Family ties, Patrick Mahomes comps (kind of) and the true freshman QB Nebraska has been waiting for
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Max Olson, ESPN Staff Writer
LINCOLN, Neb. — In his first college game at Nebraska, Dylan Raiola led the way.
He walked through the bright lights, strobes and smoke and stared straight ahead as his teammates followed. His path was lined with fans clutching their phones to capture something special. He nodded his head and raised his right hand, gesturing to say bring it on.
Nebraska’s freshman phenom quarterback was out in front for the first Tunnel Walk of the season onto the Memorial Stadium turf, offering promise of a more thrilling future for the program.
Dominic Raiola, Dylan’s father and a former Cornhusker himself, was overwhelmed. From the team’s unity walk through campus to pregame warmups to the sheer number of fans in his son’s No. 15 jersey, it brought Dominic back to 1998, reliving all his firsts inside this historic stadium.
“I know it’s more than 25 years later, but man, it’s so cool that he gets to experience this and make it his own,” Dominic told ESPN. “It’s a freaking special place, man. It’s not like everywhere else.”
His son took the field against UTEP and showed the world what Nebraska coaches and players have seen from the five-star signee since January: elite arm talent, excellent poise, extreme potential. Raiola threw for 238 yards and two memorable touchdowns while calmly guiding his team to a 40-7 rout. Wide receiver Jahmal Banks said Raiola’s “killer mentality” was on full display in his debut.
“He’s been having that in his eyes since he got on campus,” Banks said. “Like, ‘I’m humble, but I’m him.'”
In an era in which 80 college football teams found their quarterbacks in the transfer portal, Raiola was the lone true freshman starting QB for a Power 4 team in Week 1. The 19-year-old doesn’t look, act or play like one. He’s a 6-foot-3, 230-pound passer with rare gifts, an uncommon work ethic and all of the pedigree as the son of a Husker Hall of Famer and NFL great. He’s been drawing comparisons to Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on social media for months. This Saturday, against Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and Colorado (7:30 p.m. ET), he plans to show he wasn’t just raised for this. Dylan Raiola believes it’s in his blood.
“It was always tugging at my heart,” he said on signing day.
He could’ve been the next great at Ohio State. He fell in love with Georgia’s powerhouse program. But in the end, Raiola surprised even his own family by choosing to help coach Matt Rhule lead a revival at Nebraska. Kids his age weren’t alive for the days of Husker dominance. The five-time national champs haven’t won a conference title in his lifetime, haven’t gone to a bowl game since 2016.
Raiola chose to buy into a bold vision. He believed in himself enough to go where he could make the greatest impact. You could already see it on Saturday.
“I think it finally hit him: ‘I’m here,'” Dominic Raiola said. “He told me something cool about walking out of the Tunnel Walk. He said he told himself, ‘It’s time for a new era of Nebraska football.'”
BEFORE THE CHAOS kicked in, the Raiolas huddled together on the Memorial Stadium sideline for their pregame ritual. Dylan held his helmet in his left hand and ducked his head in as his mother led the family in prayer. Yvonne, Dominic, Taylor, Dylan and Dayton were finally together again.
Mom started this tradition for Dylan’s high school games and Taylor’s volleyball matches. But here they were, arm in arm, in front of more than 86,000 inside a venue steeped in familial legacy.
Dominic’s name and number are on the walls of this 100-year-old stadium, just below the scoreboard alongside all-time greats Will Shields, Grant Wistrom and Eric Crouch. He took immense pride in playing for Nebraska, arriving from Hawaii during the program’s heyday and devoting himself to maintaining the standard of excellence.
Dominic battled and scuffled with Wistrom and Jason Peter as a young lineman and put in the work to become the Huskers’ center as a redshirt freshman, a rarity in its venerated “Pipeline” era. Raiola made a name for himself as a two-year starter and consensus All-American with his fiery intensity and a school record 140 pancake blocks in 1999. Legendary Nebraska offensive line coach Milt Tenopir called him the finest center he coached in his 29-year tenure.
He agonized over his decision to enter the draft after the 2000 season. Dominic didn’t know if he was ready to leave a program that had done so much for him, but he was ready to be a pro. The second-round pick found a new home in Detroit, spending his entire 14-year career with the Lions and starting a franchise record 203 games.
Dylan was born in 2005 and grew up around that NFL locker room, running around playing with Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and so many welcoming teammates. Dominic got calls and texts from plenty of them over the weekend. He knows that environment showed his son what was possible.
In their household, faith and family came before football. “Family is everything for us,” said Nebraska offensive line coach Donovan Raiola, Dylan’s uncle. The extended Raiola clan is a tight-knit unit, their support for one another unyielding. Dominic likens the loyalty and brotherhood ingrained in their family heritage to the line from “Lilo & Stitch”: Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten. When he talks about the Nebraska legacy his son is continuing, it’s never been just about himself.
“When you wear your name on the back of your jersey and walk around town, your last name represents a lot of people, not just yourself,” Dominic said. “My name’s in the stadium, but that ain’t just my name. It represents a lot. You are carrying the torch of a lot of people, wearing a coat with a lot of names on your back.”
But Dylan grew up watching sports as a kid, not Disney movies. Taylor, the oldest, played volleyball at TCU and is now working in Nebraska’s recruiting department. Dylan always preferred baseball growing up and played travel ball before embracing football in high school. Dayton is up next, starting at quarterback for Buford High School in Georgia as a junior. The kids spent much of their childhood together on courts and fields.
When he got into high school, Dylan started working with health and performance trainer Bobby Stroupe and quarterback trainer Jeff Christensen. One trait that was easy to see from the start? Raiola was blessed with a “cannon,” as Stroupe put it, and an uncommon range of motion in his shoulder blade.
“That kind of stuff is handed out by God most of the time,” Stroupe said.
In that way, the Mahomes comparisons are undeniable, even if Dylan pushes back on them at times. They’ve met through their time spent training with Stroupe and Christensen and are friendly. Mahomes calls him “cuzzo” and has been supportive from the start. Dylan says he wears 15 as a tribute to Tim Tebow, but the Mahomes inspirations in his game and style easily stand out to any observer. Like the Chiefs superstar, Raiola can extend plays, throw against the grain and complete off-platform passes others cannot.
He flashed it in the first quarter against UTEP, converting on a third-and-11 by side-arming a dart in a tight window to receiver Isaiah Neyor for a 16-yard gain. It was the kind of conversion Mahomes has delivered time and time again and evoked instant comps to the three-time Super Bowl champ.
“He was like a freakin’ surgeon,” Nebraska offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said of Dylan. “It was amazing to see him and his maturity way beyond his years.”
“Everyone looks at him like a freshman,” Donovan Raiola added. “But I don’t.”
SOON AFTER RHULE accepted the Nebraska job in November 2022, he started hearing about the QB everybody wanted him to flip.
“I remember Trev [Alberts] saying pretty early on, ‘Do you think we’ll ever have a chance at Dylan?'” Rhule told ESPN.
Like the rest of the fan base, Nebraska’s now-former athletic director recognized this recruitment was of the utmost importance. Rhule, coming off a three-year stint with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, had a ton of catching up to do in recruiting. But he was quickly brought up to speed on the Raiolas and what they meant to Nebraska.
In the final weeks of a 2½-year recruiting process, Dylan came to appreciate what the opportunity truly meant.
Georgia was his first scholarship offer in the summer of 2021. Nebraska offered a week later at a summer camp. And then everybody else did. Dylan was anointed as a top-50 recruit in his class before he’d started a varsity game. After one high school season, he was bumped up to No. 1 recruit status in the spring of 2022. That’s a long time to live with those expectations.
Nebraska never stopped chasing him. The courtship began with Scott Frost, who hired Donovan Raiola away from the Chicago Bears at the end of 2021, but he and his staff were on the hot seat. “It was a little rough patch at Nebraska, some unsettled times,” Dominic said. Dylan made an early commitment to Ohio State in May 2022 but decided to reopen his recruitment in December, three weeks after Rhule landed in Lincoln.
