Every year, transfers flood the college football offseason news. This is especially true for quarterbacks, who look for the best opportunity to see the field. Here are the top quarterback transfers for the 2026 college football season.
Becht was a three-star recruit who joined Iowa State in 2022. He redshirted in his first year, then was pressed into action in 2023. He passed for 3,120 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 62.9 percent completion. In 2024, he passed for 3,505 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions on 59.4 percent completion. Last season, he hassed for 2,584 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions on 60.5 percent completion.
Following the season, Becht followed his head coach Matt Campbell to Penn State. The Nittany Lions are bringing a lot of talent over from Iowa State, so Becht will he will be comfortable with the system and the personnel. He is experienced, but will now be playing in the Big Ten. Becht can have a solid season, especially because the Nittany Lions don’t play Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana, some of the top teams in the conference.
Brown was a three-star recruit who signed with USF out of high school. He played in four games in 2022, then started the whole season in 2023. He passed for 3,292 yards, 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on 64.6 percent. Brown also rushed for 809 yards and 11 touchdowns. In 2024, he was only able to play in six games due to injury. He rebounded well in 2025, as he had 3,158 passing yards, 1,008 rushing yards and 42 total touchdowns.
USF head coach Alex Golesh earned the Auburn job this offseason and Brown is making the trip with him. There are only four returning starters on the team, but Brown is capable of carrying a heavy load from his time at USF. He helped the Bulls defeat Florida last season and now will have a full slate of SEC games. Auburn may not make the CFP, but they should be in the running the make a bowl game, mostly because of Brown.
Hoover was a three-star recruit who decided to stay in his home state to play for TCU. He was a freshman who redshirted in 2022 when TCU made the National Championship Game. Since that point, he has suited up as the starter for TCU, passing for 9,629 yards, 71 touchdowns and 33 interceptions on 65.2 percent completion.
After Indiana had positive results with Kurtis Rourke and Fernando Mendoza transferring in, Hoover is next in line. In offseason comments, head coach Curt Cignetti made it clear he thinks Hoover can cut down on the interceptions and be more effective. He will have two very talented receivers in Charlie Becker, a returnee who made some big plays on the championship run, and Nick Marsh, a Michigan State transfer. Carter Smith bolsters what is expected to be a good offensive line to protect Hoover. Indiana can be competitive and Hoover can improve on the numbers he has put up thus far in his career.
Lagway was a five-star recruit who signed with Florida in the class of 2024. He played two seasons at Florida, passing for 4,179 yards, 28 touchdowns and 23 interceptions on 62 percent completion. Lagway showed flashes of good play, but was inconsistent an Florida didn’t have great seasons.
After Billy Napier was fired, Lagway transferred to his dad’s school, Baylor. Baylor only has four starters returning and has coach Dave Aranda on the hot seat. Lagway won’t have a ton of help around him, but a fresh environment could help him reach his full potential. He will have a chance to put up good numbers at Baylor and if he does so, his stock will be back up.
Leavitt originally signed with Michigan State out of high school. After playing four games and redshirting, he transferred to Arizona State. In two seasons with the Sun Devils, he passed for 4,513 yards, 34 touchdowns and nine interceptions on 61.4 percent completion. He helped Arizona State make the CFP in his first season as a starter, then dealt with injury in his second season.
Now at LSU, Leavitt will be tasked with running the quarterback-friendly Lane Kiffin offense. With the Tigers, Leavitt will have a good offensive line, led by transfer left tackle Jordan Seaton, protecting him. He’ll have talented skill position players to utilize and LSU has good talent on the roster overall. Leavitt can bounce back from his injury-filled season and possibly help LSU make the CFP for the first time since it has been expanded.
Mensah was a three-star recruit who started his career at Tulane. He passed for 2,723 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions on 65.9 percent completion for the Green Wave. In 2025, Mensah transferred to Duke, helping the Blue Devils win the ACC Championship. He passed for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and six interceptions on 66.8 percent completion.
Miami lost Carson Beck to the NFL and may have upgraded with the addition of Mensah. He will have a star returning at running back, Mark Fletcher, and wide receiver, Malachi Toney, along with some other skill talent. Mario Cristobal will have to mold the offensive line together, but he has experience doing that. Miami is favored to win the ACC and Mensah running the show is a large reason why.
Mestemaker was an unranked recruit who didn’t start as a high school quarterback. He walked on to North Texas and redshirted in his first season, playing in just five games. In 2025, he broke out with 4,379 passing yards, 34 touchdowns and nine interceptions on 68.9 percent completion. He led the Mean Green to a 12-win season.
Head coach Eric Morris brought several North Texas transfers with him, including Mestemaker. He will be rejoined by top running back Caleb Hawkins and wide receiver Wyatt Young. The offensive line will have plenty of new faces who need to play well. A lot of the players will need to adjust to playing at a new level, but Mestemaker could also help Oklahoma State’s program rebound well if he plays solidly again.
Anthony Colandrea, Nebraska Cornhuskers
Colandrea has bounced around from Virginia to UNLV and now to Nebraska. He was the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year last season and now will be tasked with moving Nebraska forward.
Jaden Craig, TCU Horned Frogs
There was some NFL interest for Craig after his last season at Harvard. He instead decided to transfer to TCU after passing for 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions in his last year for the Crimson.
Ethan Grunkmeyer, Virginia Tech Hokies
Grunkemeyer followed James Franklin from Penn State to Virginia Tech. He played after Drew Allar was injured last season and passed for 1,339 yards in 11 games played.
Katin Houser, Illinois Fighting Illini
Houser played sparingly for Michigan State over two seasons, then transferred to East Carolina. In two seasons for the Pirates, he passed for 5,306 yards. Now, he steps in at Illinois on a team that should support him with a good running game.
Colton Joseph, Wisconsin Badgers
Joseph played two seasons for Old Dominion, passing for 4,251 yards and 32 touchdowns during his time with the Monarchs. He also rushed for 1,007 yards last season. Wisconsin will be counting on him to provide a lot of offense this season.
Lincoln Keinholz, Louisville Cardinals
Keinholz could never quite win the job at Ohio State, but did get some mop-up duty. At Louisville, he will go work with Jeff Brohm, who has a history of developing quarterbacks.
Alberto Mendoza, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
After backing up his brother Fernando on Indiana’s national championship team, Alberto decided to transfer to Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets will have a lot of new players and coaches in the building, so Mendoza could really help him if he plays well.
Kenny Minchey, Kentucky Wildcats
Minchey played three seasons at Notre Dame and narrowly lost the quarterback job to CJ Carr last season. He seems to be a good fit for Will Stein’s offense in his first year as the head coach of Kentucky.
Aaron Philo, Florida Gators
Philo transfers in from Georgia Tech to rejoin offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner. He has the inside edge to get the job due to his familiarity with the offense, but he’ll have to beat out Trammell Jones.
Austin Simmons, Missouri Tigers
Simmons was originally the starter for Ole Miss last season before getting injured. After Trinidad Chambliss took the job, Simmons decided to transfer to Missouri. The Tigers’ offense may have to cover up for a defense that has no returning starters.
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