College football QB rankings: Danny Kanell ranks Top 10 returners in 2026

Following Oregon quarterback Dante Moore‘s decision to return to college instead of entering the NFL Draft and Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss‘ successful eligibility battle, the 2026 season will be one of the most star-studded at the quarterback position in recent memory. Get excited, college football fans.

With a long and winding offseason remaining ahead, Danny Kanell ranked his Top 10 returners at the position for the season. Texas quarterback Arch Manning, who performed like one of the best players in the sport over the Longhorns’ final few games last season, tops the list.

The entire list is below, featuring four Big Ten quarterbacks, three SEC quarterbacks, one ACC quarterback, one Big 12 quarterback, and Notre Dame‘s CJ Carr (Independent).

As mentioned above, Arch Manning is listed as Kanell’s top returning quarterback for the 2026 season. Manning underwent offseason surgery, but is already out of his walking boot ahead of March. In his first full season as the Longhorns’ starter, Manning passed for 3,163 yards and 26 touchdowns with just seven interceptions. He became a lethal threat on the ground as well, rushing for 399 yards and 10 scores. 155 of his rushing yards came in Texas’ 41-27 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl.

“Listen, I’m not going back to where I was a year ago with declaring him the best player of all time, but he is a much better player,” ESPN’s Paul Finebaum said on the Feb. 18 edition of ‘Get Up‘. “He won the Heisman in November. Unfortunately, he did poorly in September and October. I think they will be in the semifinals of the CFP. I don’t think Texas will win.”

Julian Sayin‘s first season as Ohio State‘s starting quarterback was absolutely stellar. Sayin led the Buckeyes to a 12-0 regular season record and an appearance in both the Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoff. The Carlsbad, Calif., native was tabbed as a Heisman Trophy finalist, having passed for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. Heading into his second season as ‘the guy’ in Columbus, expectations are sky high.

“Julian Sayin’s insanely accurate,” On3’s Ari Wasserman said on the Feb. 10 edition of Andy & Ari On3. “He throws a beautiful ball and is certainly good enough to win a national championship at Ohio State. The one thing I would neg him on – and maybe I’m being overly nit-picky here … all the spectacular plays that Ohio State made this year, I felt like, were more because the receiver was awesome than it was because of who was delivering it.”

Miami quarterback Darian Mensah, who transferred from Duke after leading the Blue Devils to an ACC Championship last season, will enter the 2026 campaign as one of the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. Mensah was remarkable for head coach Manny Diaz and Duke in his lone season in Durham. Mensah’s 3,973 passing yards ranked second most in the country, while his 34 passing touchdowns were tied for second most in the country.

“He’s really good,” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said. “He’s accurate, he’s got an unbelievable sense, and his pocket awareness is off the charts. His off-script stuff and his on-schedule stuff is elite. He’s got the right temperament. He is an alpha and he’s got a great personality. People really gravitate to him. He’s really athletic and he’s a hard worker. He’s really smart. He checks all the boxes.”

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was the consensus No. 2 quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft (behind Indiana‘s Fernando Mendoza) before he surprisingly decided to return to college. In his first season as the Ducks’ starter last year, Moore passed for 3,565 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. He led Oregon to the College Football Playoff, where it knocked off James Madison and Texas Tech before falling to Indiana in the CFP Semifinal.

“My leadership, that’s the biggest thing,” Moore said when asked about what he hopes to improve on most next season. “Being around this team for two years now, of course, they heard my voice a lot this year. But I feel like when it comes to me pushing my teammates and making sure they’re at their best — I could become a better leader. When it comes to my play style, dissecting defense. Being able to be comfortable with what I see. If I see a defense I know, ‘I’ve seen this coverage before and how to attack it.’”

Although Notre Dame came up just shy of a College Football Playoff appearance, quarterback CJ Carr delivered an extremely impressive freshman campaign. Carr passed for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdowns with just six interceptions across 12 games. In the Irish’s two losses (No. 10 Miami and No. 16 Texas A&M), Carr totaled 514 passing yards, four total touchdowns, and two interceptions. He is poised to take an even bigger leap in his second year under Marcus Freeman‘s leadership.