Kirby Smart pushed hard and had just won consecutive national titles. Lincoln Riley made him USC’s top priority. At that point, the Huskers were selling hope more than hype. Rhule was impressed by Dylan’s humble, kind-hearted nature right away.
“How we had always recruited him was I said to him: ‘I made the decision to come here. I show up here and I see a program that’s down, but I see a program that’s been at the top,'” Rhule said. “‘I see an opportunity for me to come make a difference at a place that matters. So why don’t you come here and make a difference at a place that matters? The easy thing would be to go to the place that’s already winning.'”
After taking more visits in the spring, Dylan picked Georgia last May. Dad wasn’t surprised.
“I knew he loved Georgia the whole time,” Dominic said. “It almost felt inevitable it was going that way. I mean, how could you not?”
Rhule and his staff moved on, turning their focus to in-state passer Daniel Kaelin and flipping him from Missouri. The Raiola family relocated from Arizona to Georgia ahead of his senior year and attended every Bulldogs home game last season, most of them blowouts.
But on Sept. 30, they made a curious choice. The Raiolas flew back to Lincoln for Nebraska’s game against Michigan. The trip was intended to be for Dayton, who has a Husker offer, but Dylan tagged along. They watched the No. 2 Wolverines shred Nebraska 45-7. “It was ugly,” Dominic said. The showdown with the future national champs showed just how far the Huskers were from being a Big Ten contender. “You saw us at our worst,” Rhule told the Raiolas. Dylan gave no indication he was rethinking his decision, and Nebraska’s staff did not push him. But his uncle hadn’t totally given up.
“I didn’t want to feel like it was over, but you never know, right?” Donovan said. “I was holding out hope.”
Dylan kept his focus on his senior season at Buford. Smart and Georgia OC Mike Bobo came over for their in-home visit with the Raiolas on Dec. 5 to close out the recruitment. Four days later, Dylan came to his parents and confessed he was still thinking about Nebraska. He wanted to take one more visit. Dominic said he and Yvonne were more puzzled than elated. Why now?
“I’ll tell you what changed in his heart,” Dominic said. “He knew he had a different kind of talent. He told us: ‘God has bigger plans for me than just going to Georgia and being the next five-star and being in line to win the national title. God has different plans for me.’ And those plans were to go to Nebraska and do something hard.”
Rhule insists he didn’t see it coming.
“I remember when he called me,” Rhule said, “I was like, ‘Really?'”
Dylan saw past an offense that finished last in the Big Ten in passing yards with the second worst turnover margin (minus-17) in the sport, a team that kept finding ways to lose close games even under a new front office. He liked Rhule and the culture he was trying to establish. He felt a different vibe during the Michigan game, even in defeat.
“Nebraska’s the only place that you can bring back and it can mean something more than just we won a game or won a championship,” Dylan said this spring. “I think if we do that here, it’ll make a lot of people happy and be special.”
On the following Monday, the news of Dylan contemplating a flip leaked out. Nebraska had been courting experienced transfer QBs and got Ohio State’s Kyle McCord on campus for a visit. Then they backed off. By the time Dylan got on the plane to Nebraska for his weekend official visit, it was a done deal.
Nebraska offensive tackle Teddy Prochazka was at home doing laundry when he first heard the Raiola rumors.
“I thought it was fake,” Prochazka said. “Someone texted me like, ‘Yo, check Twitter, is this real?’ I’m like, ‘Dude, I have no idea.’ And then sure enough, a few weeks later, he was committed. Donny kept it close to the chest. Everyone was just kind of like, ‘I don’t know, it could be happening …'”
The Elkhorn, Nebraska, native understood the magnitude of the moment.
“One of the biggest things is it gets people talking about Nebraska,” Prochazka said. “We deserve to be in the national spotlight. We want to play in those big games and be talked about. That definitely got the word out that, hey, Nebraska’s got something building over here.”
EARLY MORNINGS AND late nights. That’s how Dylan got ready to start.
Satterfield, his offensive coordinator, calls him a young pro. He was purposeful throughout the process of installing Nebraska’s offense and instilling confidence. Rhule got used to early morning texts and finding him in the weight room doing extra workouts or stretching at 6 a.m. The freshman would ask permission to break curfew during fall camp to keep working. He’d write and rewrite notes and play calls late into the night to get the cadence and rhythm down. Tight end Thomas Fidone said Dylan finds the magic in the minutiae.
“He’s just obsessed with trying to be really, really, really, really good,” Satterfield said.
The starting job had to be earned along with the respect of his new team. Dylan took his receivers down to Texas in June to train together. He took his linemen out for pizza and wings and they ran up a big bill. They’d gather at his uncle’s house to watch UFC fights and play video games.
“The team is everything to him,” Donovan said. “He’s a very thoughtful, authentic, genuine guy. He’s always been like that since he was a little kid. Every team he’s been on, it was always the team first.”
Added Rhule: “He doesn’t have to be the focus of everything.”
Players have been wowed by his composure, steadiness and poise in practice. Everyone got to see it on Saturday. Dylan checked a play and checked again and reloaded on a third-and-5 to get to an Emmett Johnson run that broke for 42 yards. When he did so in his first spring practice, flipping a play to adjust for a blitzer, Rhule joked that it brought a tear to his eye. Dylan got his first two-minute drill late in the first half against UTEP and let it rip, tossing a perfectly placed back-shoulder touchdown throw to Banks with 8 seconds left.
You don’t see many freshmen doing what he’s trying to do these days. Back in 2019, it wasn’t unusual to see Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, Sam Howell, Max Duggan and Kedon Slovis all starting as true freshmen. The increasing popularity of the portal ever since then has led to far fewer play-right-away opportunities at the highest level.
In fact, over the past four seasons, only one top-50 QB recruit has started 10-plus games as a freshman for a Power 4 squad: Georgia Tech’s Jeff Sims, who later transferred to Nebraska and then Arizona State. Even if it’s the plan going into the year, getting through the season can be easier said than done. Last year, five-star recruit Dante Moore was UCLA’s opening day starter. He was benched after five games. Now he’s at Oregon.
In Dylan’s case, there won’t be training wheels. Satterfield didn’t hand him a pared-down playbook. They’re giving him trust to run their system, progress through his reads, make mistakes and improve.
“How we want him to play when he’s a junior, we’re going to start Day 1 that way,” Rhule said. “We’re not easing into anything.”
But here’s an important distinction: Nobody is asking the kid to fix Nebraska football all by himself.
Rhule has coached freshman starting QBs before, but he’s never had a five-star. He’s been measured in his public praise of Dylan. The last thing he wants to do is add more pressure. He learned from working with first-round picks in Carolina and seeing the burden they felt in trying to live up to big contracts.
Rhule reminds him that when you’re Nebraska’s starting quarterback, you better be prepared to ride the highs and lows and can’t live by what others think of you. This is a fine week for the freshman to listen to that lesson. Colorado is coming to his house on Saturday night for one of the Huskers’ most anticipated home games in years. Winning this one certainly gets people talking about Nebraska.
“I want him to take everything in stride,” Rhule said. “He doesn’t have to put everything on his shoulders. He just has to do his part and have fun doing it.”
Dominic Raiola raised his son to believe no moment is ever too big if you go in prepared. When asked last week what fans could expect from him, Dylan knew the answer. The process of building up to this didn’t start with a commitment in December or a workout in January. It began the day he picked up a football.
“Buckle up,” Dylan said with a smile. “It’s going to be a fun ride.”
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Bill Connelly
Preseason All-American Cade Klubnik’s team is 1-3 and he’s 94th in Total QBR. Preseason Heisman favorite Arch Manning is 71st. Sam Leavitt, Nico Iamaleava and Drew Allar, all playoff quarterbacks in 2024, are 61st, 76th and 88th, respectively. On the flip side, Notre Dame redshirt freshman C.J. Carr and Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, a Division II transfer, are in the top five in Total QBR.
We knew this could be an odd college football season for quarterback play, with so many top teams fielding new starters and only a few known entities — including Klubnik and Allar, who have not earned that label — starting out near the top of the polls. But this has all been even stranger than we could have imagined.
