After a record-tying six quarterbacks were taken in the first round of this year’s NFL draft, another crop of elite quarterbacks are ready to take center stage in the Bowl Subdivision.
Most are already household names ‒ though a few will be wearing a different jersey in 2024. Among the top passers at new spots are Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma) and Miami’s Cam Ward (Washington State). Now on his third stop, Gabriel has been pegged as the top quarterback in the Big Ten and maybe the clubhouse leader for this year’s Heisman Trophy.
He’ll have plenty of competition, including Quinn Ewers, Carson Beck and Shedeur Sanders. This group tops our preseason list of college football’s top quarterbacks for 2024.
Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
After grabbing a multiple-year starter out of the portal in Bo Nix and finding huge success, Oregon and Dan Lanning will roll out another battle-tested veteran transfer in Gabriel. He was a top-tier quarterback beginning as a freshman at Central Florida, where he had 70 touchdowns in two-plus years of work, and continued to play at a high level in his two seasons at Oklahoma. Gabriel had 30 touchdowns against six interceptions a year ago as the Sooners rebounded to go 10-2 in the regular season, with both losses coming by a single possession. He’s one of several reasons why the Ducks could kick in the door of the Big Ten and win the conference in their first season as members of the league.
Quinn Ewers, Texas
Ewers blossomed last fall after easily dispatching Arch Manning and Maalik Murphy in the Longhorns’ soft quarterback competition. Following an up-and-down Texas debut in 2022, the junior threw for 3,479 yards and 22 scores despite missing two games, playing some of his best football in November and December as UT booked its first playoff berth. There are some new pieces at wide receiver, beginning with the big addition of Isaiah Bond from Alabama, but Ewers’ play should take another significant move forward in 2024.
Shedeur Sanders, Colorado
He’s going to put up crooked totals and cook Big 12 defenses, much as Sanders did in his single season in the Big 12. Despite Colorado’s struggles in league play and missing most of two games with a back injury, Sanders threw for 3,230 yards and 27 touchdowns against three picks while hitting on 69.3% of his attempts, the eighth-best mark in the FBS. Whether Sanders can contend for postseason hardware hinges on whether or not the skill talent and offensive line have been developed to give him adequate support. If so, the Buffaloes should make a noticeable improvement in Deion Sanders’ second year.
Carson Beck, Georgia
Beck stepped in for a two-time national champion in Stetson Bennett and helped Georgia’s passing game not miss a beat, even slightly outperforming Bennett in yards per attempt (9.5 to 9.1) and yards per game (281.5 to 275.1) while finishing fourth nationally in completing 72.4% of his throws. What might have been most impressive was his consistency: Beck threw for at least 243 yards in every SEC game, never completed fewer than 65% of his passes and tossed just six interceptions in 417 attempts.
Jalen Milroe, Alabama
It’s exciting to think about how far Milroe can take his game under Kalen DeBoer, who has worked wonders at the quarterback position at each of his previous stops as an FBS head coach (Fresno State and Washington). He’s already one of the nation’s best: Milroe reclaimed the starting job late last September and willed Alabama into the playoff with his legs (531 yards and 12 scores) and one of the strongest arms in college football. The pieces are there for him to lift his game to another level with DeBoer’s help.
Cam Ward, Miami
A change of scenery will help Ward make a bigger splash on the national scene after spending most of the past two years under the radar at Washington State. The former Championship Subdivision standout at Incarnate Word will have a chance to bolster his already solid NFL draft stock by stepping in at a major position of need for Mario Cristobal and Miami. If he can lead the Hurricanes to nine or more wins and playoff contention, Ward could be a major factor in the Heisman race.
Jaxson Dart, Mississippi
Dart answered any doubts about his ability to take charge in Lane Kiffin’s offensive system by throwing for 3,364 yards, running for 389 yards and scoring 31 total touchdowns as the Rebels made a push for the playoff in 2023. His performance was markedly better than in 2022, when Dart and Ole Miss struggled against elite competition. He was particularly good last season in wins against LSU (389 yards, four touchdowns) and in bowl play against Penn State (379 yards, three scores).
Noah Fifita, Arizona
After an outstanding freshman season, the big question around Fifita is whether he can continue to develop into one of the nation’s elite passers under new Arizona coach Brent Brennan. He certainly seems on pace for postseason accolades after throwing for at least 214 yards in all nine of his starts last season, including a 527-yard showing in the rivalry win against Arizona State. Overall, Fifita completed 72.4% of his throws with 25 touchdowns.
Kaidon Salter, Liberty
Like Liberty as a whole, Salter had a dominant 2023 regular season before getting thumped by Oregon in a Fiesta Bowl rout. Look for a similar scenario to unfold this fall against another flimsy schedule lacking a single Power Four opponent. Salter threw for 2,876 yards, ran for another 1,089 yards — he was one of three FBS quarterbacks to run for at least 1,000 — and had 44 combined touchdowns in his first year as the Flames’ full-time starter.
Jalon Daniels, Kansas
The centerpiece of the Jayhawks’ prolific offense has to stay on the field after playing in just three games due to injury a season ago. After a breakout 2022, Daniels completed 74.7% of his throws with five scores and one interception in those three appearances, two of which came against Power Four competition (Illinois and Brigham Young). He’s a Heisman dark horse should Kansas take another step forward and compete for the Big 12 championship.