With spring football about a month away, here's an early ranking of the projected starting quarterbacks in the Big Ten Conference.
We're still waiting on the Oregon Ducks to officially announce the date for this year's annual Spring Game inside Autzen Stadium, but throughout Eugene, you can feel the anticipation starting to build. After a successful 2025 campaign that ended in the College Football Playoff semifinals, Duck fans are ready to see their team get back out on the field and compete for a national championship.
There are still a few weeks offseason left before spring ball can start, but with the addition of new players via the transfer portal and high school ranks, there is an early buzz surrounding the Hatfield-Dowlin Complex. Thanks to the returns of veterans like Dante Moore, Matayo Uiagalelei, and A'Mauri Washington, among others, expectations are high going into 2026.
Before we can focus on that, though, we must dive into preview season.
To start the preview season, we want to examine the Big Ten Conference as a whole. With the Indiana Hoosiers winning the national championship in 2025, and the Big Ten producing the last three straight national champions, it's been quite a year for the conference, once again. That shouldn't change going into 2026, with three of the top six teams in ESPN's 'Way-Too-Early' Top 25.
We start with the quarterbacks in the Big Ten. It will be an interesting year for passers in the conference. At the top, two of the best QBs in the nation — Dante Moore and Julian Sayin — are returning for another year, while other schools — like Michigan and Washington — have incredibly talented players who could take a step forward on the national stage. There are also a number of highly contested QB battles that will take place this spring.
Which Big Ten teams should feel the most confident in their signal-callers going into the spring season? We broke it down and ranked them, projecting the 18 starters for every team in the conference.
No. 18 — Jeremy Hecklinski (Iowa Hawkeyes)
Career Stats: 8 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
Analysis: Taking over for Mark Gronowski isn't going to be easy, but Iowa is likely to turn to Jeremy Hecklinski, who doesn't have much experience at all, but he is a solid athlete who transferred from Wake Forest.
No. 17 — Ryan Browne (Purdue Boilermakers)
Career Stats: 2,789 yards, 13 TD, 14 INT
Analysis: We've seen a good amount from Ryan Browne before, and while it wasn't terrible, it also leaves a lot to be desired. We will see what Barry Odom can do with him in Year 2 with the junior QB.
No. 16 — TJ Lateef (Nebraska Cornhuskers)
Career Stats: 904 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT
Analysis: With Dylan Raiola now at Oregon, the Conrhuskers will turn to TJ Lateef to take over as the starter. He has looked good in his limited action before, with an impressive TD:INT ratio, but will be asked to do a lot more going forward.
No. 15 — Alessio Milivojevic (Michigan State Spartans)
Career Stats: 1,267 yards, 10 TD, 3 INT
Analysis: With Aidan Chiles off to Northwestern, the Spartans will have a new passer under new head coach Pat Fitzgerald, turning to Alessio Milivojevic to try and lead this new era. He has had some decent production in the past in East Lansing, but needs to step up in a major way if Michigan State is going to have a lot of success in 2026.
No. 14 — Colton Joseph (Wisconsin Badgers)
Career Stats: 4,251 yards, 32 TD, 15 INT
Analysis: It's always interesting to see which players from lower-levels of competition can step up and become solid players at the Power 4 level. Colton Joseph will try to do that with Wisconsin this year after having a lot of success at Old Dominion.
No. 13 — Dylan Longergan (Rutgers Scarlet Knights)
Career Stats: 2,060 yards, 12 TD, 5 INT (BC)
Analysis: It's been a long road for Lonergan so far, starting at Alabama and then moving to Boston College before now taking his next opportunity at Rutgers. He's a solid talent with a lot of tools, but just needs to put it all together.
No. 12 — Katin Houser (Illinois Fighting Illini)
Career Stats: 6,438 yards, 43 TD, 22 INT
Analysis: Much like Colton Joseph at Wisconsin, we get to see how Katin Houser can step up from the East Carolina level and try to take over at Illinois after the Luke Altmyer era. He will have big shoes to fill, but we've seen some solid production from him in the past.
No. 11 — Aidan Chiles (Northwestern Wildcats)
Career Stats: 4,116 yards, 27 TD, 14 INT
Analysis: The Aidan Chiles era didn't quite pan out as expected at Michigan State after the start to his career at Oregon State, but with Jonathan Smith now gone, Chiles transferred to Northwestern, where he will play under new OC Chip Kelly, which could be fascinating.