With a month gone in the 2025 season, let’s take stock. We’ve seen plenty of stellar quarterback play, but a lot of it has come from unexpected sources. So let’s rank every power conference team’s quarterback (or quarterback situation) as we head into October.
(Note: References to rushing yards in stat lines below do not include sack yardage.)
Total QBR: 93.4 | Pass Yds: 1,587 | Rush Yds: 80 | Total TDs: 15
He was let down by his defense against Illinois on Saturday, but Maiava is comfortably No. 1 in Total QBR through September, and among QBR-qualified quarterbacks, he’s one of only two to rank in the top 20 in both completion rate (70.5%) and yards per completion (16.2). Illinois was comfortably his worst game of the season, and he still threw for 364 yards with a Total QBR of 85.5.
Total QBR: 88.4 | Pass Yds: 1,211 | Rush Yds: 306 | Total TDs: 15
We still don’t know if Vandy has the raw explosiveness (or defense) to survive a brutal upcoming run of opponents — next four games: at Alabama, LSU, Missouri, at Texas — but we do know that Pavia’s efficiency has gone from good to ruthless in 2025. Fewer negative plays, fewer (but more effective) scrambles and a 75% completion rate. Ridiculously good.
Total QBR: 87.6 | Pass Yds: 1,033 | Rush Yds: 269 | Total TDs: 7
Austin Simmons started the season pretty well as Ole Miss’ starter, but when he injured his ankle, Chambliss stepped in and Wally Pipp’d him. He’s creating more explosive plays with far fewer negative plays and more of a run threat. Last December, he torched Valdosta State to lead Ferris State to the Division II national title. This December, he might lead Ole Miss onto the field for its first SEC championship game.
Total QBR: 82.1 | Pass Yds: 1,208 | Rush Yds: 132 | Total TDs: 18
Indiana ranks first nationally in success rate*, and Mendoza ranks first among QBs. He survived an always tricky trip to Iowa City this past weekend, too, throwing for 233 yards and two touchdowns (albeit with an interception and two sacks). Kurtis Rourke was a huge part of Indiana’s surprise success last season, and thanks to Mendoza the Hoosiers are doing as well or even better this year.
(* Success rate: How frequently an offense is gaining 50% of necessary yardage on first down, 70% on second and 100% on third or fourth.)
Total QBR: 83.0 | Pass Yds: 1,210 | Rush Yds: 131 | Total TDs: 14
After an easy start to his first season as Oregon’s starter, Moore faced the biggest test of his career on a White Out evening at Penn State last Saturday. He threw for a wonderfully controlled 248 yards and three touchdowns with no sacks or interceptions and three rushing first downs. There are more tests to come, but that’s how you become the Heisman betting favorite virtually overnight.
Total QBR: 87.6 | Pass Yds: 1,043 | Rush Yds: 238 | Total TDs: 14
Cincinnati is basically one poor pass away from being one of the biggest stories of the early season. Sorsby’s underthrown interception cost the Bearcats a potential win over Nebraska in Week 1. He has otherwise piloted what might be the most well-rounded offense this side of USC and Indiana.
Saturday’s track meet win at Kansas inserted Sorsby and Cincy into the Big 12 race.
7. CJ Carr, Notre Dame
Total QBR: 88.4 | Pass Yds: 1,091 | Rush Yds: 60 | Total TDs: 10
Trinidad Chambliss against Arkansas two weeks ago: 21-of-29 passing for 353 yards with a touchdown. Carr against Arkansas on Saturday: 22-of-30 for 354 yards with four touchdowns. Arkansas’ defense may have completely quit Saturday, but the Fighting Irish made it happen. Carr doesn’t offer much of a run threat, but his Total QBR rating has improved each game this season.
Total QBR: 84.2 | Pass Yds: 1,138 | Rush Yds: 86 | Total TDs: 13
In his first road start of 2025, against Florida State, Simpson was stressed and inaccurate. In his second road start, he beat Georgia, throwing for 276 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for another score (and two other first downs). Projected over 13 games, he’s on pace for 3,700 passing yards, 42 combined touchdowns and, at the moment, zero interceptions. First impressions are rarely accurate.
Total QBR: 87.0 | Pass Yds: 951 | Rush Yds: 283 | Total TDs: 8
The less fair way to look at Williams’ performance this season: He has faced one good defense (Ohio State) and bombed the test, averaging 4.2 yards per dropback with as many sacks (six) as points scored. The fairer way: Ohio State’s defense is going to do that to just about anyone, and he has torched everyone else. He’s still top 10 in Total QBR, after all, and that’s opponent-adjusted.
Total QBR: 77.6 | Pass Yds: 1,262 | Rush Yds: 250 | Total TDs: 17
Kansas hasn’t solved its close-game woes this season, but considering the Jayhawks topped 30 points in both losses, it’s hard to blame Daniels and the offense for that. Daniels threw for 668 yards with 109 non-sack rushing yards and seven combined touchdowns in those losses, and he and the KU offense will continue to give the Jayhawks a chance in the close games still to come.
Total QBR: 82.2 | Pass Yds: 987 | Rush Yds: 17 | Total TDs: 10
It’s almost impossible to grade Sayin on the same scale as everyone else. He leads the nation with a 79% completion rate, he has taken only two sacks and he’s third in success rate. He’s keeping the trains on time beautifully. But he’s also throwing mostly short passes to extremely talented receivers, and his defense has yet to allow double-digit points in a game.
Total QBR: 75.5 | Pass Yds: 1,215 | Rush Yds: 211 | Total TDs: 11
Obviously this one’s a bit tricky, as Mateer is out for an undetermined amount of time after hand surgery. But since he’s expected back at some point this season, we’ll put him on this list.
Mateer is also tricky to evaluate because Oklahoma’s offense has been mediocre this season (61st in points per drive, 56th in yards per play), but anything good has probably been because of him. He’s carrying a heavy load for an otherwise poor run game, and he’s distributing the ball nicely among four pass catchers. I didn’t think he should be the Heisman favorite for his play, but he’s playing well with a high degree of difficulty.
Total QBR: 85.7 | Pass Yds: 1,279 | Rush Yds: 183 | Total TDs: 14
Over the past three seasons, Virginia’s leading passers have averaged 2,098 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions per season. Projected over 13 games, Morris is on pace for 3,325 yards, 26 touchdowns and 10 picks. Throw in quality red zone rushing, and this is easily the best QB play the Cavaliers have seen since Brennan Armstrong’s peak in 2021.
Total QBR: 87.6 | Pass Yds: 1,398 | Rush Yds: 483 | Total TDs: 14
Like Jalon Daniels, you can’t really blame Green for his awful defense. All he has done is put himself on a pace for a season with 3,300 passing yards and 1,100 rushing yards (projected over 12 games). He still plays with fire — he has thrown five interceptions, and he has tempted fate with a few more INT-worthy throws — but he’s sixth in Total QBR because he makes more big plays than almost anyone.
Total QBR: 84.8 | Pass Yds: 1,183 | Rush Yds: 106 | Total TDs: 13
Sacks have become a problem for the veteran (he has taken 17 of them in five games), but he has hinted at a new level of upside in 2025 as well. In Saturday’s big rebound win over USC, Altmyer completed 20 of 26 passes for 328 yards and two scores and had a rushing TD as well. He’s completing a career-high 71% of his passes for a career-best 13.1 yards per completion.
Total QBR: 78.3 | Pass Yds: 848 | Rush Yds: 223 | Total TDs: 8
He’s never going to be the most consistent passer in the world, but almost no other QB combines Castellanos’ big-play passing threat with dangerous scrambling.
Virginia showed what can happen if you manage to hem Castellanos in and force him to pass instead of scrambling, but FSU still scored 35 points in regulation, and he still combined 254 passing yards with 78 rushing yards.
Total QBR: 72.2 | Pass Yds: 1,459 | Rush Yds: 76 | Total TDs: 15
After a nearly flawless start, Aguilar’s game has sprung some leaks of late — he has thrown five interceptions in his past three games and took a pair of sacks against Mississippi State. Still, he has brought the explosiveness back to the Tennessee offense, averaging 14.3 yards per completion while taking only three sacks all season. Not bad for a guy on his third school (and third offense) in 12 months.
