Three reasons Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner are Hall of Famers
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David Schoenfield
Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. It’s a remarkable achievement to survive the gauntlet of baseball writers to get elected to Cooperstown: After all, the Baseball Hall of Fame remains the toughest to gain entry to, especially via the BBWAA path of election.
This trio stands out for their disparate backgrounds. Suzuki — let’s just call him Ichiro — grew up in Japan, of course, and was a star in the Japan Pacific League at 20 years old before becoming the first Japanese position player to play in the majors when he signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2001 at 27. A California native, Sabathia was a high school baseball and basketball star in the Bay Area, growing to a towering 6-foot-6 and throwing 95 mph. Cleveland drafted him in the first round, and he was in the majors at 20 years old. Wagner grew up in rural Virginia and played at Division III Ferrum College. He wasn’t big, but his fastball was. The Houston Astros drafted Wagner in the first round, and he debuted at age 24 before turning into one of the most dominant relief pitchers of all time.
All three are now Hall of Famers. Let’s look at three reasons each player got there.
Why Ichiro Suzuki is a Hall of Famer
Ichiro was just one vote shy of becoming the second unanimous selection (Mariano Rivera did it in 2019). In one sense, maybe it’s a little surprising he had that many votes — you could argue Ichiro is perhaps a little overrated. After all, he had 60.0 career WAR in the majors; Bobby Abreu, by comparison, was on this ballot with 60.2 career WAR and received just 26% of the vote. Ichiro’s career 107 OPS+ is now the third lowest for any Hall of Fame outfielder, ahead of only Lloyd Waner and 19th-century speedster Tommy McCarthy. So why Ichiro?
1. 3,000 career hits
OK, Ichiro was mostly a singles hitter, not hitting for much power with a career high of 15 home runs in a season, but he turned beating out infield singles and grounding base hits up the middle into an art form. He reached 200 hits his first 10 seasons with the Mariners, leading the league in seven of those years. Over the past 10 seasons, all major leaguers have combined for just 17 200-hit seasons — and the best of those was Ronald Acuna Jr.’s 217 hits in 2023, a total Ichiro exceeded five times, including a record 262 in 2004, a season he hit .372 (nobody has hit for as high an average since).
Considering he didn’t debut with the Mariners until his age-27 season, it remains remarkable that Ichiro is one of just 33 players with 3,000 hits. The other 32 averaged 994 hits through their age-26 season, with Wade Boggs’ 531 hits the lowest in the group. Of those to debut after 1930, all who are eligible for the Hall of Fame and not tainted by a betting or PED scandal were voted in on the first ballot except Craig Biggio (who took three tries to get elected). Getting to 3,000 hits made Ichiro an automatic selection.
Two keys to Ichiro’s hit total: his remarkable durability and the fact that he didn’t walk much (which is why he had a .400 OBP just once in his career). He averaged a remarkable 159 games played through his first 12 seasons, suffering just one minor stint on the injured list over that span. The sight of Ichiro constantly stretching between pitches and in the outfield is as much a part of his lasting image as him sprinting down the first-base line or racing into the corner to make another spectacular catch.
2. He was an inner-circle Hall of Fame talent
The earlier comparison to Abreu might suggest that Ichiro is a borderline Hall of Fame player. That belief, however, underestimates how transcendent Ichiro was at his peak — and that seven of his peak seasons came in Japan before he signed with the Mariners. While voters are voting on Ichiro’s accomplishments in only the major leagues, it seems fair to at least recognize that we witnessed only a portion of his greatness.
Consider this: In his first four seasons in the majors, from 2001 to 2004, Ichiro hit .339 and averaged 6.5 WAR per season. In Japan, Ichiro was a sensation right away, hitting .385 in his first full season, as good at age 20 as his final season in Japan, when he hit .387. We can thus assume he would have produced similar results in MLB from ages 20 to 26 as he did from 27 to 30. That adds up to an additional 45 WAR — on top of the 60 that Baseball-Reference credits him during his time in the majors.
How impressive would 105 career WAR be? Since the expansion era in 1961, only six position players have reached 100 career WAR: Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Rickey Henderson, Mike Schmidt, Albert Pujols and Joe Morgan. This suggests Ichiro belongs on that level of inner-circle appreciation.
Much of his value came from his all-around brilliance on the bases and as a right fielder (he won 10 Gold Gloves). Baseball-Reference credits him with plus-62 runs as a baserunner (18th all time) and plus-121 runs on defense (18th among outfielders). He had two of the most efficient base-stealing seasons of all time, going 45-for-47 in 2006 and 43-for-47 in 2008, plus he led the league with 56 steals in his MVP/Rookie of the Year season of 2001. As a right fielder, Ichiro combined impeccable instincts with a strong and accurate arm. He excelled at charging the ball quickly and preventing runners from advancing, and he never seemed to make a mistake in the field — indeed, he was charged with only 38 errors in 19 seasons.
So, yes, Ichiro was overrated as a hitter. But his all-around skills and peak performance correctly put him in a class among the elite of the elite.
3. Come on, he was Ichiro — an icon
In the end, sometimes “Hall of Famer” doesn’t need an argument; it’s just a description to explain the obvious: Ichiro is a Hall of Famer, no matter what the numbers do or don’t say. Who was cooler than Ichiro wearing his shades, pointing his bat at the pitcher in his pre-pitch ritual and then tugging at his right sleeve. Early in his first month in the majors, Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus made an instant legend of Ichiro with his description of his famous throw to nail Terrence Long at third base: “I’m here to tell you that Ichiro threw something out of Star Wars down there at third base!” Ichiro was a throwback to a different era of hitting. He was a trailblazer. An absolute one of a kind. Unanimous? He certainly should have been.
Why CC Sabathia is a Hall of Famer
Sabathia finished 251-161 with a 3.74 ERA, 61.8 WAR and a Cy Young Award with Cleveland in 2007. None of those numbers necessarily scream first-ballot Hall of Famer and, indeed, only Sandy Koufax has a lower career WAR among starting pitchers elected on their first ballot. Here’s how Sabathia made it.
