn’t have the strongest arm, but he throws with solid touch and is an electrifying run threat. What encourages me the most about him is that I’ve seen enough reps from him deciphering coverages and getting to his 2nd read to expect substantial growth in terms of his processing moving forward. UCF fans should be excited about their new signal caller.

6. Aidan Chiles - Michigan State → Northwestern

Aidan Chiles now slots in at sixth. This is another upside pick for me and a bet on the process more so than the results. 2025 didn’t go well for Chiles or Michigan State, otherwise Chiles, Jonathan Smith, Nick Marsh, and others would still be in East Lansing, but Chiles is a guy I just can’t quit on.

Chiles is a unit at 6’3” and 225 pounds with a rocket arm, and he actually has plenty of collegiate experience with over two seasons as a starter. He also ran a pro style scheme at Michigan State which required him to identify coverages and make checks at the line, something I thought he did rather well. He needs to play with better timing in the quick game and his accuracy still isn’t where it needs to be, but if he gets with the right coach who can maximize his traits and IQ, a meteoric jump could be on deck.

5. Rocco Becht - Iowa State → Penn State

Rocco Becht begins the top five of this list. Becht is the style of quarterback I really enjoy watching. Not many guys can you truly say that they win from the pocket yet also have playmaking upside.

Becht doesn’t have the strongest arm and he’s not the biggest, but he’s seemingly always making the right decision, along with being athletic enough to make plays outside the pocket. He wasn’t just a tag along with Matt Campbell to State College, PA, his experience and resume would’ve made him an attractive option for any QB needy team. He brings much more week to week consistency than Penn State fans are used to seeing, which I expect will be a welcomed sight.

4. Jaden Craig - Harvard → TCU

Jaden Craig at fourth on this list is comfortably my biggest flag plant. What makes a Harvard transfer worthy of being the fourth ranked transfer portal quarterback?

The mental side of the game is easy for him, making quick decisions in the RPO game as well as showing the ability to dissect more advanced coverages. I also think he’s improved his velocity, adding that to his already great touch. The jump from the Ivy League to the Big 12 is a big jump, but I expect TCU to continue to have an explosive passing attack.

3. Brendan Sorsby - Cincinnati → Texas Tech

Brendan Sorsby comes in at third, but he may have the biggest upside in this transfer class. He has a cannon arm, is an exceptional athlete, and has loads of experience. So what keeps him from being number one?

Even with his experience, he, from a technique standpoint, is still pretty raw. His footwork can get rather wild and his hips tend to fly open, both leading to accuracy issues, especially downfield. If Joey McGuire and co. can refine him, the Red Raiders will be right back in the College Football Playoff hunt in 2026.


2. Drew Mestemaker - North Texas → Oklahoma State

Drew Mestemaker comes in at second after an incredible redshirt freshman season. The former walkon lit up the American conference and led the country in passing yards in 2025. He’ll also be following his coach to Stillwater for the 2026 season.

The way I would describe Mestemaker is a distributor with upside. He’s the true point guard of the offense, getting the ball in his playmakers’ hands and letting them go to work while also possessing the size and arm to be a true gamechanger. Oklahoma State has struggled at the quarterback position in recent seasons, but I fully expect Mestemaker to turn that around instantly.

1. Josh Hoover - TCU → Indiana

Josh Hoover ranks first overall for me. To put it simply, watching Josh Hoover All-22 is one of my favorite pastimes and him landing at Indiana is a perfect fit.

I truly believe no one had more on their plate from an operation standpoint than Josh Hoover in 2025. While he does run a variation of the air raid offense, there are actual NFL route concepts within the offense where Hoover is constantly getting to his second and third reads. The turnover worthy play rate needs to come down, but I’m so confident in Hoover, especially with the Curt Cignetti stamp of approval.

Closing Thoughts

The transfer portal season is so chaotic but so much fun, especially at the quarterback position. It’s going to be extremely interesting to see where the uncommitted guys land and what other portal movement that may generate. Happy portaling everybody!

(Benjamin Hodge is an NFL Draft writer who’s work can be found at Fantasy Trading Room - here is his ranking of the top quarterbacks available in the transfer portal. You can find more of his work on Twitter @BenjaminWHodge)

Aaron Torres
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