Total QBR: 81.9 | Pass Yds: 972 | Rush Yds: 38 | Total TDs: 8
It’s hard to figure out Beck and Miami’s offense at the moment. The Hurricanes are up to third in the AP poll, and he’s the No. 4 Heisman betting favorite with a 73% completion rate (ninth among qualified QBs). But he’s 68th nationally in yards per completion (11.9) and 95th in interception rate (2.7%), and he provides no run threat whatsoever. The defense has been more responsible than the offense for Miami’s 4-0 start.
Total QBR: 77.6 | Pass Yds: 1,203 | Rush Yds: 184 | Total TDs: 12
Opponents have begun to figure Pribula out a bit, and he has seen his interception rate rise while his sack rate remains high. But the good still drastically outweighs the bad: He’s third nationally in completion rate (76%), and among power conference QBs, his third-down success rate (59%) ranks behind only Maiava’s 61%. He left Penn State because he was stuck behind Drew Allar, but he has drastically outplayed Allar thus far in 2025.
Total QBR: 88.2 | Pass Yds: 851 | Rush Yds: 158 | Total TDs: 8
At this point, Stockton is the personification of the Georgia program as a whole: clearly talented, pretty good at everything and not necessarily elite at anything. He has thrown 39% of his passes at or behind the line of scrimmage (sixth most), and he’s averaging just 5.9 air yards per attempt (seventh lowest). That’s keeping the Dawgs on schedule, but explosiveness is proving to be an issue.
Total QBR: 77.9 | Pass Yds: 1,713 | Rush Yds: 58 | Total TDs: 18
Keep the pass rushers off Robertson, and you’ll win games. Baylor is 0-2 when his pressure rate is above 27% (and his sack rate is above 3%), and the Bears are 3-0 and averaging 45 points per game otherwise. And no matter what, he’s a hell of a volume passer: Projected over 13 games, he’s on pace for nearly 4,500 yards and 44 TDs, and he leads the nation in both categories.
Total QBR: 77.0 | Pass Yds: 1,573 | Rush Yds: 23 | Total TDs: 13
The high-profile Tulane transfer has rebounded from error-prone losses to Illinois and Tulane. In his first two ACC games, Mensah threw for 537 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions and an 88.9 Total QBR, and Duke scored 83 points. If that’s a sign of things to come, the Blue Devils’ investment could end up paying off, and they could become sleeper ACC title game contenders.
Total QBR: 78.5 | Pass Yds: 1,242 | Rush Yds: 53 | Total TDs: 12
The negative plays were too much for Hoover and TCU to overcome at Arizona State last Friday — his 242 passing yards (and rushing touchdown) put the Horned Frogs in position for an upset, but two interceptions and a back-breaking late sack-and-strip (the last of six sacks) were too much to overcome. Still, Hoover’s high-volume explosiveness could keep the Frogs in the Big 12 race.
Total QBR: 77.6 | Pass Yds: 1,103 | Rush Yds: 97 | Total TDs: 12
ISU’s run game isn’t nearly as effective as it was supposed to be, but the Cyclones are 5-0 all the same, both because the defense is again solid and because Becht is nicely efficient. He ranks 24th in success rate — 11th on third or fourth down — and 26th in yards per dropback. The big plays are picking up too: He’s averaging 18.1 yards per completion over the past two games.
Total QBR: 77.2 | Pass Yds: 1,137 | Rush Yds: 29 | Total TDs: 11
Raiola’s 76% completion rate ranks fourth nationally, and his 11-to-1 TD-to-INT ratio is pretty sexy, but he somehow takes forever to throw (2.89 seconds on average, 108th) extremely short passes (6.2 air yards per attempt, 123rd) and takes a lot of sacks in the process (28.6% sacks to pressures, 119th). Still, the Cornhuskers rank 16th in points per drive and ninth in success rate so he’s doing something right.
Total QBR: 66.6 | Pass Yds: 1,076 | Rush Yds: 162 | Total TDs: 10
Reed is an explosive playmaker (14.7 yards per completion, 6.0 yards per non-sack carry) who, unlike lots of other playmakers, avoids sacks. He’s excellent against zone coverage too (14th in QBR vs. zone). But his overall efficiency is hit-or-miss (52nd in success rate), and he hasn’t solved man coverage (123rd in QBR vs. man). He’s good, but his profile is a mixed bag right now.
Total QBR: 66.0 | Pass Yds: 886 | Rush Yds: 210 | Total TDs: 5
He’s getting no help from a dreadful run game, and sacks remain a devastating issue — South Carolina ranks 126th in pressure rate allowed (which is potentially on the O-line) and 119th in sacks per pressure (which is on Sellers). But he’s still a playmaker: He averages 15.3 yards per completion (ninth) — with only one interception — and 9.2 yards per scramble. Both flaws and upside remain obvious.
Total QBR: 64.5 | Pass Yds: 1,065 | Rush Yds: 37 | Total TDs: 11
Injuries have piled up for Morton through the years, and he has already had to leave a couple of games this season with minor injuries as well. But when he’s out there, he’s super explosive: He’s seventh nationally in yards per completion (15.4) and sixth in yards per dropback (sixth). And backup Will Hammond has proved pretty stellar when he has had to enter the game.
Total QBR: 75.5 | Pass Yds: 758 | Rush Yds: 398 | Total TDs: 10
King attempts more designed runs than anyone on this list, and every time he takes a hit, he gets up looking like he has taken more career hits than Adrian Peterson. His toughness is unquestionable, but his actual passing rankings — 71st in yards per dropback, 48th in success rate — are awfully mediocre this year. He has a good backup in Aaron Philo, but the Tech offense has one note when King is in the game.
Total QBR: 72.5 | Pass Yds: 1,399 | Rush Yds: 86 | Total TDs: 11
Rutgers is averaging over 30 points and 400 yards per game for the first time since 2007 — the Scarlet Knights just hit 28 points in back-to-back games against top-25 defenses — and despite some pretty big sack issues, Kaliakmanis’ passing has been the primary reason for that. Unfortunately, the defense hasn’t held up its end of the bargain.
Total QBR: 64.1 | Pass Yds: 1,039 | Rush Yds: 352 | Total TDs: 13
After an offseason of pretty large hype, Leavitt stumbled out of the gate in 2025. But he has picked up steam since.
First two games: 42.0 Total QBR, 57% completion rate, 5.7 yards per dropback, 3 INT
Last three games: 73.6 Total QBR, 67% completion rate, 7.0 yards per dropback, 0 INT
He hasn’t been a top-30 quarterback over five games, but the guy we’ve seen in recent weeks sure is.
Total QBR: 78.4 | Pass Yds: 1,323 | Rush Yds: 125 | Total TDs: 12
Bailey has pulled an anti-Leavitt. Things started well, but the mistakes are adding up in a hurry.
First three games: 85.2 Total QBR, 7.7 yards per dropback, 1.1% INT rate, 2.2% sack rate
Last two games: 66.7 Total QBR, 7.0 yards per dropback, 4.1% INT rate, 8.8% sack rate
Perhaps not surprisingly, Bailey’s Wolfpack started 3-0 but have now lost two straight.
Total QBR: 78.8 | Pass Yds: 868 | Rush Yds: 225 | Total TDs: 11
We’re definitely seeing a lot of examples of a specific prototype in this section — lots of time to throw, lots of sacks, high completion rate on mostly short passes, a healthy number of (non-sack) rushing yards — and Chiles is a particular example. He’s hinted at huge explosiveness (17.7 yards per completion vs. USC), but the State defense is poor enough that he has to be great for the Spartans to do well.
Total QBR: 72.1 | Pass Yds: 1,027 | Rush Yds: 273 | Total TDs: 13
Dampier is mobile and heavy on designed runs, but he bucks the stereotype by taking almost no sacks. You can stay on schedule well with Dampier as your QB — as Utah is learning — but you won’t see many big pass plays, and if an opponent like, say, Texas Tech is knocking you off schedule frequently, disaster could follow. (Especially since nagging injuries are often a thing for a guy who gets hit that much.)