1. A high peak level of performance
Sabathia had a five-year run from 2007 through 2011 in which he went 95-40 with a 3.09 ERA and 30.4 WAR while averaging 240 innings per season, which now seems like a Herculean workload. He won the one Cy Young Award and finished in the top five of the voting in the other four seasons. During those seasons, only Roy Halladay had a higher WAR among pitchers — and there was a big gap from Sabathia to Cliff Lee, the No. 3 guy who had 25.0 WAR — and nobody won more games.
Along the way, Sabathia famously carried the Milwaukee Brewers into the playoffs in 2008 — their first playoff appearance at the time since 1982 — starting on three days’ rest for his final three starts, including tossing a playoff-clinching complete game on the final day of the season. The next year, he signed with the New York Yankees and led them to a World Series title, going 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in the postseason.
Sabathia fits into more of an old-school definition of a Hall of Famer: Was he the best at his position for an extended period of time? His 251 wins are the same as Bob Gibson and more than quality Hall of Famers such as Juan Marichal, Whitey Ford, Pedro Martinez or Don Drysdale. Those guys all felt like Hall of Famers, as did Sabathia. And he did enough around that peak — six other seasons with at least 3 WAR and appearing in 10 different postseasons — to merit selection.
2. The best of a generation
Indeed, Sabathia stands out along with Halladay (who was elected posthumously in 2019) as the bridge between the Martinez/Randy Johnson/Greg Maddux/Tom Glavine/John Smoltz group to the still-active trio of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw, who came along a few years after Sabathia. Verlander has 262 wins, but Scherzer has 216 and is petering out. Kershaw has 212 and is coming off a two-win 2024 season. Zack Greinke finished with 225 wins. Even Halladay finished with just 203 wins.
Other than Andy Pettitte, who debuted six years before Sabathia and won 256 games, and Sabathia’s former teammate Bartolo Colon, who won 247, other pitchers from Sabathia’s generation didn’t last long enough for Hall consideration: Johan Santana had an amazing peak but won just 139 games; Felix Hernandez was on the ballot for the first time and received enough votes to stay on, but his last good season came at age 29; and Cliff Lee won 143 games and got injured. There are some other 200-game winners — Tim Hudson (off the ballot) and Mark Buehrle (still on) — but Sabathia was the rarity of his generation, combining both peak value and longevity.
3. Timing is everything
Sabathia’s vote total was, no doubt, helped by the general weakness of this ballot, where only Ichiro was a slam-dunk candidate. Voters want to vote players in, so in a sense, candidates are compared as much to the other players on the ballot as to Hall of Fame standards. If Sabathia was on the ballot in 2015 — a ballot that included Johnson, Martinez, Smoltz, Curt Schilling, Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina — he doesn’t get in. But his “competition” on this ballot was the aforementioned Pettitte, Buehrle and Hernandez (the only other starting pitchers even on the ballot). This isn’t to knock Sabathia’s accomplishments, but it’s a truth of Hall of Fame voting results: The ballot itself matters. It took Mussina, with 270 wins and 82.8 career WAR, six times to get elected because he faced a lot of crowded ballots. This ballot was not crowded.
Why Billy Wagner is a Hall of Famer
On his 10th and final appearance on the BBWAA ballot, Wagner finally made it in after falling five votes short last year. He debuted with just 10.5% of the vote in 2016, so why now?
1. Once again … timing is everything
As with Sabathia, a lot of it came down to timing. Wagner’s first ballot in 2016 included 11 other players who are now Hall of Famers — plus Clemens, Schilling, Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent and Gary Sheffield. Voters can vote for a maximum of 10 players, so in many cases, there simply wasn’t enough room to vote for Wagner. He was fortunate to receive more than the 5% of the vote needed just to remain on the ballot.
As the ballot logjam slowly thinned out through the years, Wagner’s vote totals increased. Rivera was elected in 2019, so it’s no surprise Wagner saw his percentage increase from 16.7% in 2019 to 31.7% in 2020, which started his momentum toward eventual election. As Wagner got closer in 2023 and then last year, the final-ballot push that players often receive — see Tim Raines and Edgar Martinez as two others who got elected on their 10th ballot — pushed him over the 75% threshold.
2. He was one of the most dominant closers of all time
Look, Rivera is on his own mountain among relievers, but Wagner has a strong case for No. 2. Yes, Wagner is now just eighth in career saves — Kenley Jansen and Craig Kimbrel have passed him, and non-Hall of Famers Francisco Rodriguez and John Franco also have more — but only Rivera can match Wagner’s dominance.
Compare Wagner to Trevor Hoffman, who is second with 601 career saves to Wagner’s 422:
Hoffman: 2.87 ERA, 141 ERA+, 9.4 SO/9, .609 OPS allowed
Wagner: 2.31 ERA, 187 ERA+, 11.9 SO/9, .558 OPS allowed
No, Wagner didn’t rack up as many saves, but he also retired at the top of his game: In his final season, he had a 1.43 ERA, 37 saves and 104 strikeouts in 69 innings. He still had plenty of zip left in that fastball.
To put Wagner’s career numbers in perspective, among pitchers with at least 900 innings since the live-ball era began in 1920, he ranks:
• Second in ERA behind only Rivera’s 2.21
• First in strikeouts per nine innings
• First in lowest batting average allowed (.187)
• Second in lowest OPS allowed to Rivera’s .555
That’s Wagner: arguably the hardest pitcher to hit in MLB history.
3. Voters have been kind to closers
It didn’t hurt Wagner that closers have become the easiest position in which to get elected to the Hall of Fame. Starting with the first modern Hall of Fame relievers from the 1970s, Rollie Fingers and Goose Gossage, there are now eight closers in the Hall of Fame (counting Dennis Eckersley as a reliever, although he split his career between starting and relieving).
