Max OlsonDec 29, 2025, 07:40 AM ETCloseCovers the Big 12Joined ESPN in 2012Graduate of the University of NebraskaFollow on X
Transfer portal season is already well underway, but the floodgates finally open on Friday. The first day of the NCAA transfer portal window, which runs Jan. 2-16, will feature thousands of FBS and FCS players officially entering their names in the portal.
For quarterbacks, these portal recruitments will be fast, furious and financially lucrative. We’ve already seen enough early announcements in December to know this will be another strong QB market with a growing list of experienced starters making moves for 2026.
The cost to acquire transfer quarterbacks has increased. Last year, Power 4 programs locked up proven starters for $1.5 million or less. Sources tell ESPN the top passers on the market this offseason are expecting deals in the $3-4 million range, with the best of the best potentially commanding as much as $5 million.
And the elimination of the spring portal window means the stakes are even higher this time around: Teams have one shot to get their QB1 for next season.
The former Indiana transfer developed into one of the top gunslingers in college football at Cincinnati. Now Sorsby has a fascinating decision to make as he explores his portal options and considers entering the NFL draft.
The 6-foot-3, 235-pound redshirt junior is a terrific dual-threat playmaker who produced 5,613 passing yards plus 1,027 rushing yards over his two seasons with the Bearcats, totaling 63 touchdowns and 16 turnovers. Sorsby was a top-10 QB this season in QBR and PFF grading and earned second-team All-Big 12 honors from the league’s coaches.
Sorsby led Cincinnati to a 7-1 start, climbing to No. 17 in the AP Top 25 and getting the Bearcats into the Big 12 title race entering November. He ranked third in the conference in total offense with 3,380 yards, 36 TDs and just five interceptions.
Leavitt helped lead the Sun Devils to a special season in 2024, but 2025 didn’t go according to plan for the former Big 12 preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound playmaker wowed everyone as a redshirt freshman, teaming with running back Cam Skattebo to lead Arizona State to a Big 12 title and near-upset of Texas in the CFP quarterfinals. The former Michigan State transfer put up 3,011 total yards, 26 total TDs and just six interceptions with a top-10 QBR (80.0) while earning first-team All-Big 12 honors in his squad’s first season in the conference.
His follow-up campaign in Tempe was cut short by a foot injury he suffered against Baylor in the Big 12 opener that lingered for weeks and ultimately required season-ending surgery. Leavitt played in just seven games and did an impressive job toughing it out against eventual Big 12 champ Texas Tech, throwing for 319 yards and leading a 75-yard, game-winning touchdown drive in a 26-22 upset.
Mestemaker emerged as one of the great underdog stories in college football this year, a former walk-on who hadn’t started a game at QB in high school since his freshman year (he was a safety and all-district punter) until North Texas promoted him to QB1 for its bowl game to end the 2024 season. The true freshman showed promise while putting up 448 total yards against Texas State. Now he’s the nation’s leading passer.
Mestemaker threw for 4,379 yards on 69% passing with 40 total touchdowns and 10 turnovers while leading the Mean Green to its first-ever 12-win season and the American title game. In Eric Morris’ FBS No. 1 scoring offense, Mestemaker averaged 13.7 yards per completion with 67 passes of 20-plus yards. He threw for a school-record 608 yards against Charlotte.
Power 4 teams have been trying to tamper with Mestemaker since September. The big question now is will he continue his development under Morris and the coaches he trusts by following them to Oklahoma State? The Cowboys are clearly rebuilding in 2026 but still might be Mestemaker’s best scheme fit for maximizing his potential.
The Division II transfer from Ferris State emerging as a superstar at Ole Miss was one of the great underdog stories of this college football season. He’s hoping he can add one more chapter to it in 2026, but that is a complicated situation right now.
Chambliss is seeking an NCAA waiver for a sixth year of eligibility and has enlisted prominent attorney Tom Mars to help fight for him. He didn’t play during the 2022 season and is hoping to receive a medical redshirt to get that year back, citing chronic tonsillitis he dealt with during that fall. Chambliss has said he hasn’t decided where he’ll play next season if he does get the waiver, so the offseason QB plans at Ole Miss and LSU certainly hinge on how (and when) this case gets resolved.
Brown opted to enter the portal after USF’s Alex Golesh and his coaches made the move to Auburn, and it would be surprising if he’s playing anywhere other than on the Plains in 2026. There’s no doubt plenty of other programs tried to make their pitch, though, knowing Brown has the potential to be one of the top QBs in the country next season.