Total QBR: 55.7 | Pass Yds: 1,126 | Rush Yds: 111 | Total TDs: 10
Kevin Jennings charged into the starting lineup in place of a slow-starting Preston Stone last year and thrived, winning nine straight starts and eventually leading SMU to the CFP. Then, something broke.
First nine starts (2024): 9-0 record, 77.9 Total QBR, 9.2 yards per dropback, 2.5% INT rate, 3.6% sack rate
Last five starts (2024-25): 1-4 record, 59.0 Total QBR, 6.5 yards per dropback, 4.4% INT rate, 5.7% sack rate
He made some solid plays in losses to Baylor and TCU this September, but he’s still making too many mistakes to account for a sketchy defense.
Total QBR: 72.7 | Pass Yds: 1,029 | Rush Yds: 23 | Total TDs: 7
Moss pretty much had to be in the middle of this list because he couldn’t have a more average statistical profile if you created it in a lab: He’s 59th in completion rate (65.6%), 67th in yards per completion (12.0), 70th in yards per dropback (7.0), 76th in sack rate (5.8%) and 79th in INT rate (2.3%). You could do better, and you could do worse.
Total QBR: 76.4 | Pass Yds: 1,159 | Rush Yds: 50 | Total TDs: 8
The preseason Heisman contender dealt with a torso injury before the season and sure looks like he’s still dealing with it, but he has to throw all the time because LSU’s run game stinks. So he’s throwing quick passes (115th in air yards per attempt) but not completing a huge percentage (43rd in completion rate), and the ones he’s completing aren’t going anywhere (112th in yards per completion). LSU’s defense is finally excellent, but Nussmeier and the offense aren’t living up to their end of the bargain.
Total QBR: 77.3 | Pass Yds: 733 | Rush Yds: 185 | Total TDs: 5
Underwood is mature, and he has a huge arm and strong fight-or-flight instincts — he’s 38th in sack rate (3.8%) and seventh in yards per scramble (12.4). He’s also still learning the whole quarterbacking thing. He fires 99 mph fastballs when they aren’t necessary, and he has experienced bouts of inaccuracy (120th in completion rate). Improvement over Michigan’s 2024 QBs? Absolutely. Altogether good? Not quite yet.
Total QBR: 67.6 | Pass Yds: 697 | Rush Yds: 183 | Total TDs: 10
BYU has an excellent running back (LJ Martin) and an effective defense. The Cougars have the key components to survive starting a true freshman and trying not to ask too much of him. He’s completing 68% of his (mostly short) passes, using his legs a decent amount and avoiding negative plays. As long as he’s not being asked to make huge plays on third-and-long, he can keep managing the game.
Total QBR: 76.6 | Pass Yds: 684 | Rush Yds: 260 | Total TDs: 9
After briefly losing his job early in the season, Salter, the Liberty transfer, is back in the lineup, and he’s 21st in success rate with only one interception. But he’s facing constant pressure, scrambling and throwing outside the pocket a lot. It worked against Wyoming, not so much against BYU, and with games against TCU, Iowa State and Utah on deck, any hopes of a decent season will require some immediate stability.
Total QBR: 57.2 | Pass Yds: 888 | Rush Yds: 132 | Total TDs: 14
It almost looks like paralysis by analysis for Manning. He has been raised as a perfect quarterback specimen and knows every passing angle, and he seems to freeze up while considering what to do sometimes. He averages 3.1 seconds to throw (seventh most in the country), and he’s 100th in interception rate (2.8%) and 96th in completion rate (61.3%). Texas’ defense will buy him development time, and things could click at any moment, but they haven’t yet.
Total QBR: 66.8 | Pass Yds: 958 | Rush Yds: 5 | Total TDs: 8
Lindsey enjoyed a nice performance against Rutgers, throwing for 324 yards and three touchdowns in a win. He’s 15th nationally in success rate (52.8%) despite rarely throwing at or behind the line, though he’s averaging only 10.6 yards per completion against power-conference opponents. There’s absolutely no run threat here, but safe passing combined with strong defense should produce at least seven or eight wins.
Total QBR: 70.0 | Pass Yds: 846 | Rush Yds: 311 | Total TDs: 10
The returns, they are diminishing quickly.
Arnold has completed at least 65% of his passes in three of five games (with zero interceptions on the year). But he has taken at least four sacks three times, and he has taken 14 in the past two games. His protection is poor, and holding on to the ball too long is getting him hit constantly without any threat of big plays (9.7 yards per completion). This is an increasing disaster.
Total QBR: 55.6 | Pass Yds: 1,036 | Rush Yds: 131 | Total TDs: 8
After transferring to North Carolina and then returning, Browne has had three pretty good games (with a Total QBR of 71 or higher) and one dreadful one (three picks and five sacks against USC). He is getting little help from his run game and almost none from his defense, but he’s averaging 13.5 yards per completion, and he’s on pace for 3,100 yards and 18 touchdowns. Massive improvement for Purdue.
Total QBR: 54.3 | Pass Yds: 1,064 | Rush Yds: 117 | Total TDs: 9
Shapen scrambles a lot and takes too many sacks, but he does have occasional success as a big-play hunter. That has resulted in an upset of Arizona State — and a pick-six and a fumble-six in a narrow loss to Tennessee. We can probably expect similar volatility the rest of the year. (We can also probably expect MSU’s first bowl in three seasons.)
Total QBR: 58.3 | Pass Yds: 839 | Rush Yds: 175 | Total TDs: 10
Regarded as the top pocket passer in the 2022 recruiting class, Weigman has come to rely on his mobility. He has run for 13 first downs and four touchdowns, but he also has taken hits on 44% of his dropbacks (120th nationally). Regardless, it has added an extra dimension to pretty average passing (106th in success rate, 63rd in yards per dropback), and has helped keep Houston unbeaten into October.
Total QBR: 59.7 | Pass Yds: 1,019 | Rush Yds: 168 | Total TDs: 10
Where’s the sense of adventure? Johnson’s instincts seem to be tangled up as he attempts to convert great athletic skills into NFL-caliber QB play. He has spent most of 2025 taking few chances with his arm (one interception but only 10.7 yards per completion) and trying to avoid making plays with his legs (seven scrambles, albeit for 106 yards). He finally used his legs last week against UCF, however, and produced his best game of the year. Maybe that’s a sign of improvement to come?
Total QBR: 53.2 | Pass Yds: 1,038 | Rush Yds: 26 | Total TDs: 10
Maryland has given Washington training wheels. The true freshman has started from day one, and he dropped back to pass at least 35 times against his first three FBS opponents. Granted, a lot of those were quick sideline passes, and he’s completing only 51% of his passes at least 5 yards downfield. But he has thrown just one pick and taken one sack, and avoiding disaster has helped to keep the Terps unbeaten.
Total QBR: 48.5 | Pass Yds: 1,242 | Rush Yds: 62 | Total TDs: 9
Like Washington, Sagapolutele has gone straight to the deep end. The true freshman has thrown 178 passes, eighth most in FBS, and has alternated between flashes of excellence and, against San Diego State, absolute disaster (17-for-38 with two picks). If you grade on a curve, however, this is going about as well as the blue-chipper could have expected, and he should top 3,000 yards with about 20 touchdowns.
Total QBR: 50.0 | Pass Yds: 1,050 | Rush Yds: 133 | Total TDs: 12
Last season, Holstein was pretty good for about five games, then faded rapidly. This season, it took only two games. After torching overwhelmed Duquesne and Central Michigan defenses, he took six sacks with an interception against West Virginia, then threw two costly picks and got benched in the fourth quarter last week against Louisville. At his best, he’s a bold playmaker. But there are too many picks and sacks.