Among players who produced most of their value in the 1970s or later, the positional breakdown goes like this (leaving aside starting pitchers):
Reliever: 8 (Fingers, Eckersley, Bruce Sutter, Gossage, Hoffman, Lee Smith, Rivera, Wagner)
Catcher: 7 (Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, Mike Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez, Ted Simmons, Joe Mauer)
Right field: 7 (Reggie Jackson, Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn, Vladimir Guerrero, Larry Walker, Dave Parker, Ichiro Suzuki)
First base: 6 (Tony Perez, Eddie Murray, Jeff Bagwell, Jim Thome, Fred McGriff, Todd Helton)
Third base: 6 (Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Wade Boggs, Chipper Jones, Scott Rolen, Adrian Beltre)
Shortstop: 6 (Robin Yount, Ozzie Smith, Cal Ripken, Barry Larkin, Alan Trammell, Derek Jeter)
Second base: 5 (Joe Morgan, Rod Carew, Ryne Sandberg, Roberto Alomar, Craig Biggio)
DH: 5 (Paul Molitor, Frank Thomas, Edgar Martinez, Harold Baines, David Ortiz)
Left field: 4 (Willie Stargell, Jim Rice, Rickey Henderson, Tim Raines)
Center field: 3 (Kirby Puckett, Andre Dawson, Ken Griffey Jr.)
Hmm. There does seem to be a lesson here that you can interpret either way: There are perhaps too many relievers — or not enough players at the other positions.
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Adam Rittenberg
Among the teams that reached the initial 12-team College Football Playoff, four brought back starting quarterbacks for this fall, and two others saw their QBs transfer but remain in the college game.
Normally, the focus of the sport would be on the returning signal-callers. Players such as Penn State’s Drew Allar, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, SMU’s Kevin Jennings and an intriguing group of incumbents in the Big 12, SEC and elsewhere would be generating the most buzz.
But 2025 is different. The quarterback discussion is dominated by a 2024 backup who didn’t attempt a pass in four postseason games and had just 12 pass attempts after his first two career starts. Texas quarterback Arch Manning might be the biggest name in the sport as he prepares for his first season as QB1. The guy with the attention-grabbing name now has the platform to showcase his talents.
After a season in which the Heisman Trophy race came down to two non-quarterbacks — Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty — perhaps Manning will meet the outsized expectations. Or will another quarterback — Allar, Klubnik, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, Miami’s Carson Beck — step forward in the race?
I spoke with coaches and others around the sport to assess several of the more notable quarterbacks. Other than Manning, I focused on quarterbacks with a good amount of game experience, as we’ll see how things play out with freshmen such as Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Notre Dame’s CJ Carr.
Here’s a conference-by-conference look:
Jump to a conference:
SEC | ACC | Big Ten | Big 12
SEC
Nussmeier’s path through college used to be the norm but has become increasingly rare — a quarterback who waits his turn behind top players, then takes over the starting job when he’s more seasoned, both physically and mentally. Along with Clemson’s Klubnik, Nussmeier received the most consistently strong reviews from opposing coaches.
“Cade and Nussmeier are two studs,” an ACC coach said. “I love both of them.”
Added an SEC coach: “Garrett is a really talented quarterback. He’s obviously going to take a really good step second year as a starter, too.”
Nussmeier is the first LSU quarterback and just the fourth in SEC history to return to his team following a season with at least 4,000 passing yards.
“He’s in the top two or three in the whole country, without question,” said a defensive coordinator set to face Nussmeier this fall. “We’ve got to affect him somehow.”
Sellers grew up admiring Cam Newton and hopes to mimic Newton’s Heisman Trophy-winning breakthrough season of 2010. Like Newton, Sellers has physical gifts that jump out — a 240-pound frame and quickness that makes him difficult to tackle, as Clemson found out in last year’s rivalry loss to the Gamecocks. Sellers rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns against Clemson, and showcased his dual-threat playmaking ability in games against Texas A&M, Missouri and LSU.
“Sellers really got hot down the stretch,” an SEC coach said. “He’s such a big, imposing, physical kid. Now, can he take the next step in the throw game?”
Other coaches echoed the review on Sellers, whose ability to make head-turning plays is unquestioned. He also showed better accuracy as the season went along, finishing at 65.6% completions.
The key is identifying the right run-pass blend and ultimately being at his best when surveying the field to pass.
“It’s run when you want to, not when you have to,” South Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Shula told ESPN. “We just want him to use [the running ability] as an added layer, icing on the cake. He’s moving toward that, but as he continues to get better on processing mentally and then timing-wise, where he’s trusting himself and the wideouts, that’s when he can really excel.”
Some coaches aren’t quite sold on Sellers.
“I can’t get behind the LaNorris Sellers hype,” an SEC coach said. “He reminds me of Anthony Richardson, and I know Anthony Richardson went fourth overall [in the NFL draft]. Physically, he’s a freak, but is he a great quarterback?”
Mateer has generated a lot of attention from opposing coaches as he makes the jump to Oklahoma from Washington State, alongside offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle. The lightly recruited Texan shined last fall as the Cougars’ starter, leading the FBS in touchdowns responsible for during the regular season (44), and producing the best rushing season for a WSU quarterback — 826 yards, 15 touchdowns — to go with 3,139 passing yards and 29 touchdowns on 64.6% completions.
“He’s a triple threat,” an SEC defensive coordinator said. “He can throw it, he can scramble and they can call runs for him. Those kinds of guys are the ones hard to defend. Very fearless. He’s got all the moxie and the intangibles to go with it.”
Mateer’s intrepid approach jumped out to those who faced him in 2024. But how will he transition to the SEC?
“He’s going to be one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC,” said a coach who faced him in 2024. “If he can stay healthy — because they run him like a running back — they’ll be a much better team. He’s the type of guy who can change your whole culture.”
Mateer’s durability could be the biggest factor in his performance. He’s solidly built at 6-foot-1 and 224 pounds. After setting a WSU record with 178 rushing attempts in 2024 — fifth among quarterbacks and tied for 53rd nationally — Mateer’s workload as a ball carrier will be closely watched.
“He doesn’t look very big,” an SEC defensive coordinator said. “The human body can only take so many hits, and if you’re not a big dude in this league, it’ll take its toll.”
3:34
John Mateer highlights the improvements of Oklahoma’s offense
Mateer joins SEC Now and discusses his plans of stepping up as a leader this season and the impact that offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle has already made on the Sooners’ offense.
