College football's most important QBs: Key transfers, Heisman contenders and more

In football, it's always been — and always will be — all about the quarterback.

But in this era of the transfer portal, there is even more intrigue around the position, as in addition to developing recruits, coaches can find quicker fixes by landing a more experienced player via transfer.

As we are wrapping up spring practices across the nation, it's a good time to answer some of the more pressing questions about the position, from who will be the most impactful transfer, to who can make a run at the Heisman Trophy and more.

FOX Sports college football writers RJ Young, Michael Cohen, Laken Litman and Bryan Fischer are here to weigh in.

Aside from hiring a new head coach, there might be nothing more impactful in the modern era of college football than adding an accomplished quarterback through the transfer portal. Which new face in a new place is most intriguing ahead of the 2023 season?

RJ Young: Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was one of the most prolific FCS QBs in the sport last year. Not only did he lead Jackson State to its first undefeated regular season in school history in 2023 and a consecutive SWAC Championship, but he also was one of three QBs across the FCS and FBS to pass for at least 3,500 yards (3,758), throw at least 40 TD passes (40) and six or fewer interceptions (six).

The other two quarterbacks to accomplish that feat were Ohio State star C.J. Stroud (3,688 pass yards, 41 TD passes, six interceptions), the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams of USC (4,537 pass yards, 42 TD passes, five interceptions).

In the midst of the most ambitious roster overhaul the sport has ever seen, currently taking place at Colorado, Sanders continues to be the most interesting piece of an offense that will have to operate at a high efficiency right away with a road game against last year's College Football Playoff national title runner-up (TCU) in Week 1.

Michael Cohen: Cade McNamara's selection of Iowa for his next destination comes with some of the juicier plot lines in this year's transfer portal cycle. Two years ago, McNamara led Michigan to its first Big Ten Championship in 17 years to vault the Wolverines into the College Football Playoff for the first time. He was poised (only six INTs), efficient (completed 64.2% of his passes) and selfless (23.4 pass attempts per game) in an offense predicated on running the football with tailbacks Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum. 

That kind of stability is exactly what the Hawkeyes needed following the offensive disaster that was their 2021 campaign. Three quarterbacks combined for just seven touchdown passes last season as Iowa ranked 123rd in scoring (17.7 points per game), 130th in total offense (25.16 yards per game) and 123rd in passing offense (156.7 yards per game). When head coach Kirk Ferentz announced that McNamara had won the starting job earlier this spring — even though McNamara missed large portions of spring practice while recovering from offseason knee surgery — the dearth of talent in Iowa's quarterback room was clear.

A defense that ranked second in the country returns talented defensive backs Cooper DeJean (first-team All-Big Ten) and Quinn Schulte (72 tackles), defensive lineman Deontae Craig (team-high seven sacks) and defensive end Joe Evans (t-3rd with 8½ tackles for loss). The schedule includes neither Michigan nor Ohio State in the 2023 regular season. McNamara should be back to full health in time for fall camp.

That's a recipe for success in what might be the final year of the Big Ten West division.

Laken Litman: Tyler Buchner at Alabama. Buchner was the starter at Notre Dame last season before getting injured in the second game. He returned for the Gator Bowl, where he had five touchdowns (passed for three, ran for two) in a win over South Carolina. And now he’s followed former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees to Tuscaloosa. 

With Bryce Young gone, the Crimson Tide are in need of a replacement, and Nick Saban wasn’t totally satisfied with spring performances from Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson.

Buchner played in 10 games his freshman year, then won the starting job in South Bend ahead of the 2022 season. He has more experience than Milroe and Simpson combined. He’s athletic and tough, overcoming adversity in high school when he tore his ACL. Buchner, who had an offer from Bama out of high school, impressed Saban during his visit. But how will that translate to winning a quarterback competition? Especially given that Tide fans have grown accustomed to playmakers that turn into Heisman winners and first-round draft picks rather than the game managers from previous Saban teams.

Bryan Fischer: I agree with RJ that Sanders' jump up in competition combined with an ongoing roster changeover is one of the sport's most fascinating experiments, but I think another Pac-12 signal-caller takes the cake in ex-Clemson star DJ Uiagalelei landing at Oregon State.

Keep in mind this is a former five-star recruit who was considered an equal to the top two draft picks this year in Young and Stroud coming out of the Southern California prep ranks. This is somebody who set a school record for passing yards as a true freshman in one of his first two starts and has, for all the setbacks in Death Valley recently, still led the Tigers to a pair of top-15 finishes. The raw talent is certainly there.

What makes things even more interesting is seeing Uiagalelei in Jonathan Smith's offense. The Beavers' head coach is a terrific play-caller and the more pro-style system the team runs should suit the transfer far better than what he was operating at Clemson. OSU was a fantastic double-digit win team and brings back the bulk of its key starters, so can the talented Uiagalelei be a missing piece for a group that could be primed to reach Las Vegas for the conference title game?

Given how deep the Pac-12 is in 2023, that could be a cross-country move that has big ramifications up and down the West Coast.