Total QBR: 63.0 | Pass Yds: 965 | Rush Yds: 133 | Total TDs: 11
Arizona has shown some life after a 2024 collapse, but it mostly has come from the defense and run game. In three games against FBS opponents, Fifita averaged a ghastly 4.9 yards per dropback with six sacks, and in the Wildcats’ loss to Iowa State last week he threw two interceptions and averaged just 7.9 yards per completion. When Arizona has to throw, the ball doesn’t really go anywhere.
Total QBR: 54.8 | Pass Yds: 1,188 | Rush Yds: 24 | Total TDs: 10
The Alabama transfer averaged 8.7 yards per dropback in his first start against an FBS opponent, then averaged 6.8 in his second and 4.9 in his third. Teams blitz him a little more each week, and his interception rate is going up at the same time that his average yards per completion is going down. He beat out incumbent Grayson James upon his arrival from Tuscaloosa, but the shine has worn off quickly.
53. Three injured QBs, UCF
Total QBR: 58.4 | Pass Yds: 938 | Rush Yds: 288 | Total TDs: 9
Cam Fancher injured his back just nine passes into the season. Tayven Jackson led UCF to three wins but hurt his shoulder and struggled against Kansas State. When Jacurri Brown also hurt his shoulder, Jackson came back in but accomplished little. Fancher should be ready this week if Jackson is too limited, and Jackson was pretty good in the blowout of North Carolina. But this is a fluid situation.
Total QBR: 45.1 | Pass Yds: 996 | Rush Yds: 94 | Total TDs: 7
It’s just shocking how poor Clemson’s passing game has been this year. Klubnik ranks 93rd in yards per dropback, 102nd in success rate and 96th in interception rate. He’s facing blitzes constantly behind a banged-up offensive line (the run game has been wholly mediocre), and he’s firing short and mostly ineffective passes. He posted a 78.7 Total QBR in 2024, but he hasn’t topped 60.0 in a 2025 game yet. This has been an utterly disastrous September.
Total QBR: 48.4 | Pass Yds: 763 | Rush Yds: 86 | Total TDs: 6
In one drive against Oregon, with Penn State down 14, Allar completed three passes for 56 yards and a beautiful touchdown lob. The rest of the game, he went 11-for-22 for 81 yards and a game-clinching pick. His big-game production is a known issue, but he hasn’t really produced against anyone, throwing few deep balls and averaging 10.8 yards per completion. This has not yet become the breakthrough year Allar hoped for.
Total QBR: 53.7 | Pass Yds: 1,105 | Rush Yds: 257 | Total TDs: 12
One of the more proven QBs in the ACC heading into 2025, Drones has averaged just 4.8 yards per dropback in four games against FBS opponents, with three interceptions and two fumbles. He remains a solid scrambler, but he’s facing constant pressure and has only once completed more than 59% of his passes. Tech has won two straight after an 0-3 start, but Drones hasn’t been particularly responsible for that.
Total QBR: 46.9 | Pass Yds: 636 | Rush Yds: 200 | Total TDs: 10
I had high hopes for the South Dakota State transfer, and he certainly has improved since a dismal start.
First two games: 25.7 Total QBR, 53.8% completion rate, 2.8 yards per dropback
Last three games: 64.5 Total QBR, 70.1% completion rate, 6.5 yards per dropback
Still, Iowa scored just 15 points against Indiana on Saturday and missed a shot at an upset. He’s getting up to speed, but the remaining schedule has lots of good defenses on it.
Total QBR: 54.6 | Pass Yds: 788 | Rush Yds: 252 | Total TDs: 5
Iamaleava was an unfinished product at Tennessee in 2024 — took too long to throw, too many sacks, too few big plays — but he has seen everything fall apart with a bad supporting cast at UCLA. He ranks 119th in yards per completion (9.7), 83rd in INT rate (2.4%) and 91st in sack rate (6.8%), and UCLA seems to start every game down 21-0. Per SP+, the Bruins now have a 61% chance of finishing 0-12. Ouch.
Total QBR: 35.7 | Pass Yds: 1,167 | Rush Yds: 20 | Total TDs: 5
Credit where it’s due: Like Gronowski, Gulbranson has recovered from an abysmal start.
First two games: 11.7 Total QBR, 51.6% completion rate, 4.8% INT rate, 3.2 yards per dropback
Last three games: 56.6 Total QBR, 66.0% completion rate, 0.0% INT rate, 8.0 yards per dropback
He led three late scoring drives to save Stanford against San José State last weekend, and honestly, 2-3 is better than I thought the Cardinal would be right now. But unless Gulbranson has another gear, a fifth straight 3-9 finish is likely.
Total QBR: 39.8 | Pass Yds: 916 | Rush Yds: 226 | Total TDs: 5
The well-traveled Ashford is what he is at this point: a low-efficiency (111th in completion rate, 120th in success rate), high-explosiveness (25th in yards per completion) passer with solid legs (29th in non-sack rushing yards). Ashford and Wake Forest started strong against both NC State and Georgia Tech, but he went a combined 13-for-31 in the second half, and the Demon Deacons lost both games.
Total QBR: 46.9 | Pass Yds: 690 | Rush Yds: 68 | Total TDs: 5
Lagway battled back from offseason injuries, but he has been a shadow of his freshman self. He’s making no big plays (8.3 yards per completion), his already-high interception and sack rates have gone up — he’s 127th in the former and 92nd in the latter — and his 1-3 Gators are projected favorites in just one more game. Barring an immediate course correction, this looks like a massive lost season.
Total QBR: 36.2 | Pass Yds: 753 | Rush Yds: 138 | Total TDs: 6
Edwards won the starting job and got hurt almost immediately. O’Neil has thrown mostly short passes ineffectively, combining 10.7 yards per completion (100th) with a dreadful 5.9% interception rate (131st). Edwards should return soon, but is he good enough to totally save an offense without a run game or deep threats (and zero remaining games as a projected favorite)? Probably not.
Total QBR: 21.6 | Pass Yds: 328 | Rush Yds: 20 | Total TDs: 2
Steve Angeli suffered a season-ending injury in Syracuse’s upset of Clemson, and against a disappointing Duke defense on Saturday, Collins struggled. Granted, his receivers lost two fumbles, but he also fumbled and threw an interception while averaging 5.6 yards per dropback in a 38-3 loss. He avoids pressure nicely, and there are a few more iffy defenses on the schedule, but this could be a learning process.
64. Two or three square pegs for round holes, West Virginia
Total QBR: 35.7 | Pass Yds: 770 | Rush Yds: 270 | Total TDs: 4
Nicco Marchiol can throw a little. Jaylen Henderson can run. Neither seems to be able to fulfill all the requirements in a Rich Rodriguez offense, however. After Marchiol oversaw a blowout loss to Kansas, Henderson oversaw a blowout loss to Utah. It’s possible a third option, Khalil Wilkins, starts against BYU this week after decent work during garbage time last week. Regardless, no answers have emerged thus far.
Total QBR: 37.6 | Pass Yds: 649 | Rush Yds: 122 | Total TDs: 1
Thrust into the lineup when Hauss Hejny suffered a foot injury early in Week 1, Flores threw two pick-sixes against Oregon and engineered a total of 15 points in his first two starts. He improved against Baylor, but he still averaged only 5.8 yards per dropback with a 45.3 Total QBR. Hejny should return soon, but per SP+, OSU (1-3) is a projected underdog of at least 12 points in every remaining game.
66. Gio Lopez, North Carolina
Total QBR: 16.3 | Pass Yds: 430 | Rush Yds: 105 | Total TDs: 4
After an exciting season at South Alabama (Total QBR: 72.3), Lopez has bombed in his first year in Freddie Kitchens’ offense. He has yet to produce a Total QBR higher than 35.0 in any game, and he averaged just 4.4 yards per dropback in two blowout losses, both of which he left injured. It might be best for both UNC and Lopez if Max Johnson were named the starter moving forward.
Total QBR: 22.1 | Pass Yds: 656 | Rush Yds: 15 | Total TDs: 4
Stone lost his job to Kevin Jennings at SMU last season and transferred, hoping to save both his college career and Northwestern’s offense. Four games in, he ranks 130th nationally in Total QBR, 100th in completion rate (60.6%), 103rd in yards per completion (10.4), 130th in interception rate (5.8%) and 98th in sack rate. That might actually represent improvement for the Wildcats, but yuck.
