Next QBs Up: The College Signal Callers Who Will Replace the 10 Taken in 2026 NFL Draft

First-Round Grades| Best Available Players| Rounds 2-3 Grades| Fernando Mendoza is Tom Brady’s successor| Ty Simpson will test Sean McVay| Cardinals made the right pick| Rounds 2-3 winners and losers

In the first year of Curt Cignetti’s remarkable transformation of the Indiana football program, he got some excellent quarterback play from Kurtis Rourke, a transfer from Ohio. Rourke would go on to be a seventh-round pick by the 49ers. Cignetti dipped into the transfer portal once again to replace him, bringing in Fernando Mendoza, a productive quarterback from Cal who entered 2025 with some murmuring draft buzz.

The rest is history.

Replacing a quarterback like Mendoza is no easy feat. For Cignetti, it meant going into the portal once again, this time bringing in a college passer who may have even more hype than the eventual Heisman winner and No. 1 pick did a year ago in ex-TCU gunslinger Josh Hoover. Other coaches and programs have tried to keep things more traditional, going down the depth chart and developing quarterbacks up from the high school level.

With the 2026 NFL draft officially complete, let’s take a deep dive at each quarterback position left vacant by a new draftee, and see which players are set to take over those jobs.

Indiana: Josh Hoover, redshirt senior (replacing Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders—Rd. 1, Pk. 1)

Curt Cignetti struck gold a year ago, bringing in Mendoza to lead his offense. The veteran quarterback impressed at Cal, and entered the year with some buzz as a potential first-round draft pick, but few could have predicted how he would blow up in Bloomington. After the back-to-back transfer market successes of Kurtis Rourke and Mendoza, last year’s Heisman winner, Cignetti went big-game fishing once again at quarterback, bringing in former TCU gunslinger Josh Hoover.

Bishop: How Fernando Mendoza Went From No-Name Prospect to No. 1 in the Draft

Hoover has back-to-back seasons of over 3,400 passing yards and 27 touchdowns in the Big 12. He may be the most accomplished Hoosiers quarterback transfer addition yet, at least on paper. As scary as it may seem, Cignetti’s program may not miss much of a beat in 2026.

Alabama: Keelon Russell, redshirt freshman (replacing Ty Simpson, Los Angeles Rams—Rd. 1, Pk. 13)

Where other programs have opted to plug in gaps at the most important position via transfer, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer has kept quarterback in house. After inheriting Jalen Milroe in 2024, Ty Simpson stepped into the job last year. Now, it will come down to Austin Mack—who joined DeBoer from Washington ahead of the ‘24 season—or Keelon Russell, a talented redshirt freshman who impressed in the spring game. This quarterback battle is considered one of the true coin flips of the offseason.

Orr: Ty Simpson Will Put Sean McVay’s Reputation As a QB Whisperer to the Test

While injuries hampered Simpson down the stretch of the 2025–26 season, he was a largely effective engine behind an Alabama offense that reached the College Football Playoff and beat Oklahoma before bowing out in rough fashion to Indiana. His replacement—especially if it proves to be Russell—may have an even higher ceiling, which is good news for the embattled DeBoer.

Miami: Darian Mensah, redshirt junior (replacing Carson Beck, Arizona Cardinals—Rd. 3, Pk. 65)

Even in the transfer portal era, some programs have still focused on high school recruiting and internal development at the quarterback position. Miami is not one of those programs.

Washington State transfer Cam Ward became the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft after a strong single season at The U. Former Georgia QB Carson Beck was up-and-down at times, but he led the Hurricanes all the way to the national championship. And now Miami brings in Darian Mensah, who broke out at Tulane two years ago and led Duke to an improbable ACC championship in 2025.

Geitheim: How Carson Beck Fits in Cardinals’ New-Look QB Room

Even if some may have expected more from him individually, Beck’s tenure with the Hurricanes was a clear success given how close the team was to a national championship. Mario Cristobal has plenty of work to do to rebuild a tenacious defensive front, but Mensah may actually give the program a lift under center as a more dynamic quarterback.

Penn State: Rocco Becht, redshirt senior (replacing Drew Allar, Pittsburgh Steelers—Rd. 3, Pk. 76)

Allar entered 2025 with plenty of hype, but never quite hit the ceiling many believed he had, and had his season ended prematurely by a broken ankle in the Nittany Lions’ loss to Northwestern, the game that ultimately cost James Franklin his job as well.

Orr: Drafting Drew Allar Does Nothing to Change Steelers’ Wait for Aaron Rodgers

In Allar, Penn State had a quarterback that looked the part of NFL gunslinger, even if his production never quite followed. In steps Rocco Becht, who followed coach Matt Campbell from Iowa State. It would be a surprise for Becht to be a big-time NFL prospect at this time next year (though as we’ve seen with former Cyclones, that doesn’t mean he won’t have success). And Becht has done a lot of winning at the collegiate level, going 26−13 in three years as Iowa State’s starter, including an 11–3 campaign in 2024.

Clemson: Christopher Vizzina, redshirt junior (replacing Cade Klubnik, New York Jets—Rd. 4, Pk. 110)

At the center of Clemson’s struggles in 2025 was quarterback Cade Klubnik. After a strong 2024, in which he led the Tigers to the College Football Playoff, Klubnik and the Clemson offense both took a step back in ‘25. He threw for 20 fewer touchdown passes in ‘25 than the year earlier, and his threat as a runner largely dried up; he averaged just 1.1 yards per attempt.