Two of last year's College Football Playoff participants are working through high-profile quarterback competitions in Ohio State and Georgia. Which program is better positioned to navigate the potential ups and downs of a first-year starter when considering things like the supporting cast, coaching staff and strength of schedule?

Michael: Two seasons ago, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart leaned on one of the greatest defenses of the modern college football era en route to his first national title. The Bulldogs led the country in scoring defense (10.2 points per game) and red zone defense (28.1% touchdown rate), and ranked second in total defense (267.9 yards per game). Three months after Smart hoisted the trophy, five players from his defense were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft and eight were chosen by the end of the weekend.

Losing a generational group like that would gut most programs, especially in a league as talented as the SEC. But Georgia won its second consecutive national title last season behind a defense that ranked fifth in scoring (14.3 points per game) and 10th overall (296.7 yards per game). Last week, two more Bulldogs' defenders were chosen in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft and five were taken over the course of seven rounds. Smart doesn't rebuild, he reloads. 

The caliber of defense Smart has built in Georgia, with its cascading talent and never-ending supply of draft picks, is the biggest reason why his Bulldogs should be unencumbered by any shortcomings at quarterback in 2023. Whoever emerges from the quarterback competition — be it Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff or Gunner Stockton — will sleep easier at night knowing how impactful his teammates on the other side of the ball truly are.

Laken: Georgia. Kirby Smart lost 15 players to the NFL draft in 2022 after winning a national championship and what did he do? Turned around and won another CFP title. This year 10 Bulldogs were drafted and there’s no intelligent reason to believe Smart’s team won’t dominate again next season. It’s the Saban school of reloading, not rebuilding.

Whoever wins the QB battle — be it Beck, Vandagriff or Stockton — Georgia will have enough talent around him to be successful. It helps that everybody’s favorite tight end Brock Bowers is back and that Smart can rely on his run game, too.

Sure, Ohio State was a New Year’s Eve field goal away from playing for a national championship instead of Georgia. But these are the same Buckeyes who have been embarrassed by Michigan two years in a row and just aren’t quite on the same level as the Bulldogs.

Bryan: Hands down it's Georgia, which seems perfectly comfortable going for a title three-peat with any of the options at Kirby Smart's disposal.

Though most signs point to Beck being the guy between the Hedges, it's really the circumstances around him that give me plenty of confidence that he (or Vandagriff and Stockton) will be just fine and have the Bulldogs back in Atlanta playing for a CFP semifinal bid again.

Start with the schedule, which is laughable given the weakness of the SEC East at the moment, and may include just one (maybe two?) preseason top 25 teams on the docket at first glance. A trip to Neyland to play Tennessee could be tricky, but that's not until late November and follows what might be just two interesting road games against a rebuilding Auburn and a re-tooled Florida.

Then there's a QB's best friend in tight end Bowers, who may be the best at his position in the college ranks in ages. The guy just always gets open and has a superhuman knack for picking up first downs in clutch situations. Throw in a quality run game and the addition of weapons like Dominic Lovett, and no matter how good the options are at Ohio State, the Buckeyes don't hold a candle to what the reigning champs have built around the position to facilitate a successful campaign in 2023.

RJ: Georgia has demonstrated that its strength in the Kirby Smart era has been its defense, which has buoyed a UGA offense.

While Ohio State has seen a run of three quarterbacks drafted in the first round since Buckeyes coach Ryan Day arrived, the Dawgs haven't seen a quarterback selected in the draft's first round since 2009 (Matthew Stafford). In fact, the two QBs that have led UGA to the CFP were selected in the fifth round (Jake Fromm) and fourth round (Stetson Bennett), respectively.

It matters who operates behind center in Columbus because so much of OSU's success is dependent on its ability to score. That's simply not the case at UGA where the program is built on the national championship quality of stopping opponents from scoring.

Former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin is the only player to win the Heisman Trophy more than once. This year, USC quarterback Caleb Williams has a chance to join Griffin in that ultra-exclusive club. Which player has the best chance of stopping Williams from winning the award for the second consecutive season?

Laken: When you look around the country at other potential Heisman contenders, nobody really jumps out as a major threat to Williams repeating as the winner.

There are quarterbacks like North Carolina’s Drake Maye, Washington's Michael Penix Jr. and LSU’s Jayden Daniels, as well as skill players like Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. or Michigan’s Donovan Edwards. And while all of those guys are expected to have big seasons, Williams is still the frontrunner.

It’s hard to repeat as a Heisman winner these days. Tim Tebow didn’t do it, neither did Johnny Manziel or Bryce Young. However, the timing could be right for Williams. He’s got two years playing for Lincoln Riley under his belt and USC could make a CFP run.

Bryan: I don't think it's any one player so much as history and expectations working so firmly against Williams pulling off the repeat. It's simply a different day and age from when Archie went back-to-back that I don't foresee anybody managing the feat — even with somebody as terrific as the Trojans' quarterback.

Just take Williams' predecessor Young, who may have actually been more outstanding in the season after he won the award — yet he finished sixth in the voting. Lamar Jackson was a distant third the year after he won, while both Jameis Winston and Johnny Manziel trailed off significantly amid the pressures that come with the greatest stiff arm in the sport.