Total QBR: 25.4 | Pass Yds: 636 | Rush Yds: 89 | Total TDs: 3
Boley threw for 240 yards against Eastern Michigan, with seven completions over 20 yards. Against three defenses ranked higher than 135th in SP+, however, he and Calzada have gone a combined 36-for-75 for 396 yards with two interceptions and nine sacks. And 53 of those yards came on a single dump-off pass. The QB position offered almost nothing for UK last season, and it’s offering even less in 2025.
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Andrea Adelson
EVERY DAY FOR eight weeks, Carson Beck walked into the Miami training room before dawn and prepared to feel more pain than he had ever felt before.
He cringes when he thinks about those moments, even now, as No. 3 Miami prepares to take on No. 18 Florida State (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC). Beck spent hours on the training table, working to restore the range of motion on his surgically repaired right elbow, praying he would be able to throw a football as fast and sure as he once did.
Peter Galasso, director of football rehabilitation and return to sport at Miami, would push and pull on the elbow to get it to start to bend. When Galasso felt resistance, he would push a little more. The pain was so intense, Beck wanted to scream, “What are you doing, get off of me!”
“It is 100 percent the worst part in the rehab process,” Beck says. “Your elbow is stiff, it’s tight, there’s scar tissue, and they are trying to move it against your will. It was pretty awful.”
Beck arrived in Miami broken in many ways — by the UCL tear, by a tough 2024 season that featured a barrage of on-field criticism, by the trappings of newfound celebrity and riches that put him under even more scrutiny.
When Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson met Beck, he saw a guarded man. Trust had to be built quickly, because Dawson, Galasso and the training staff now held Beck’s future in their hands.
HAD THE 2024 season gone the way Beck wanted, he would be in the NFL right now. But the entire year proved more difficult than expected, even before the injury. He was living life under a microscope — there were headlines about his choice of car (a $300,000 Lamborghini), what he was being paid in NIL and his relationship with Miami basketball player and influencer Hanna Cavinder.
His play on the field dipped as the entire Georgia offense took a step back, and — fair or not — message boards were abuzz with fans wondering whether his off-field commitments were negatively impacting his on-field performance. To that end, a clip of him smiling toward the end of a November loss to Ole Miss went viral, making fans even testier than they already were.
Still, Beck led Georgia to the SEC championship game against Texas last December. On the last play of the first half, he felt something pop in his elbow when he got hit. He got into the locker room and could not grip a football. He slammed his helmet in frustration.
But that was not the end of his day. Despite standing on the sideline for the bulk of the second half with his elbow wrapped in ice, Beck was asked to go back into the game in overtime, when Gunner Stockton had his helmet knocked off and had to sit out the next play. His right arm dangling at his side, Beck jogged onto the field for what turned out to be his final play in a Georgia uniform.
He took the snap, and handed off to Trevor Etienne for the winning touchdown.
“Thank God I was able to go out there so the injury was not my last play, but handing off to win the game with an arm that was literally injured is crazy, because at the time, the training staff, those guys were like, ‘Oh, you’re good.’ So, in my head, I thought I was good as well,'” Beck said.
The following day, Beck went to the hospital for an MRI, then drove to the team facility. He spoke to offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, who asked how he was feeling as the Bulldogs began to prepare for their College Football Playoff semifinal game against Notre Dame in January.
“I was like, I’m good. I have high hopes, hopefully it’s not too bad. Hopefully it’s just a sprain and I’m able to play and we get some treatment,” Beck recalls.
Then one of the trainers asked to see him. Beck could tell right away it was bad news. When he walked into the room, he saw six people, doctors and trainers, waiting for him. They told him he had a torn ulnar collateral ligament and would need surgery. Smart arrived shortly afterward. Longtime head athletic trainer Ron Courson laid out the details.
But Beck had zoned out as he grappled with his new reality.
“Everything was just ripped away from me,” Beck said. “I’m thinking, what does this mean for me? What does this mean for my career? What does this mean for my future?”
Beck excused himself from the room and walked to his car and broke down. He sat there, in the parking lot, for hours. He eventually drove home, where his mom, Tracy, sister, Kylie, and other loved ones waited.
“We just hugged and cried,” Tracy Beck said. “But the good thing about our family is we take things, and we make the best out of it. Yes, you take a minute to cry, but we’ve got to get back up, and we’ve just got to do whatever it takes.”
Over the next few weeks, Beck and his family sought opinions on doctors to perform his surgery. Only a handful of quarterbacks had ever sustained this type of injury, most recently Brock Purdy of the San Francisco 49ers. Just before Christmas, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache did the surgery in Los Angeles. Beck said his injury was similar to the one sustained in 2023 by Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, whom ElAttrache treated multiple times.
Beck said ElAttrache assured him after surgery he would be like new again. Quarterbacks recover at a faster rate from this injury than pitchers because throwing a football puts less torque on the elbow than throwing a baseball.
“The stress on the elbow is a lot less being a quarterback versus being a pitcher,” Galasso said. “So that changes how you plan out the rehab process, in terms of when they start throwing, how many throws they’re doing and at what distance.”
Beck had declared for the NFL draft in late December, and began his rehab back home in Jacksonville, Florida, with his longtime trainer, Denny Thompson. But the feedback Beck received about his draft prospects led him to withdraw his name and enter the transfer portal.
Shortly afterward, Dawson got a call from Thompson. Beck wanted to play at Miami.
CAM WARD DAZZLED at Miami a season ago, choosing the Hurricanes for his final season in college football to not only try and win a championship, but to boost his future NFL prospects. Ward led Miami to 10 wins and helped the Hurricanes become the No. 1 offense in the country, but the team didn’t make the ACC championship game or the College Football Playoff. Still, his play got the attention of NFL teams, and he became the No. 1 pick this past April.
With Ward gone, Miami was in the market for a transfer quarterback. Dawson started making some calls to find out what he and the Hurricanes would be getting in Beck.
Though Beck went into the year as the top-rated quarterback in the country, he was not nearly as efficient as Georgia trudged through the regular season, losing twice and barely squeaking out wins against Kentucky and Georgia Tech as double-digit favorites.
After turning the ball over 14 times over six games between late September and early November, coach Kirby Smart was asked whether he had considered benching Beck. “Absolutely not,” Smart said.
Beck’s decreased efficiency and accuracy weren’t necessarily all his fault: Georgia had issues across its offensive line, both in protecting Beck and running the ball. Georgia ranked No. 102 in the nation in rush offense, the worst mark under Smart. The pressure rate on Beck increased, too, from 19.1 percent to 20.6 percent. The Georgia receivers dropped 36 passes to lead the nation.
As teams started to pressure Beck more, his completion percentage dipped from 72 to 65 percent, and he threw more interceptions — 12 in all, double what he threw in 2023. One source familiar with the situation at Georgia said the two biggest issues Beck had last season were his body language, and losing confidence in the offensive line and receivers. When mistakes piled up, he would go to the sideline, dejected and disengaged.
Beck said he started to press, “trying to be Superman, trying to save the day,” and that the scrutiny kept mounting.
“It’s really weird, because my whole life I’ve been very introverted, and whether people believe it or not, I’ve really tried to stay out of the limelight,” Beck said. “A lot of times, in my position, you can’t because there is that hyper focused attention on you. I probably put myself in some situations that wouldn’t align with me saying that I tried to stay out of the limelight, and obviously that’s on me.”
The source said Beck was well-liked in the locker room, and his car and girlfriend were not the distraction the outside world perceived. But Beck’s introverted nature meant he was often not around his teammates while off the field.
Tracy Beck said all the negativity “took a toll on him.”
“To go through what he was going through, and all the negative and all the noise and all the things people were saying — at the end of the day, he only lost three games the entire time he was the quarterback. I don’t know how that’s so bad,” she says.
Dawson called former Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken, who recruited Beck to Athens and coached him for three years before leaving for the Baltimore Ravens in 2023, because he knew he would get an honest answer. Yes, the Lamborghini came up.