Lagway played more than Manning did in 2024, but the two quarterbacks are often paired because of their relative youth and potential. Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby, who saw both players in 2024 and will face them in consecutive weeks this fall, said of the tandem, “Those are both guys that have got a chance to be elite players, and probably guys that are going to have great control of the offense and their systems.”
After taking over for the injured Graham Mertz, Lagway went 6-1 as Florida’s starter and helped the team to signature wins against Ole Miss and LSU, while capping the season by winning Gator Bowl MVP honors against Tulane. Lagway’s overall arm strength and the variety of throws he makes, especially as a relatively inexperienced quarterback, jump out to coaches.
“He’ll throw off the weirdest platforms,” an SEC coach said. “His feet won’t be in the ground, and the guy still throws at 60 yards. Like, what the f—? It shouldn’t be humanly possible.”
The 6-foot-3, 247-pound Lagway enters the season with some injury concerns, as lingering shoulder issues limited him during the spring, and he sustained a calf injury shortly before training camp.
“With DJ, it’s being able to keep things alive, arm strength, arm angles, all the off-platform things that he can do,” Lebby said. “DJ’s just a great talent.”
Everyone around college football is buzzing about Manning, but coaches understandably are taking a more measured approach toward evaluating a quarterback who hasn’t logged significant snaps. So what do they know about him? He has handled the spotlight well so far, and he brings a new element of athleticism to Texas’ offensive backfield.
“I’ve been watching a lot of his press conferences, and he seems like a pretty level-headed kid,” said a coach who will face Texas this year. “Pretty low-key.”
The coach’s opinion echoes what Texas has seen internally with Manning, with one source there saying, “It’s not lost on him that he’s Arch Manning, that he’s a Manning, what the expectations are. None of that stuff is lost on him. He’s just learned to manage it internally.”
Another of his strengths is movement, which Manning showed last season when he received his most significant playing time against UTSA and Mississippi State. When starting quarterback Quinn Ewers returned from injury, Texas used Manning mostly as a running threat. A Texas source noted that although comparisons will be made to Manning’s uncles, Peyton and Eli, Manning plays more like his namesake, grandfather Archie Manning, who rushed for 2,197 yards in his NFL career, significantly more than Peyton and Eli’s combined total of 1,234 yards.
“He comes from a good bloodline,” an SEC defensive coordinator said. “I know he’ll have all the attributes, the want-to and how to work, all those things.”
Reed opened the 2024 season as Conner Weigman‘s backup but soon became Texas A&M’s starter, displaying impressive dual-threat skills that helped him lead SEC quarterbacks in both rushing yards per game (49.4) and yards per carry (4.7). He had a big performance at Florida and rallied Texas A&M past then-No. 8 LSU with three rushing touchdowns.
The redshirt freshman finished the season with 1,864 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. When training camp opened, Reed addressed the perception that he’s a run-first quarterback with limited passing ability, and there’s hope internally that he will display significant growth this fall.
“You’re hoping to see the natural development of him as a leader,” coach Mike Elko told ESPN. “This is his offense now. He’s had the ability to make those connections, to do the leadership things behind the scenes, and then him on the field, it’s him being fully comfortable in the schemes, in the progressions and the passing game. He got a little bit more comfortable, and we got more comfortable, too.”
Reed’s development has been consistent, and Texas A&M’s coaches think he can thrive in throwing the ball to NC State transfer KC Concepcion, among others.
“He threw the ball well,” an SEC defensive coordinator said. “They return a lot, offensive line, him. They had a bunch of receivers transfer out, but I think they did a good job in the portal.”
ACC
Coaches view Klubnik through a similar lens to Nussmeier, with respect for his talent level, experience and development.
The difference is Klubnik will be entering his third season as Clemson’s starter and third under offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. Klubnik has amassed 7,180 career passing yards and 57 career touchdowns, and made significant jumps for both yards (795) and touchdowns (17) from his sophomore to junior season.
“He’s gotten so much better,” an SEC coach said. “When you watch him versus Georgia [in the 2024 opener] to the Texas game, it’s incredible. What makes him dangerous is his ability to tuck the ball and get vertical. … Their best play is quarterback draw.”
Several coaches echoed that observation about Klubnik, who last fall had about the same number of carries as he did in 2023 but saw a nice jump in rushing yards to 463 and had seven rushing touchdowns.
“He’s not just like a pure dropback, that’s not him,” a Power 4 defensive coordinator said. “He’s good at that, but that’s not his strength. It’s when he has to create something, that’s what makes him dangerous.”
Klubnik has established himself as a top college quarterback, but coaches think there’s another step to his game.
“He’s good, but he ain’t Trevor Lawrence,” an ACC coach said. “I don’t think he’s a first-rounder. He’s a good player, but if it’s covered, he’s not throwing it. He doesn’t have the faith to do that.”
2:16
Cade Klubnik’s best TDs from this season
Check out some of Cade Klubnik’s best touchdowns from this season as he announces his return to Clemson.
Beck is one of the more fascinating quarterbacks to analyze, and also among the most polarizing for coaches. He had an undeniably great season in 2023, when he completed a blistering 72.4% of his passes for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns with Georgia. Without two-time John Mackey Award winner Brock Bowers and others last season, Beck looked shakier, throwing 12 interceptions during a six-game midseason stretch.
He completed at least 69.7% of his passes in four of the first six games but then eclipsed 65% just once the rest of the season. After surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right (throwing) elbow, Beck joined Miami for his final college season.
“He always played well against us, and I thought a lot of him,” an SEC defensive coordinator said. “He maybe threw some balls he shouldn’t have, but he was super talented and he has a lot of confidence. It’ll be interesting [at Miami].”
Miami coach Mario Cristobal has been very pleased with Beck since his arrival this winter.
“You start observing practice and you see some of the things that he gets us into in an awesome way, and some of the things he can get us out of,” Cristobal told ESPN. “And then the autocorrect when we don’t have a positive play, the ability to bounce back from that and take ownership for it, even if it’s somebody else’s doing. He’s going to find a way to bring people together.”