Brown has stayed loyal to his coaches and rejected past portal interest. Now the 32-game starter is ready to prove he can compete at the highest level as a senior.
Hoover took over for an injured Chandler Morris during his redshirt freshman season in 2023 and never looked back, starting 31 consecutive games for the Horned Frogs and developing into one of the Big 12’s most productive passers. The two-time team captain broke TCU’s single-season passing record with 3,949 yards in 2024, and his 9,629 career passing yards and 71 passing touchdowns are most among all FBS quarterbacks returning for 2026.
Hoover, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound redshirt junior, got to sling it around a ton at TCU and has been a 65.2% career passer with a top-five QBR in the Big 12 in each of his three seasons as starter. He’ll need to cut down on turnovers to be more successful at his next stop after compiling 42 (33 interceptions, nine fumbles) in his time with the Horned Frogs, but Hoover has played a lot of winning football and is another proven veteran QB who’s likely to fetch more than $3 million on his next deal.
Becht will be the most experienced returning Power 4 starter in the game next season, a 39-game starter with significant big-game experience who has far exceeded three-star expectations during his career with the Cyclones. Now that Matt Campbell and his coaches have moved on to Penn State, Becht is making a move for 2026.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound redshirt junior has won 26 games as a starter and led Iowa State to the Big 12 title game in 2024 as well as the first 11-win season in program history. Becht couldn’t match his 2024 production this fall in an up-and-down year, throwing for 2,584 yards on 60.5% passing with 24 total TDs and 10 turnovers, but he was playing most of the season with a partially torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder and dealt with an AC sprain in his throwing shoulder.
Becht and Campbell are extremely close, and it wouldn’t shock anyone if he joined his coach in State College for his senior season. Experience is expensive, though, and Becht could have quite a few offers to choose from in the portal.
Raiola wants to become a first-round NFL draft pick and lead a College Football Playoff contender. After two seasons of trying to be the savior at Nebraska, he’s hoping he can find a better situation elsewhere.
The former five-star recruit flipped from Georgia to Nebraska in December 2023 knowing he would be able to start right away as a true freshman. He led all FBS freshmen and broke the program’s freshman record with 2,819 passing yards in 2024 while leading the Huskers to their first bowl game since 2016. Nebraska spent a ton to acquire offensive talent in the portal to load up around him and try to take the next big step in his second year.
But a 5-1 start fell apart with losses in four of Nebraska’s final six games. Raiola suffered a season-ending broken right fibula against USC in early November. He struggled at times to operate behind a poor offensive line, taking 27 sacks over nine games, but still threw for 2,000 yards on 72% passing with 18 TDs and eight turnovers.
Lagway is ready for a fresh start after two challenging years of trying to lead the Gators. He believed in coach Billy Napier and was eager to lead a turnaround in Gainesville, but injuries and inconsistency made it tough for the former top-10 recruit to be the best version of himself.
During his two years in college, Lagway has dealt with shoulder, core muscle, groin, hamstring and calf injuries and has missed out on valuable offseason reps and development. Combine those issues with a highly pressurized hot-seat situation, a head coach trying to be the offensive playcaller and injuries at receiver and you get a messy situation and a frustrating 4-8 sophomore year that Lagway described as “emotionally draining.”
The 6-3, 247-pound passer went 10-9 as Florida’s QB1 while putting up 4,179 passing yards, 237 rushing yards, 29 total touchdowns and 24 turnovers. His 14 interceptions this season were the most among all Power 4 passers, and his 59.5 QBR ranked 14th among SEC starters. There will still be teams interested in his talents regardless of his college résumé because there’s a ton of untapped potential here if Lagway can find the right situation and stay healthy.
There has been a lot of portal speculation around Bailey this season, but he hasn’t declared plans to enter the portal and could decide to stay in Raleigh for another season.
The 6-6, 210-pound passer became QB1 for the Wolfpack early on in his true freshman season and already has 22 career starts under his belt. Bailey ranked second in the ACC in QBR this season (79.2) after throwing for 3,105 yards on 69% passing with 31 total touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
More to watch: Eli Holstein (Pitt), Tyler Van Dyke (SMU), Billy Edwards Jr. (Wisconsin), Dylan Lonergan (Boston College), Ashton Daniels (Auburn), Tayven Jackson (UCF)