“There was a change in him, from what I got from Coach Monken, as far as the newfound celebrity,” Dawson said. But Monken also told him, “If you get the Carson that I know with the right mindset, and he is 100 percent physically, you’re going to get a first-round quarterback. But that’s what you’ve got to find out.”
Dawson and Miami coach Mario Cristobal understood what they saw on tape, and believed they had the pieces in place to help Beck not only succeed, but regain his confidence and ultimately, his belief in himself.
“He is an extremely smart dude, and he’s actually a really good leader. He connects with people,” Cristobal said. “He could do what we like to do well, and at a high level.”
It was a given Beck would miss spring football, but after talking to the doctors and getting a timeline for his return, the coaches at Miami felt confident they would be getting the best version of Carson Beck.
Though he could not practice, Beck spent as much time as he could learning the offense, and perhaps more importantly, getting to know his teammates. Beck remembers walking into the Miami football facility for the first time in January and seeing Dawson and receiver CJ Daniels sitting together at a table.
Daniels had just transferred in from LSU and was coming off his own injury. They felt an immediate kinship — guys looking for a second chance, with a last opportunity to show what they could do. Dawson, meanwhile, told Beck the offense was his.
“Everybody wants to feel a sense of appreciation,” Dawson said. “It was just about making him comfortable. I do think his personality and my personality mesh well. I appreciate the times when things go well, and when we make mistakes, we hit them head on and then we move on. We don’t harp on it, and I think he appreciates that.”
ONCE BECK GOT his full range of motion back, it was eight weeks of arm strengthening exercises before he could throw a football again, four months postsurgery. He was on a pitch count: 20 total throws. Five at 7 yards, five at 10 yards and then 10 at 12 yards.
His arm felt dead as he adjusted to not only throwing again, but the way his elbow felt. Within two weeks, he felt normal — and knew he would be ready for the start of fall camp in August. But while he was working his way back, Beck was in the news again. Shortly after moving to Miami, he had his Lamborghini and a Mercedes stolen from the home he was sharing with Cavinder. The cars were not recovered. Then in April, Cavinder posted on social media that the two had broken up. They have not spoken since.
“You make mistakes as a person, but it sucks that you have to go through something like that with someone that you care about, and now it’s all over the Internet,” Beck said. “Half of what you see in the media is true. Half of what you see is not true. So, people pick their side of the story and run with it. The people that know the truth know the truth. But it’s been difficult.”
Beck says everything he has gone through over the past year has changed his approach to not only this team, but his own goals.
“I’ve been able to connect to myself more, and find who I am, and really do some soul searching,” Beck said. “It’s hard to say that I’m thankful for it all, but I am because I wouldn’t be the person that I am today without all of these things that have happened.”
Though Beck could not participate in team workouts until June, he spent hours at the facility with Dawson and his teammates. Dawson knew that the offensive game plan for this season would shift with Beck behind center because Miami had a strong offensive line returning, and its defense would be stout.
Because Beck came from a program that emphasized complementary football in similar ways, they all fit together.
“Cam came along at the right time because we needed that injection of confidence, we needed that swagger, we needed to be a certain offense last year to win 10 games,” Dawson said. “But we’re built different this year. Our defense is really, really good, our run game is really elite. So, Carson probably fits better into what we do this year.”
Once Beck was able to practice in August, those inside the building got to see what they hoped they were getting when he signed. He had chemistry with his receivers; he had an expert grasp of the offense; and yes, he had an offensive line that protected well and excelled in the run game. Offensive lineman Markel Bell praised him for his “humble” approach.
Everyone else got to see that for themselves in the opener against Notre Dame — as Miami relied on its defense, physicality and some explosive plays in the passing game to win. Afterward, Beck grew emotional in his postgame television interview as he reflected on what it took to reach that moment.
“The past eight months have been so hard,” he said as he fought through tears. “I’m just so blessed to be out here to have an opportunity to play again.”
Daniels, the leader of the receiver group, pointed to the relationship the two developed in the offseason, saying, “We had a point to prove, and I can’t be more grateful for Carson being the leader of it.”
THESE DAYS, BECK drives a truck and lives in a more secluded area. He’s living a less-flashy life. Now, it seems, he is getting enjoyment from other places. He has spoken repeatedly about how much fun he is having again, about the way his teammates have embraced him, about being allowed to play “free” this year.
Though he has not played perfectly, he is playing more efficiently, throwing for 972 yards, seven touchdowns to three interceptions while completing 73.2 percent of his passes — nearly 10 percentage points higher than a year ago.
So far, he is facing less pressure — a 16.2 percent pressure rate compared to 20.6 percent last year. He also has more time in the pocket — 3.2 seconds average time to the first pressure compared to 2.9 at Georgia last year. Those numbers directly correlate to his increased accuracy. “When I’m given time, and I’m able to dissect defenses, I believe that I’m very efficient, and I rarely miss,” Beck said.
The Hurricanes led the nation in offense last year, in part because they had to come from behind to win many of their games. This year, as Dawson predicted, the Hurricanes do not need the most yards or points in the country. They have relied on their superior defense (No. 13 among FBS teams) and ground game — with passes accounting for 48 percent of their offense through four games, compared to 57 percent last year. Despite losing the No. 1 pick, Miami is now the overwhelming favorite to win the ACC.
“The confidence of our group right now is high,” Dawson said. “We feel like we can beat you in a lot of different ways, which is a good place to be in offensively.”
Beck has embraced that, too. Dawson said in the second half against Florida, Beck turned to him and said, “We’re pushing them around up front. Let’s just grind it out.” That is what Miami did. There are areas Dawson wants to see Beck improve, starting with going through his progressions a little more slowly.
“Because they were getting a lot of pressure on him last year at Georgia, he is getting through his reads really quick and we’re missing a little bit of the intermediate passing game with that,” Dawson said. “My theme is this: Trust your progression and trust the protection.”
What his start to the season means for his draft stock remains to be seen. ESPN NFL Draft analyst Jordan Reid said Beck has been “one of the biggest surprises among quarterbacks in the country,” and is now a Day 2 prospect.
“His playing style as a true pocket passer, the weapons and protection of the Hurricanes, have helped him showcase those flashes of why evaluators were excited about him prior to the 2024 season,” Reid said. “With a pivotal upcoming matchup against Florida State, Beck has an opportunity to catapult his name up the rankings and improve his draft stock.”
For Beck, those conversations are for another day. Right now, he is focused on helping Miami win.
Mark Schlabach contributed reporting.
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Kyle Bonagura
The Big 12 Conference has fined Colorado $50,000 and publicly reprimanded the school after a derogatory chant from Buffaloes fans targeted The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during Saturday’s football game against BYU.
“Hateful and discriminatory language has no home in the Big 12 Conference,” league commissioner Brett Yormark said Tuesday in a statement. “While we appreciate Colorado apologizing for the chants that occurred in the stands during Saturday’s game, the Big 12 maintains zero tolerance for such behavior.”
The chants of “F— the Mormons” were heard from the student section during BYU’s 24-21 victory in Boulder.
Colorado coach Deion Sanders apologized on behalf of the athletic department during his press conference Tuesday.
“That’s not indicative of who we are,” Sanders said. “Our student body, our kids, are phenomenal. So don’t indict us just based on a group of young kids that probably was intoxicated and high simultaneously.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have said that as well, but the truth is going to make you free. But BYU, we love you. We appreciate you and we support you.”
Colorado chancellor Justin Schwartz and athletic director Rick George issued a joint statement condemning the behavior, calling it “deeply disappointing” and inconsistent with the university’s values of respect and inclusion. They said those responsible would be held accountable under CU’s fan code of conduct.
BYU also released a brief statement Monday night on social media: “We denounce all forms of religious discrimination & appreciate @CUBoulder’s example in rooting out these inappropriate actions. We invite all to showcase their fandom with enthusiasm & respect.”
Saturday’s game marked the first Big 12 meeting between Colorado and BYU since the Buffaloes rejoined the conference last season. They also played in last year’s Alamo Bowl, which BYU won 36-14.
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