Some coaches can’t get past Beck’s midseason struggles in 2024.
“He’s a turnover machine,” an SEC coordinator said. “There might have been some drops, but there might have been some dropped interceptions, too. The guy just throws it to the other team. He makes some good throws, but as a quarterback, that’s tough to overcome. He was just fortunate how good they were on defense.”
Beck averaged 1.62 yards per carry as Georgia’s starter, raising some questions about his mobility. “Beck’s good, but Beck can’t move,” an ACC coach said. But Cristobal has been surprised by how Beck moves around
“He’s athletic, man,” Cristobal said. “He can throw it, he can throw it on the run, he can run it. He’s a big cat. I didn’t realize how big he was until he got here. So there’s a lot of things to be excited about.”
1:57
Carson Beck’s best plays of the season for Georgia
Take a look at Carson Beck’s best plays of 2024 for Georgia after announcing his intention to enter the transfer portal.
Jennings is another interesting quarterback to evaluate, as he helped SMU to an unlikely playoff appearance in its first year as an ACC member but fell apart at Penn State in a first-round loss, throwing three interceptions, two of which were returned for Nittany Lions touchdowns. Jennings also was intercepted in an ACC championship game loss to Clemson and threw three picks in an overtime win at Duke.
He completed 65% of his passes for 3,245 yards and 23 touchdowns, and was a solid run threat, especially in the first half of the season.
“He’s unorthodox,” an ACC defensive coordinator said. “When you first watch him, you think, ‘OK, this kid’s not fundamentally sound, and his footwork is bad, and his mechanics aren’t great honestly,’ but then it’s like, dang, he just keeps making accurate throw after accurate throw on the move. He’s so unorthodox, but he’s so effective, and he can run. So I think he’s legit good.”
SMU coach Rhett Lashlee likes what he has seen from Jennings since the Penn State game, both from a physical approach and mentally.
“He’s probably put on 10 or 12 pounds in the offseason, which is great,” Lashlee said. “Just a bustle that helped his frame. And mentally, he’s an unquestioned leader of our team. He’s been awesome. He’s got a lot of confidence. He’ll be him, he’ll be fine.”
Moss had his breakout performance at USC against Louisville in the 2023 Holiday Bowl — 372 passing yards, six touchdowns — and now joins the Cardinals as the latest transfer quarterback under coach Jeff Brohm. He had some good moments with the Trojans, including the 2024 opening win against LSU, but struggled with interceptions and in road games.
A fifth-year senior, Moss follows NFL second-round draft pick Tyler Shough with Brohm, whose creative and aggressive offensive system gives Louisville a chance in every game.
“Miller Moss is good. I liked him, always, out of high school, and then Brohm’s really good,” an ACC coach said. “Miller is in a system that fits him.”
Moss is a smart and skilled quarterback, but some wonder about his ability to improvise.
“He’s a really good system guy,” a Big Ten defensive coordinator said. “Brohm will do really well with him because he’s such a quarterback-friendly coach. Moss is very systematic. If things get off schedule, he struggles. He can’t create with his legs. He doesn’t make a lot of creating-type plays, but if everything’s on schedule, he’s a machine. He’s a robot.”
Brohm told ESPN that Moss, like Shough in coming in from Texas Tech last year, is eager to prove himself. Brohm has tried to put Moss in pressurized situations against the starting defense to improve his decision-making and limit the mistakes that surfaced during the middle part of the 2024 season.
“He’s an intelligent quarterback,” Brohm said. “He can control where he’s throwing it, which not everyone can do. When he’s confident and things happen in rhythm and he knows where to go with the ball, he can produce. It’s the times when things aren’t in rhythm and the timing isn’t quite there and he’s got to adjust and he’s got to make decisions and be a quarterback who can handle a broken play here and there.”
Mensah wasn’t the biggest name on the quarterback transfer market, but his move to Duke — and the reported $8 million deal that came with it — generated significant attention. Duke went all-in to land Mensah, who has three years of eligibility left after an impressive redshirt freshman season at Tulane, where he completed 65.9% of his passes for 22 touchdowns and never had a multi-interception performance.
The Mensah move showed that “Duke is serious about football,” coach Manny Diaz told ESPN, especially coming off three consecutive seasons with eight or more wins. Diaz also liked how Mensah fits with offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer’s vision. Duke was willing to part ways with quarterback Maalik Murphy, who had a team-record 26 touchdown passes last season.
“He can make the throws similar to what we have to have in our offense, but the mobility is key,” Diaz said. “Not just in terms of QB run game, but the ability to extend plays, make things happen, scramble to throw, scramble to run. Those things, you can already see the difference.”
Some coaches are curious about whether Mensah, who thrived in Tulane’s play-action passing attack, will perform in a Duke offense that has emphasized tempo and quick screens and other passes.
“He’s not a no-brainer,” a Power 4 coach said. “Maalik has a bigger arm than he does.”
“It was a head-scratcher for some that they invested what they did in him,” an ACC defensive coordinator added.
King turns 25 in January and has seen just about everything at the college level. He could be set for his last and best season this fall with Georgia Tech, which is hoping to eclipse seven wins for the first time since 2016 and become an ACC contender. King is among the toughest quarterbacks in the country, having fought through several significant injuries.
He showed much greater accuracy in 2024, throwing only two interceptions in 269 pass attempts and completing an ACC record 72.9% of his passes. King became the first FBS player since at least 1956 to record 2,000 passing yards, 10 touchdown passes, a 70% completion percentage and two or fewer interceptions in a season.
“The sky’s the limit for Haynes,” Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner told ESPN. “The biggest thing we’ve hammered is: If we can make the routine plays all the time, we’re going to be really tough to handle. It’s continuing to shorten up his stride, shorten up his delivery. He’s a very conscious kid, great football player. We want to hone in the fine details of playing quarterback.”
The challenge for King is staying on the field without overly limiting his aggressive style of play. After recording 737 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023, King ran for 587 yards and 11 touchdowns last fall.
“Haynes is a tough sucker,” an ACC defensive coordinator said. “Just a great, great player, and a great fit for what they do.”
