Every position on the field matters, but there’s no question that quarterbacks dominate the spotlight in college football.
While each starter will be subject to a high level of pressure, relativity is key in this discussion. Georgia’s Carson Beck and Texas’ Quinn Ewers, for example, return to their programs with superb numbers from 2023 and a strong supporting cast in 2024. Expectations are high, of course, but many others have more challenging outlooks.
Some of those? Places like Miami and Penn State, along with Ole Miss, Utah and Michigan.
Across a handful of categories, I’ve mentioned more than 20 quarterbacks to keep on the radar. Each section, however, has a signal-caller or two with a lot to prove and formidable task ahead.
The most pressure in this group falls on Cam Rising, who’s entering his 13th year of eligibility at Utah. (Check that, seventh.)
Rising propelled the Utes to Pac-12 titles in both 2021 and 2022, but a complicated recovery from a knee injury sidelined him last season. Utah has a legitimate chance to take the Big 12 crown in its conference debut, though that upside hinges on a healthy return from Rising.
The same applies to Jalon Daniels as he attempts to lead Kansas through the newly bolstered Big 12. Daniels keyed the Jayhawks’ awesome rise in 2022 but only played three games in 2023.
It’s fair to consider these next two as honorable mentions.
Conner Weigman won Texas A&M’s competition in 2023 before a foot injury ended his year. The program has consistently been a mid-tier SEC team at best, so Weigman is tasked with elevating the Aggies in a league that is only deeper as Oklahoma and Texas arrive.
Rounding out the group, Cade McNamara is rehabbing from a knee injury that limited him to five appearances for Iowa in 2023. Although the Hawkeyes have plenty to prove with McNamara under new coordinator Tim Lester, they could be so strong defensively that a competent offense would make Iowa a fringe Big Ten contender.
These quarterbacks are, in other words, recent top recruits who haven’t yet been full-time starters in college.
Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold and Tennessee’s Nico Iamaleava both earned 5-star ratings in the 2023 cycle. Two years earlier, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier and USC’s Miller Moss landed top-100 rankings, as well.
All four of them are certainly under pressure, given the annual high expectations at each of those programs. The difference between them and the next two, though, is that a conference championship looks in reach for Michigan’s Alex Orji and Kansas State’s Avery Johnson.
Orji—who still must formally win U-M’s competition—holds the added pressure of leading the reigning national champs.
Johnson, meanwhile, cannot ease into the season. K-State has conference matchups with Arizona and Oklahoma State in September.
Clemson has stood as an ACC power for a decade, but an ugly start to the campaign quickly ruined its hopes in 2023.
Part of that can be pinned on Cade Klubnik, who averaged just 6.3 yards per attempt in his first year as the starter. Klubnik is an immensely talented, mobile quarterback and looks fantastic in his best moments. Clemson needs them to happen more consistently, though.
Elsewhere, Drew Allar became a microcosm of Penn State’s struggles.
The program has struggled to beat Michigan and Ohio State throughout James Franklin’s tenure. In his 10 years, the Nittany Lions are a combined 4-16 against the Big Ten behemoths. Allar mustered 261 yards on 65 pass attempts—barely four yards per throw—in those losses last season.
Clemson expects to contend for national titles. Penn State can’t do that until it can withstand the nation’s best competition.
And that pressure falls on Klubnik and Allar.
This section simply must begin with Dillon Gabriel. The former UCF and Oklahoma starter is set to lead Oregon, which is making its Big Ten debut as a top championship threat. The program has never won a national title, yet this roster seems to have that upside.
Ohio State is desperate to reclaim the Big Ten, but head coach Ryan Day holds that pressure more than K-State transfer Will Howard.
Notre Dame has a reasonably clean path to the College Football Playoff, so there’s a big opportunity in front of Riley Leonard. But, again, the nerves in South Bend are more based on tradition.
Speaking of that T-word…
Florida State rejoined the national hierarchy with an undefeated year in 2023—before the CFP selection committee used Jordan Travis’ devastating injury to rob the ‘Noles of a playoff bid. The revenge tour belongs to DJ Uiagalelei, the former Clemson and Oregon State starter.
Miami is aiming for that long-awaited resurgence behind Cam Ward, who started two years at Washington State.
Two more notables in the ACC are Louisville’s Tyler Shough and North Carolina State’s Grayson McCall. It’s a wide-open conference, but they are safely after Klubnik, Uiagalelei and Ward in the pressure rankings.
You could probably stick Alabama’s Jalen Milroe in this category because his supporting cast has a few question marks.
The real intrigue lies in two other SEC programs, however.
Last season, Brady Cook and Jaxson Dart guided their programs to a very memorable year. Cook helped Missouri win 11 games for only the fourth time in team history, while Dart oversaw the first such record ever at Ole Miss.
Under the upcoming CFP format, both schools would’ve made the playoff in 2023. That absolutely sets the bar for 2024.
We know Cook and Dart are quality quarterbacks. Now, we need to find out if they’re title-worthy signal-callers.