USC could end up making the College Football Playoff, win the Pac-12 and have Williams put up even more eye-popping numbers than he did in 2022, and I still would bet against him joining Archie up on stage in New York.

RJ: The player most likely to stop Williams? The answer here is Williams himself.

In conversation with an NFL scout ahead of the 2023 draft, I was told Williams "is the best college quarterback I've ever seen live."

If he plays another season like he did in 2022, he seems a shoo-in for a consecutive Heisman.

Michael: Year 2 of Penix at Washington is really intriguing. Penix bounced back from an injury-plagued final season at Indiana in 2021 to lead the country in passing at 357 yards per game in 2022. His touchdown-to-interception ratio of 3.9-to-1 was stellar, and the Huskies were one of the best stories in college football as first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer compiled an 11-2 record capped by beating Texas in the Alamo Bowl. It was the best debut season of any head coach in program history.

In addition to Penix, the Huskies welcome their top five pass catchers from last season back to campus, highlighted by 1,000-yard receivers Rome Odunze (1,145 yards, seven TDs) and Jalen McMillan (1,098 yards, nine TDs). The additions of Cal Poly tight end Josh Cuevas (58 catches, 678 yards, six TDs) and former Michigan State wideout Germie Bernard (four-star prospect in 2022) will give Penix two more options in what should be one of the most high-powered offenses in the country.

Washington is expected to begin the year in or around the top 10 of the national rankings, and that's a perfect spot from which Penix can challenge for the Heisman Trophy. 

On the recruiting side of things, a quarterback is rated as the No. 1 player in the country in the 247Sports Composite for the third time in the last five years. Quinn Ewers committed to Ohio State in the class of 2021 but ended up at Texas. Arch Manning is also at Texas, having committed to the Longhorns in the class of 2023. Dylan Raiola remains uncommitted in the class of 2024. If you were the top-rated quarterback, which school would you choose to attend?

Bryan: I'd say Fight On in announcing a commitment to USC and call it a day if I were the top-ranked QB in the country.

After all, Lincoln Riley has developed two No. 1 overall picks and three Heisman winners at the position and will have an open competition in 2024 to see who can be Williams' heir apparent. Throw in the fact that the Trojans will be moving to the Big Ten and the opportunity to help be a key part of the transition would be just too much to pass up.

And hey, the 70-degree days, NIL opportunities and trips to the beach during some rare downtime don't hurt either.

RJ: I wouldn't pick an offer based on a school but on a head coach — one with a track record for putting multiple quarterbacks into the NFL in the first round, particularly if he still coaches at the school where his first-round QBs were selected.

The latter stipulation is about consistency and foundation. It's not enough for me to be grounded as a player but for me to know the head coach is a part of the institution and not a new feature.

I'd want to go where the program has also played in the CFP at least twice in the last four years — a full college career. I'd want to make sure there was a plan for me to graduate early to give myself options and leverage in the latter half of my career.

I'd want to go where I believe I can win the job soonest, betting on myself to develop among incumbents, talented underclassmen in the future, and interloping transfers in the present; a place where I can immediately get along preparing for a future where I go and folks want to follow along.

As a 2024 QB prospect, I'm telling everyone Ohio State is the program to beat and then make them win my commitment.

Michael: It would be really difficult to pass on playing for Lincoln Riley at USC. Not only does Riley employ one of the most high-flying, quarterback-friendly offenses in the country, but his track record of recruiting and developing elite players at the position speaks for itself.

Consider some of the quarterbacks he recruited and/or coached while in charge of Oklahoma from 2017-21 and USC from 2022-present: Baker Mayfield, the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner and eventual No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft; Kyler Murray, the 2018 Heisman Trophy winner and eventual No. 1 pick in the draft; Jalen Hurts, the 2019 Heisman Trophy runner-up and a second-round pick in the draft; Williams, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner at USC; Spencer Rattler, the current starter at South Carolina; Chandler Morris, the presumptive starter at TCU; Tanner Mordecai, the presumptive starter at Wisconsin; and Malachi Nelson, a five-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle who is a freshman at USC.

Additional arguments can be made for attending Ohio State, where offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Brian Hartline stocks more four- and five-star wideouts than anyone else in college football, or one of the SEC powers like Georgia and Alabama, where competing for a national title is a yearly proposition. But recruits would be hard-pressed to find a better combination of player development, schematic favorability and an NFL pipeline than what Riley is offering players in Los Angeles. 

Laken: It would be hard to pass up USC. Riley’s track record, especially over the last several years, is second to none. He’s developed three Heisman winners and two No. 1 overall draft picks — and that number could bump up to three next spring with Williams. Off the field, USC has everything going for it: sunny L.A., Hollywood, the beach! Those things always mattered, but especially so in this NIL era.

Plus, the Trojans are heading to the Big Ten, which arguably makes going there for any player even more enticing.

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13. 

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young and subscribe to "The Number One College Football Show" on YouTube.

Bryan Fischer is a college football writer for FOX Sports. He has been covering college athletics for nearly two decades at outlets such as NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports and NFL.com among others. Follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.