BIG TEN
Arguably no national championship contender has greater urgency than Penn State, and no quarterback carries a heavier burden than Allar. He looks like a top NFL draft pick at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds. After two seasons as the starter, he ranks among the top 10 in team history in most statistical categories and in the top five in several, including first in career completion percentage (62.9) and interception percentage (1.19).
The knock on Allar, fair or unfair, is the same as the one against Penn State under coach James Franklin — the inability to win the biggest games. He’s still searching for his first win against Ohio State, Michigan or Oregon, and his struggles against Notre Dame in a CFP semifinal loss left him teary-eyed and determined to rewrite his story.
“He played so poorly against Notre Dame that he just got destroyed the whole offseason, but in some ways that can be good,” a Big Ten defensive coordinator said. “He’s got all the tools. Obviously he’s big, his body looks good. He’s got better receivers around him. The receivers have been so ineffective there.”
The additions of transfer wide receivers Trebor Pena (Syracuse), Devonte Ross (Troy) and Kyron Hudson (USC) should help Allar, who hasn’t seen an 800-yard wide receiver during his time at Penn State. Franklin told ESPN that Allar has “gotten better every single year,” and he should benefit from his best supporting cast.
“Whether it’s his understanding, whether it’s his command, whether it’s his athleticism, he’s made significant jumps,” Franklin said. “The other thing is going out and finding some guys that are going to make some more plays for him.”
New Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has a distinct perspective on Allar, having faced him the past two seasons at Ohio State, and now seeing him daily in practices.
“I didn’t know him as a person, but he’s got a great work ethic and wants to learn,” Knowles told ESPN. “It’s like when I first got to Ohio State and CJ Stroud was asking me all kinds of questions. You don’t know any of this when you play them, but he’s got those leadership skills and traits, and the team really follows him.”
0:58
How will Drew Allar respond to pressure this season?
A.Q. Shipley joins “The Pat McAfee Show” to discuss how Drew Allar will respond when his back is against the wall.
Altmyer grew up loving the SEC and began his college career in his favorite conference, but he has made a much bigger impact since leaving Ole Miss for the Big Ten and Illinois, where he enters his third season as the starter. He can go down as an Illini legend, as the team has a realistic chance for its first CFP appearance and consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time.
Despite receiving overtures from Tennessee to transfer, Altmyer is back with Illinois, where he went through some challenges in 2023 and nearly quit after the season, only to return and pass for 2,217 yards with 22 touchdowns and only six interceptions last fall.
“He’s a good player; he’s going to be third year in the system,” a Big Ten defensive coordinator said. “I think he’s a good athlete. He can throw it.”
Last season restored Altmyer’s confidence, and Illinois’ coaches expect him to adjust well to the inevitable ebbs and flows.
“The biggest difference in him is his volume [of play], which is reflected in his confidence, not just for him, but his players around him, and then just the experience,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema told ESPN.
Added Illinois offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr.: “You’re going to come up short and make mistakes, but he’s at the point of his career, he’s played enough ball that he knows how to navigate away from those.”
The Hoosiers have given themselves a chance to sustain success, in part because of key portal pickups including Mendoza, who started 19 games at Cal and last season had one of the school’s top 10 passing seasons (3,004 yards, 144.59 rating, 68.7% completions). Although Kurtis Rourke is a big loss, Mendoza brings Power 4 experience and had success despite some trouble spots around him at Cal.
“He’s a big, tall guy, very mobile, and has a quick release with a strong arm, throws the ball well from the pocket and on the move,” Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti told ESPN. “He’s got a body of work from Cal. He’s got areas to improve and he knows that, but he certainly has a lot of talent. I feel really, really confident in him.”
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Mendoza had only 191 net rushing yards during two seasons at Cal, but he can scramble to find space to throw. He cut down his interceptions total last fall and improved his completion percentage by 5.7 points. A Big Ten general manager said of Mendoza, “You’re watching a first-round quarterback when you watch that guy throw routes.”
“He’s very similar to the guy they had last year, Rourke,” a Big Ten recruiting director said. “They’re similar builds, they have similar games. They’re both not going to kill you with legs, they’re not going to be able to really drop it into a bucket from that far out. But they have the arm strength, there’s a big frame, they work well within the offense, and they play to their skill set.”
Williams is technically a new starter but gained valuable experience last fall, starting the rivalry game against Oregon and the Sun Bowl against Louisville, where he threw a pick-six on his first pass attempt, then proceeded to complete 26 of 31 attempts for 374 yards and four touchdowns, while adding 48 rushing yards and a score.
He also saw meaningful playing time against UCLA, Iowa and Penn State, and finished the season with 944 passing yards, completing 78.1% of his attempts.
“Starting those last two games was huge for him, and it was great that he played in all the games,” Washington offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty told ESPN. “You see those reps have added up. Now he has some experience to draw from, and he’s just getting rid of the ball. He’s making great decisions. And he’s always been a great decision-maker.”
Williams, who followed the coaching staff from Arizona to Washington, has become the “unquestioned leader of the team” this offseason, Dougherty said. While many quarterbacks with Williams’ athleticism lean toward running the ball when the opportunity arises, the redshirt freshman has shown an inclination to remain in the pocket. A Power 4 coordinator said he has some Kyler Murray in his style of play.
“It’s much harder to coach guys the other way, the guys who have relied on their feet most of their careers, to now get them to be comfortable sitting in the pocket and going through a progression,” Dougherty said. “We love the fact that he wants to get rid of the ball and hit his receivers on time, get the ball out of his hand. That’s been the biggest thing that I’ve seen in fall camp is how fast he’s getting rid of the ball now, making good, clean decisions in the pocket.”
Coaches outside of Eugene, Oregon, haven’t seen much of Moore since the 2023 season, which he opened as UCLA’s starter after arriving as the nation’s No. 2 overall recruit. He went through some predictable struggles that fall, and one coach who faced the Bruins said it “looked messy” back then.
But Moore transferred to Oregon and has had more than a year to prepare for the starting job, playing behind Dillon Gabriel last fall and attempting only eight passes in four games.