“It’s easy to forget he’s a first-year starter, and there’s going to be times where it doesn’t look like clockwork as much because he’s made it look like clockwork 90% of the time that he’s been out there,” Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock told Blue and Gold last season. “I can’t get frustrated, and we can’t get frustrated, and we have to allow him to fail, so he can learn more. And he’s done a great job of digging in and doing that, so he doesn’t need any help from me.”

Josh Hoover has the extremely difficult task of succeeding a Heisman-winning quarterback at Indiana. Hoover has spent the past four seasons at TCU, serving in the starting role over the past three. Across 36 career games, the Heath, Tex., native boasts 9,629 passing yards and 71 touchdowns with just 33 interceptions. He becomes the third starting quarterback of the Curt Cignetti era at Indiana, joining Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke (Second Team All-Big Ten) and Cal transfer Fernando Mendoza (Heisman Trophy winner).

“No, not really,” Hoover said when asked if he’s had any conversations with Mendoza. “I have a lot of respect for him as a player. He seems like a great guy. He’s done tremendous things this past season and I know he will in the future. He’s an unbelievable guy. It’s been good to watch him on film and learn from a guy like that.”

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava returns as the longest tenured quarterback on this list. Maiava took over the starting role at USC near the end of the 2024 season and commanded that role in 2025. Across two seasons in Southern California, the Palolo, HI native has passed for 4,912 yards and 35 touchdowns with just 16 interceptions. In his final season of college football, Maiava and head coach Lincoln Riley are seeking a College Football Playoff appearance for the first time in program history.

“(Maiava) grew up so much during the offseason a year ago,” Riley said. “Just watching him, the player this last year vs. what he was two years ago. It’s almost like watching two completely different people. I just feel like this guy’s got a huge ceiling. I feel like he can make another jump, just like that. He was already one of the best quarterbacks in the country this year. I’m excited for it.”

Fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance, you knew Texas Tech was going to spend big to bring in a premier quarterback this offseason via the Transfer Portal. The Red Raiders brought in Cincinnati transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby, who had spent the past two seasons as the Bearcats’ starting QB. In that span, Sorsby passed for 5,613 yards and 45 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. His market was vast, but Lubbock ended up being his destination.

“Well, he wasn’t cheap,” Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell said about bringing in Sorsby. “It’s interesting in the portal, and I’ve been pretty directly involved with now three portal cycles, and there is a supply and demand factor at each position. For instance, this year, there are a lot of receivers in the portal. So, receivers didn’t bring as much money as even offensive linemen in some cases because there weren’t as many offensive linemen. This year, there were only a few elite quarterbacks that were available. So, if you want one, if you want to compete at the very highest level as Texas Tech does, you have to lean in and you have to spend the money to get them.”

The first starting quarterback of the Lane Kiffin era at LSU is expected to be Arizona State transfer quarterback Sam Leavitt. Leavitt was banged up in 2025, but led the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff for the first time ever in 2024. Across two seasons as ASU’s starter, Leavitt totaled 4,513 passing yards and 34 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He was tabbed as the No. 1-ranked player in the Transfer Portal by On3.

“Lane Kiffin offenses, historically, are going to be driven by quarterback play, not just in volume, but in the way they can put stress on the opposing defense,” ESPN’s Greg McElroy said. “Sam Leavitt’s mobility and creativity matter because modern defenses are built to kind of suffocate structure. When the quarterback can extend plays and when the entire defensive structure changes because of the quarterback movement, that becomes a lot more difficult to defend.”

Following a prolonged legal battle, Trinidad Chambliss is now on a path to return to Ole Miss for his second season as the Rebels’ starting quarterback. He passed for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns with just three interceptions last season. He also rushed for 527 yards and eight more scores. Chambliss passed for at least 300 yards in eight games and finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting. With two College Football Playoff victories under his belt, the Grand Rapids, MI native will enter the 2026 season with massive expectations.

“The guys have been so good to me and this team,” Chambliss said following Ole Miss‘ loss to Miami in the CFP Semifinal. “It’s been a great ride. I wouldn’t want to do it with any other people. Whether it’s coaches, players, people in the offices. It was just a great ride. Hopefully I can do it next year.”