Even as questions pile up about whether Dabo Swinney is the right coach to bring the Tigers back to the top of the sport in the transfer portal era, he is keeping the quarterback position in house. Christopher Vezzina has been at Clemson since 2023, and made his first start a year ago in a loss to SMU. He impressed, tossing for 317 yards and three touchdowns in a 35–24 defeat. He’ll play under new offensive coordinator Chad Morris, who previously held the OC job at Clemson in 2014. Swinney is looking to turn the clock back on his offense, with a traditional transition up to the quarterback who waited his turn after coming in as a high school pledge. It’s anyone’s guess how it will go.

North Dakota State: Nathan Hayes, redshirt senior (replacing Cole Payton, Philadelphia Eagles—Rd. 5, Pk. 178)

North Dakota State is preparing for its first season as an FBS football team. Most established programs at that level would love to be able to boast about the recent NFL draft success that the Bison have had at the quarterback position.

Carson Wentz and Trey Lance, as inconsistent as both of their NFL careers have been, were the No. 2 and No. 3 picks in the draft (in 2016 and ‘21, respectively). NDSU has also landed Easton Stick (fifth round, ‘19 draft) and Cam Miller (sixth round, ‘25) on teams in recent years.

The dual-threat Cole Payton is the next Bisons QB who will try and carve out a role in the league, with veteran backup Nathan Hayes stepping into his shoes in Fargo. Hayes, who also brings multiple dimensions to the offense, may be ahead of where Payton was as a thrower, while still having the frame (6' 3", 218 pounds) to put him on NFL radars if he has a successful first season in the Mountain West. He says he’s spoken to Payton about taking over as one of the team’s leaders in his first year as starter.

“That’s something I’ve talked to Cole a lot about just because there’s so much uncertainty with that,” he told InForum during Bison spring football. “There’s that new leadership role where you don’t have a season to progress and show everybody what you’re capable of. You have to use the offseason to your advantage as much as possible to show that leadership and get the team behind you.”

Arkansas: KJ Jackson, redshirt sophomore (replacing Taylen Green, Cleveland Browns—Rd. 6, Pk. 182)

In Taylen Green, a Boise State transfer who went on to start two seasons for Arkansas, the Razorbacks had one of the most physically gifted quarterbacks in the country, though he was raw and production was up-and-down in Fayetteville.

Ryan Silverfield takes over as coach of the Arkansas program this season after a solid run at Memphis, and has a big choice to make at quarterback. Jackson, a holdover from last year’s team, is a big toolsy athlete who performed well in relief of Green last season. AJ Hill joined Silverfield from Memphis, where he was a backup Brendon Lewis. He has had more time in the new system. Between them, the two players have less than 100 career collegiate passing attempts, so Silverfield is rolling with a very green option at QB either way.

Rutgers: Dylan Lonergan, redshirt junior (replacing Athan Kaliakmanis, Washington Commanders—Rd. 7, Pk. 223)

Greg Schiano’s 2026 quarterback plans are not yet settled. On paper, Lonergan appears to be the favorite to win the job. The veteran played 10 games for Boston College last season after spending two years at Alabama to begin his college career as one of Nick Saban’s final quarterback recruits.

He’s still in a battle to step in for Kaliakmanis, who has by far his best college season in 2025 and parlayed it into an NFL draft selection. Lonergan’s main competition: redshirt sophomore AJ Surace, who attempted nine passes a year ago (including two touchdowns). Surace has more time in offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca’s system. Lonergan has far more experience.

Texas Tech: Brendan Sorsby, redshirt senior (replacing Behren Morton, New England Patriots—Rd. 7, Pk. 234)

How does a well-moneyed team like Texas Tech replace a reliable, if not overwhelming, multiyear starter like Behren Morton? By poaching one of the best quarterbacks in their conference, that’s how.

Brendan Sorsby began his career at Indiana before starting two seasons at Cincinnati, where he became one of the Big 12’s best signal callers. Sorsby is not afraid to hit a big throw down the field, but remains safe with the football, throwing just five interceptions last season. On paper, this should be a solid upgrade for the defending Big 12 champion.

LSU: Sam Leavitt, redshirt junior (replacing Garrett Nussmeier, Kansas City Chiefs—Rd. 7, Pk. 249)

Nussmeier experienced one of the stranger seasons in the country last fall, when his health was constantly in question (despite protestations from former LSU coach Brian Kelly). After throwing for 4,043 yards, 29 touchdowns and 12 picks in 2024–25, he was limited to just nine games last fall and tallied 1,927 yards, 12 touchdowns and five interceptions, finishing with a full yard less per attempt than the year before. The late discovery of a cyst on Nussmeier’s spine certainly helps explain his injury-plagued final season … and his fall all the way to the seventh round.

The Tigers pried Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss to replace Kelly, and he tabbed Sam Leavitt, the quarterback who led Arizona State to their surprising College Football Playoff run in 2024, to be his first LSU quarterback. Leavitt is the type of fearless competitor who should be a good fit for Kiffin’s system, though he is coming off of his own injury-filled season, playing in just seven games with deteriorating numbers a year ago. If healthy, he could make some Heisman noise and set Kiffin up for success in year one.

More College Football From Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, below or onApple andSpotify. Watch the show onSI’s College YouTube channel.

Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollowPublished 13 seconds ago | Modified 13 seconds agoDAN LYONS

Dan Lyons is a staff writer and editor on Sports Illustrated's Breaking and Trending News team. He joined SI for his second stint in November 2024 after a stint as a senior college football writer at Athlon Sports, and a previous run with SI spanning multiple years as a writer and editor. Outside of sports, you can find Dan at an indie concert venue or movie theater.

Share on FacebookShare on XHome/College FootballOriginal Article