“I see the arm talent, the ability to operate, very similar to what Bo [Nix] and Dillon had done,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning told ESPN. “He can check plays. He’s probably more similar to Dillon from a pocket presence standpoint, but more similar to Bo in the ability to really put us in really advantageous plays.”
Lanning views Moore more in line with predecessors Gabriel and Nix, but opposing coaches don’t expect him to be nearly as mobile. Gabriel had 25 rushing touchdowns in his final three college seasons (one at Oregon), while Nix rushed for 20 scores during two seasons at Oregon.
“Dante is pro-style,” a Power 4 coach said. “If Dante ran a 40, he’d run a 4.9.”
UCLA made the biggest splash of the spring portal in adding Iamaleava, who helped Tennessee to a CFP appearance last season, his first as the Vols starter. A former top 25 national recruit, Iamaleava grew up not far from UCLA’s campus but went to Tennessee on a then-historic NIL deal.
The 6-foot-6, 215-pound Iamaleava has undeniable physical gifts and a full year as an SEC starter under his belt. But he had only the late spring and summer to connect with his teammates and absorb the offense under new coordinator Tino Sunseri. Iamaleava had 2,930 passing yards and 21 touchdowns at Tennessee, while throwing only five interceptions and adding 435 rushing yards and six scores.
“He’s a true leader and I just love how he approaches the day, how he just approached our players, how he approached coming into the team so late,” Bruins coach DeShaun Foster told ESPN. “It wasn’t just like, ‘I’m Nico’ and this. He wanted to really get in there and work. I wanted to see him in the huddle. I had already seen him in high school and all of that before, so that was good. It was just more, I wanted to see him command, and how is he around the other players? But he’s been great.”
The talent is there with Iamaleava, whose ability to adjust quickly will be tested.
“That’s a kid that is tough as nails,” said a defensive coordinator who will face UCLA this fall. “When he runs, he doesn’t look to slide. He can sling it. With development, he’s going to be one of the top dudes in the country. He’s 6-6, tough to take down, can throw every ball. Needs a little bit more accuracy in the deep ball, but can throw it wherever he needs to put it. His eye progression needs a bit of work, but my guess is with another year, he’s worked through that.”
BIG 12
Leavitt led Arizona State to an unlikely Big 12 title and CFP appearance in his first season as the Sun Devils’ starter last fall. He displayed a skill set that coach Kenny Dillingham expects will propel him to the NFL, setting a team freshman record with 3,328 yards of total offense, and posting a 21-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio during his final nine games.
His decision-making stood out for a young quarterback, and he didn’t shy away from shot plays, recording eight completions of 50 yards or more, most in the Big 12 and tied for second most in the FBS. Leavitt handled pressure well and was an effective scrambler with 435 yards, second most among FBS quarterbacks.
“The way this guy can make plays with his feet, he’s got great instincts,” said a coach who faced Arizona State in 2024. “He can diagnose. Really an elite player for them. The plays he was able to make on third down and create with his legs, it was all year long and pretty special.”
Arizona State finished 18th nationally in third-down conversion rate, as Leavitt moved the chains both with passes under pressure and scrambles. Leavitt told ESPN his goal this fall is “to get to the point where I feel like me and my coach are at the same spot in how we view the game.”
“All the football stuff, everybody sees, everybody sees the talent,” Dillingham said. “He cares. He’s intelligent, he’s competitive, he has the off-the-field X factors that allow him to achieve that level.”
A Big 12 defensive coordinator added of Leavitt: “If you’re going to say, ‘Who’s your top competitor?’ It’s probably that kid.”
Hoover has started the past season and a half for TCU and last fall set the team single-season passing record with 3,949 yards. He was a chunk-play machine, leading the Big 12 and ranking fifth nationally in completions of 20 yards or longer (61). His performance hasn’t generated much national attention, partly because of the team’s uneven starts.
But Hoover will be in the spotlight right away this fall as TCU opens at North Carolina in a standalone Monday game, the first of the Bill Belichick era with the Tar Heels.
“He’s really talented,” coach Sonny Dykes told ESPN. “He throws the ball as well as any of the guys I’ve coached, and we’ve been lucky to coach some good ones. He’s not as big as some of them, he’s not as fast as others, but just purely throwing the football, he’s really, really good. That can get you in trouble sometimes because he’s like, ‘I can make this throw,’ or he gets bored of checking it down and he wants to challenge himself a little bit more.”
If Hoover balances the wow plays with the mundane ones, he could be among the nation’s best quarterbacks this season.
“He does not take sacks,” a Big 12 defensive coordinator said. “He gets rid of the ball quickly, makes good decisions. I really liked him. He’s tough, good decision-maker, gets the ball out on time.”
When Will Howard transferred from Kansas State to Ohio State, there was a sense within some corners of the Big 12 that the Wildcats would upgrade at quarterback with Johnson. A blazing-fast top 100 recruit from the state, Johnson gave Kansas State a different dimension in the explosive run game. He set a team record with 25 passing touchdowns last fall, while throwing 10 interceptions and adding 605 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Johnson’s accuracy and efficiency fell off during the back half of the season, but he entered this fall with higher expectations as a passer. He accounted for all three touchdowns — two passing, one rushing — in Saturday’s season-opening loss to Iowa State in Ireland, completing 21 of 30 attempts for 271 yards with no interceptions.
“It’s just not trying to do so much,” Johnson told ESPN. “Getting the ball to playmakers, letting guys do their things with the ball, not trying to force things, taking checkdowns and then whenever you do get big-play opportunities, you’ve got to connect on them.”
Coaches see Johnson’s throwing ability but say he still must master the nuances of the passing game.
“Extremely athletic,” said a coach who faced Kansas State last year. “As a freshman, he still needed so much more polish, and then the ability to sit in the pocket and go through reads. Looks like he’s still needing some of that.”
Anyone who watched Iowa State’s Week 0 win against Kansas State in Ireland got to see the essence of Becht, who is in his third year as the starter. He had some early struggles on a slick field and would end up completing only half of his passes (14 of 28). But Becht avoided an interception and accounted for all three ISU touchdowns — two passing, one rushing — and the game-clinching pass to Carson Hansen on fourth-and-3.
