While everyone knows about Arch Manning, Dante Moore, Trinidad Chambliss and more of the top quarterbacks in college football, those aren’t the only names you should watch out for. Wouldn’t it be a great feeling come Thanksgiving weekend to brag to your family about how you called these quarterbacks elite this fall? Well, this is the story for you.
Rocco Becht – Penn State
Embed from Getty ImagesRocco Becht is the most experienced quarterback in college football this season with 39 starts. Look at the quarterbacks who’ve won championships recently: Stetson Bennett, Will Howard, and Fernando Mendoza are all veteran, experienced starters. The latter two, like Becht, transferring for one season to their final school and hoisting the trophy.
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Big Game James isn’t in Happy Valley anymore, but there is still pessimism about Penn State and Becht. I can understand team pessimism, but why Becht? He is with the same head coach, OC, and largely the same skill-position players as last year. Despite a shoulder injury he played through during the year, he led Iowa State to eight wins. He still put up decent numbers too. His leadership is worth noting. He could have just barged in and asserted himself upon arriving in State College, but he understood he had to. So far, he has gained the respect of the Penn State players who stuck around. Penn State has had a culture turnaround in no small part thanks to Becht. His play on the field could lead to a fast turnaround for the Nittany Lions.
Drew Mestemaker – Oklahoma State
Embed from Getty ImagesHow does the national leader in passing yards fly under the radar? The answer is Mestemaker played at North Texas. Now, despite leading the Mean Green to a 12-win season and following his coach to the Pokes, questions persist about how he will adjust to the P4 level. This isn’t like going to the SEC or the Big Ten. It’s a move to the Big 12, where players like Mestemaker have defined the league’s high-flying offense. I don’t get how people aren’t buying into him.
The guy is 6’4 213; he looks like a quarterback, and then you watch him sling the pigskin, and it’s like, damn, this guy is a quarterback. A stiff jump in competition shouldn’t deter you from him. Look at Trinidad Chambliss last year making a much higher talent gap from D-II to the SEC and being electric. A team can’t win big without a great quarterback (or cheating if you’re Michigan). That’s part of what led to Mike Gundy being forced out. Mestemaker is a great QB. He will show you why you shouldn’t sleep on him as a Heisman dark horse. He could even help Oklahoma State to be seen as a College Football Playoff dark horse.
Demond Williams Jr – Washington
Embed from Getty ImagesAfter an enticing encore as a freshman, Williams exploded last year to be one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten. Despite competing in one of the deepest quarterback conferences in America, Williams finished sixth in the Big Ten with 3,065 passing yards and fourth with 25 touchdown passes while completing 69.5% of his attempts. Doing so while not having the same team around him as the top dogs. There was that whole NIL debacle in the offseason, but the fact that it happened should be a sign to you that Williams is an elite quarterback. That’s why teams were snooping around trying to entice him to leave Seattle. In the end, Williams stayed, albeit in a weird way, and now he will try to make the college football world and its quarterbacks bow down to Washington once again.
Anthony Colandrea – Nebraska
Embed from Getty ImagesColandrea is the antithesis of modern college football. He flamed out with Virginia, then balled out last year at a G6 school, UNLV, and now with a nice pay bump is back at the Power Four level with Nebraska. Colandrea reminds me of Charlie Brewer, the old Baylor QB, as both share a similar skill set in my mind. Guys who are more pass-inclined but can hurt you with their legs. With Colandrea being a better dual threat given his superior legs.
Why do I mention Brewer? Well, Nebraska head man Matt Rhule coached Brewer at Baylor, leading them to an 11-win season and a 13th-place final ranking in 2019. Year three is typically where Rhule’s teams made the jump from mediocre to good, but not last year at Nebraska, primarily because they lost their QB halfway through the season. Now, with Colandrea, a veteran winner, coming over with the skill set Rhule likes in his guys, Colandrea and Nebraska could both be set up for big seasons.
Conner Weigman – Houston
Embed from Getty ImagesConner Weigman flamed out at A&M, sure, but was a good starter last year, with 2,705 yards, 25 touchdowns, and under 10 picks. Plus led Houston to a ten-win season. Say what you want about Jimbo Fisher, but he knows quarterbacks, and Weigman, when he’s on the field, proves that. Who knows if he hadn’t been injured so much at A&M; is Jimbo still there? I digress. Weigman isn’t a system quarterback; he can elevate a team beyond that but does need a good system in place. Mike Elko’s at TAMU didn’t mesh, but in Houston’s spread system, Weigman can show off his gunslinger mentality. Something to note as well, and I honestly forget this every time I watch him, but the kid has good wheels to help evade pressure with the occasional chunk ground gain. Weigman is the reason I believe the Cougars are a Big 12 contender this year.
Noah Fifita – Arizona
Embed from Getty ImagesSimilar to Weigman, Noah Fifita was quietly good last year as Arizona went 9-4. Don’t forget Fifita was getting serious hype as a future Heisman winner after his and Tet McMillan’s star-studded year for the ten-win Cats in 2023. Fifita is the reason I believe Arizona is a Big 12 contender heading into this year. A lot of guys, especially nowadays, would have left when their coach did, like Jedd Fisch to Washington, or left after a bad year like Zona’s 4-8 in 2024, but not Fifita. He stuck it out and has led them back to contention.
Whatever this year holds in store, Fifita should be remembered as one of the greatest gridiron Wildcats of all time. That’s just the character of the quarterback; I haven’t even mentioned his play yet. 29 touchdowns with 3228 yards last year, good for ninth in touchdowns and top 25 in yards. His stature does leave something to be desired with limited mobility, but that hasn’t stopped him from showing out thus far. Watch out for him and the Cats this fall in the Big 12.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matthew Bakken
Contributor | Game Day Collective
@mattbakken18
