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As the 2025 college football season approaches, teams across the country are finalizing their quarterback decisions. Most programs are wrapping up fall camp and shifting focus to game preparation, which means coaches are making those all-important calls about who’ll lead their offenses.
Some QB battles will continue into the early season, with coaches using non-conference games to evaluate contenders in live action. But several prominent programs have already named their starters for 2025.
Ohio State, Alabama and Tennessee — three powerhouse programs with championship aspirations — have all made their quarterback decisions. The Buckeyes are looking to defend their national title, while Tennessee hopes to build on its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.
Alabama is turning to a veteran signal-caller as the Crimson Tide try to bounce back from what many considered a disappointing debut season under Kalen DeBoer. Even major Group of Six programs like Memphis have settled their QB situations.
There’s still plenty to be decided, but here’s a breakdown of the quarterback competitions that have been settled as kickoff approaches.
Ohio State
The Julian Sayin era has officially begun in Columbus. Ryan Day confirmed what many expected when he announced that Sayin will start Ohio State’s August 30 opener against Texas. The former five-star prospect and Alabama signee beat out third-year quarterback Lincoln Kienholz and true freshman Tavien St. Clair for the job.
Sayin enters his second year with the Buckeyes after backing up Will Howard last season. He appeared in four games (preserving his redshirt) and completed 5 of 12 passes for 84 yards and one touchdown. He even saw limited action in Ohio State’s playoff victory over Tennessee.
While Sayin lacks extensive experience, winning the starting job at Ohio State is like being handed the keys to a Ferrari. He’ll have plenty of help from what many consider the nation’s best wide receiver room, featuring Heisman Trophy contender Jeremiah Smith and veteran Carnell Tate.
Alabama
After singing his praises throughout spring and fall practices, Alabama’s coaching staff made it official by naming Ty Simpson the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback. Instead of hitting the transfer portal — where he would’ve been highly sought after given his blue-chip pedigree — Simpson waited patiently while serving as backup to Bryce Young (a Heisman winner) and Jalen Milroe (a third-round NFL Draft pick).
That patience paid off when he beat Washington transfer Austin Mack, a former DeBoer recruit, for the starting role at one of college football’s premier programs.
Though he hasn’t started many games, Simpson has valuable playing experience. In 2023, he rescued Alabama against South Florida, entering late in the second quarter and helping the Tide score 17 unanswered points while throwing for 73 yards.
He’s appeared in 16 games during his three years in Tuscaloosa.
Tennessee
Joey Aguilar, the former App State standout and UCLA transfer, has won Tennessee’s starting job after the Vols found themselves in an unexpected quarterback competition. Aguilar beat redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger and true freshman George MacIntyre (who impressed in fall camp after adding some much-needed weight) to become the third transfer QB to start under Josh Heupel.
What separates Aguilar from Tennessee’s previous two quarterbacks is experience. He started 24 games at App State, where he was named the 2023 Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year, throwing for 6,759 yards and 56 touchdowns.
He’ll need to reduce his turnovers (24 interceptions in two years) and work with an inexperienced receiving corps, but Tennessee hopes Aguilar can rejuvenate a passing attack that’s declined since 2022.
Syracuse
Notre Dame transfer Steve Angeli will lead Syracuse’s offense as the Orange aim to build on their breakout 2024 campaign in their first season under coach Fran Brown. Despite limited playing time with the Fighting Irish, Angeli made the most of his opportunities.
He completed 15 of 19 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns while adding 27 rushing yards in a 2023 Sun Bowl win against Oregon State. Angeli also played crucial snaps in Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff victory over Penn State last season, leading the Irish on a field goal drive late in the second quarter after Riley Leonard briefly entered concussion protocol.
Boston College
Boston College has found its replacement for former starter Thomas Castellanos. Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan edged out veteran Grayson James — who started several games for the Eagles after they benched Castellanos last season — and will take the first snaps in BC’s August 30 opener against Fordham.
Lonergan, a former four-star prospect in the 2023 class, appeared in just three games during his two seasons with the Crimson Tide.
Stanford
Stanford opted for experience over potential when it named Oregon State transfer Ben Gulbranson its starter instead of former blue-chip prospect Elijah Brown, who’s entering his second season with the Cardinal after signing as their highest-rated recruit in the 2024 class.
Gulbranson was an on-again, off-again starter at Oregon State, where he threw for 2,648 yards and 15 touchdowns over five seasons.
Memphis
Memphis faces the challenge of replacing program icon Seth Henigan, who set numerous records while leading the Tigers to an impressive 21-5 record over the past two seasons.
For this tall task, coach Ryan Silverfield is turning to Nevada transfer Brendon Lewis, who brings extensive experience to Memphis. Lewis spent three years at Colorado — starting 12 games as a true freshman — before playing at Nevada from 2023-24. Last season, he led the Wolf Pack in both passing (2,290 yards) and rushing (775 yards).
Fresno State
E.J. Warner — son of NFL legend and Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner — will start at quarterback for Fresno State. This marks the third different school where Warner will have started in just four collegiate seasons.
The younger Warner previously played at Temple, where he earned 2022 AAC Rookie of the Year honors, and Rice, where he started all but one game in 2024.
New Mexico
New Mexico coach Jason Eck is turning to a familiar face to lead his first offense with the Lobos. Jack Layne, who played under Eck at Idaho last season, has been named the starting quarterback ahead of New Mexico’s season opener at Michigan.
Layne threw for 1,472 yards and 14 touchdowns with the Vandals last season.
Rice
New Rice coach Scott Abell’s first starting quarterback will be Chase Jenkins, a versatile athlete who has played both quarterback and receiver for the Owls. Jenkins’ athleticism makes him an ideal fit for Abell’s option offense, which the coach developed during his time at Davidson.
UMass
After spending last season as Utah’s backup, Brandon Rose transferred to UMass this offseason and will start in the program’s opener against Temple. Rose appeared in three games last season — including a two-touchdown performance against BYU — and finished with 157 passing yards.
UMass’ first-year offensive coordinator is Mike Bajakian, who served as an offensive analyst and interim OC/QB coach with the Utes last season while Rose was with the program.
Kennesaw State
Kennesaw State will start former Indiana and Georgia Southern quarterback Dexter Williams II in its season opener against Wake Forest. He appeared in four games during the 2024 season, throwing for 248 yards and three touchdowns.
Williams will likely face his former team in Week 2, as Kennesaw State travels to Bloomington to play Indiana on September 6.
California
Cal has named freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele its starting quarterback for the program’s season opener against Oregon State, CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported on Monday. Sagapolutele, ranked as the No. 65 overall recruit in the 2025 class by 247Sports, won the job over Ohio State transfer Devin Brown.
Sagapolutele’s path to Cal has been anything but straightforward. After initially committing to Cal last summer, he decommitted and flipped to Oregon before entering the transfer portal in early January. He then signed with Cal just days later.
He was ranked as 247Sports’ No. 5 quarterback in the transfer portal class, behind only Nico Iamaleava (UCLA), Carson Beck (Miami), John Mateer (Oklahoma) and Fernando Mendoza (Indiana) — who spent the previous two seasons with the Golden Bears.