Becht’s resolve to make winning plays might be his best trait.
“He is a really good quarterback, and he’s got escape-ability, he’s got an incredible feel for the game of football, he can use his feet to make the special play,” ISU coach Matt Campbell told ESPN. “But I think one of the things that makes him really special is that locker room. Boy, they believe in him, maybe as good as any football player that I’ve coached.”
Campbell added of Becht’s best on-field trait: “He’s never pressed to make the wild plays, always makes the right decision on every play. Can he keep doing that at an elite level?”
Becht’s numbers are solid but not league-leading. He was 10th in the Big 12 in completion percentage last season (59.2) and fifth in passing yards per game. But he has a lot of respect around the conference.
“I’m always impressed with what he does for Iowa State,” a Big 12 coach said. “He’s so consistent and steady. He’s kind of like [Brock] Purdy was for them. He just wins games.”
Added a Big 12 defensive coordinator: “I have so much respect for that kid. Tough kid.”
0:37
Rocco Becht dives into the end zone for a Cyclones TD
Rocco Becht scrambles his way into the end zone to put the Cyclones up 24-14.
After being recruited to Mississippi State by the late Mike Leach, Robertson transferred to Baylor and started four games in 2023 with shaky results. He then became Baylor’s QB1 in Week 3 last season and looked very much like the top-60 national recruit he was coming out of Lubbock, Texas. Robertson eclipsed 3,000 passing yards while throwing 28 touchdowns and only nine interceptions.
Despite only 14 starts at Baylor, Robertson ranks among the top eight in team history for categories like passing efficiency (fifth, 144.4), yards per pass attempt (sixth, 8.113) and completion percentage (eighth 60.8). He also has played in three offensive schemes with Leach and Baylor offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes and Jake Spavital.
“I’ve developed a lot as a quarterback,” Robertson said. “I learned a lot from Leach, mentally, how you approach the game, all that stuff, and getting to play for Grimes, pro-style, under center, getting reps at that were great for me. And then now playing for Spav, he’s such a good mental leader. … It’s not something I had on my bingo card playing for three different offensive coordinators, but I think it’s just helping me develop.”
Big 12 coaches are mixed on Robertson, as one said he’s “not as dynamic as the others” in the league’s top QB group. But his strong finish to the 2024 season, plus some long-awaited continuity under the same playcaller, should help his development.
“Just the variations of coverages and blitzes and stuff like that, I thought he handled it well,” a Big 12 defensive coordinator said. “He played pretty comfortably, so they’ve got a chance to be pretty good.”
Daniels is certainly a familiar name around the Big 12 after starting games in each of the past five seasons. He has been a big-play juggernaut when healthy but lost most of the 2023 season to injury and portions of others. Daniels finally made it through a season last fall and had solid passing (2,454) and rushing (439) yards totals, but his accuracy fluttered and he and the team didn’t really surge until later in the season.
He’s back for a sixth year, playing in an offense directed by longtime KU quarterbacks coach Jim Zebrowski. Daniels was near-flawless in Saturday’s season opener against Fresno State, completing 18 of 20 passes for 176 yards and 3 touchdowns, while adding 47 rushing yards.
“I really like the Kansas guy, he’s probably my favorite in the league,” a Big 12 coach said. “When push comes to shove, that guy knows how to just stay calm and make stuff happen.”
Other coaches need to see more consistency from Daniels, especially after last season.
“The Kansas kid is hit and miss,” a Big 12 defensive coordinator said. “He’s kind of hot and cold, but he’s a heck of an athlete.”
The Big 12 is heavy on returning starters, but the most intriguing quarterback transfer in the league arrives at Utah, where quarterback play cratered the past two seasons largely because of Cam Rising’s injuries. Utah went the package-deal route to repair the offense, plucking both Dampier and offensive coordinator Jason Beck from New Mexico, where they averaged 6.9 yards per play and finished No. 24 nationally in scoring on a shaky team.
Dampier earned first-team All-Mountain West honors in 2024 after finishing second in the league in passing yards (3,934) and third in rushing yards (1,116), while leading the league in yards per carry (7.5) and finishing second — behind Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty — with 19 rushing touchdowns. Although Rising had some mobility when healthy, Dampier will bring a dramatically different element to the offense.
“Having him here in spring was huge for us,” coach Kyle Whittingham told ESPN. “He was like another coach on the field because obviously he knows Jason’s offense inside and out. So being able to install a new offense with a new coordinator, with a quarterback who knows it, that’s a big advantage for us. He’s been a huge help for his teammates.”
The challenge for Dampier and Beck is how much to run the 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior, who had 15 or more carries in half of New Mexico’s games last season.
“With a running quarterback, you’ve got to stay healthy,” a Big 12 defensive coordinator said.
Another coach in the league added: “He’s going to see a different kind of athlete in the Big 12, and he was used to in the Mountain West. It’s hard to stay healthy when you’re playing like that.”
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Chris Low
Alabama could be without team captain and starting defensive tackle Tim Keenan III for Saturday’s opener against Florida State after he suffered a lower-body injury in practice.
Coach Kalen DeBoer said Wednesday that Keenan would “probably not” be full go for the game and that he was still being evaluated.
“We’re waiting for the update,” DeBoer said. “I don’t know if I can give you a percentage (on Keenan’s status) and be confident on that. We’ll see.”
Keenan, a fifth-year senior, is one of the anchors of an Alabama defensive line that should be one of the strengths of the team. He’s a two-year starter and one of the strongest leaders on the team.
The Crimson Tide were already without starting running back Jam Miller, who dislocated his collarbone in a scrimmage and is expected to miss multiple games.
Offensive lineman Jaeden Roberts‘ status for Saturday’s opener is also uncertain, according to DeBoer. The fifth-year senior, who has started 21 games over the past two seasons, has been “very limited” in recent practices as he works his way through the NCAA’s concussion protocol.
“He’s making progress, but it’s slow and steady,” DeBoer said.
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