No. 10 — Drake Lindsey (Minnesota Golden Gophers)
Career Stats: 2,432 yards, 19 TD, 6 INT
Analysis: Drake Lindsey flies under the radar as an impressive young player who has had some very solid production before. It will be fun to see what he can do in his third season with the Gophers coming up, as he could very well move up these rankings.
No. 9 — Bryce Underwood (Michigan Wolverines)
Career Stats: 2,428 yards, 11 TD, 9 INT
Analysis: These next two rankings between Bryce Underwood and Malik Washington — both very talented freshmen in 2025 — were difficult, but ultimately, I went with Underwood here. The sky is the ceiling for the former 5-star player, and with a new coaching staff, 2026 should be a monumental year for him.
No. 8 — Malik Washington (Maryland Terrapins)
Career Stats: 2,963 yards, 17 TD, 9 INT (303 rush, 4 TD)
Analysis: Washington was the biggest surprise of the season for the Big Ten as far as QBs go. As a freshman, he was very impressive with the Terrapins, putting up some really solid numbers early on, and I expect that to continue this season.
No. 7 — Nico Iamaleava Jr. (UCLA Bruins)
Career Stats: 4,858 yards, 34 TD, 12 INT
Analysis: Books will eventually be written about Nico Iamaleava's career, starting at Tennessee and now at UCLA. The 2025 season was forgetful for the Bruins, but Iamaleava got comfortable near the end of the season, and now, with a new coaching staff coming in, he has a chance to really take a step forward.
No. 6 — Rocco Becht (Penn State Nittany Lions)
Career Stats: 9,274 yards, 64 TD, 27 INT
Analysis: One of the veteran-most players in the conference now, Becht comes to Penn State alongside former Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, looking to right the ship in Happy Valley. He is a very good passer with a ton of experience, and should be exactly what the Nittany Lions need.
No. 5 — Demond Williams Jr. (Washington Huskies)
Career Stats: 4,009 yards, 33 TD, 9 INT
Analysis: The Demond Williams story has been fascinating this offseason, thanks to his dalliance with the transfer portal. With all of that aside, though, it's clear that Williams is one of the most talented passers in the conference and should have a good season in 2026, so long as he and his team can get along.
No. 4 — Jayden Maiava (USC Trojans)
Career Stats: 7,997 yards, 52 TD, 26 INT
Analysis: Jayden Maiava has a chance to be one of the best players in the Big Ten this year, and in the Heisman mix should things go well in Los Angeles. He is a talented passer with a lot of production in the past, and he impressed last year under Lincoln Riley.
No. 3 — Josh Hoover (TCU Horned Frogs)
Career Stats: 9,629 yards, 71 TD, 33 INT (TCU)
Analysis: Indiana has been great at taking transfer portal QBs and turning them into superstars, obviously, with Fernando Mendoza winning the Heisman Trophy being the lasting image in everyone's mind. Can they do the same with Josh Hoover from TCU? He has a ton of experience and production, so it would come as no surprise if he continues to lead them to success.
No. 2 — Julian Sayin (Ohio State Buckeyes)
Career Stats: 3,694 yards, 33 TD, 8 INT
Analysis: You could argue that these top two spots are 1A and 1B instead of 1 and 2. Starting with Julian Sayin, the Heisman Trophy finalist in 2025, the Buckeyes are in good hands. There's a good chance that Sayin, one of the most accurate passers in Ohio State history, will continue to improve and become a top pick in the 2026 NFL draft. He undoubtedly is one of the top QBs in the nation going into this season.
No. 1 — Dante Moore (Oregon Ducks)
Career Stats: 5,224 yards, 41 TD, 19 INT
Analysis: Whether or not you want to put Sayin over Moore, or Moore over Sayin, is up for debate. I don't have a problem either way. I think that Moore's experience gives him the slightest edge, and his production speaks for itself. He chose to come back for one more year, putting off a spot in the top-five of the 2026 NFL draft, and I think that he's going to try and prove that was the right decision with a great season in Eugene.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Big Ten projected QB rankings ahead of 2026 college football season
Category: General Sports
