By TJ Chapman
If you’re looking for a sign of the times in today’s college football look no further than the quarterback situation in the Big Ten Conference. Ten of the 18 starters heading into Spring practices are quarterbacks who transferred to their current teams. At Michigan and Maryland there will be a competition that includes true freshmen, Bryce Underwood for the Wolverines and Malik Washington for the Terrapins.
The key factors to determine the top 5 quarterbacks were reps and experience. For those reasons, players who have little to no starts were not considered. There is no reason to guess what those players can potentially do, I don’t live in the “potential” world. Below are the top 5 quarterbacks heading into the Spring for the Big Ten.
No. 5: Joey Aguilar, UCLA
Making the jump from the Sun Belt Conference to the Big Ten will be tough, but Aguilar can handle it. He has a gunslinger’s mentality but that is both rewarding and troublesome. You have to take the good with the bad and Aguilar has shown flashes of both. In 2024 at App State, Aguilar’s stats dipped some, but he still had a good season. Aguilar’s completion percentage was lower at 55.9 percent, but he still had 3,003 passing yards with 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Aguilar’s specialty is not running the ball, but he can evade pressure and make things happen with his legs.
No. 4: Luke Altmyer, Illinois
Playing in a run-heavy offense at Illinois hampers Altmyer’s ability to pad stats. However, Altmyer seems to take advantage of the chances he gets.
While his completion percentage dipped in 2024 to 60.8 percent, Altmyer still finished with 2,717 yards through the air with 22 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Illinois faced six of the top 20 defenses in the nation in 2024. Against those six defenses, Altmyer threw for less than 200 yards in all but two of those games, an overtime win at Nebraska and a home loss to Minnesota. If Illinois is going to make a run at the Big Ten Championship, the Illini will need Altmyer to play like he did against Nebraska when facing those tough defenses in 2025.
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No. 3: Billy Edwards Jr., Wisconsin
The only starting quarterback in the conference to transfer within the Big Ten, Edwards’ familiarity with the conference defenses is a huge asset.
The former Maryland gunslinger finally got the chance to start in 2024 and had an up and down season. Edwards completed 65 percent of his passes for 2,881 yards. However, “Billy the Kid” only threw for 15 touchdowns even with a roster that featured future NFL receivers Tai Felton and Kaden Prather. Edwards’ rushing stats are deceiving, 150 yards and 5 touchdowns. The deceiving part is he was sacked 17 times and lost 137 yards on those sacks. Edwards can hurt defenses with his arm or his legs, but his decision making needs to improve to be successful with the Badgers. The Wisconsin receiving corps is a step down from what Edwards had at Maryland in 2024 so he will need to be better with his throws to bring Wisconsin back to the top of the Big Ten.
No. 2: Dylan Raiola, Nebraska
Heralded as one of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 class, Raiola showed signs of greatness as well as signs of being a true freshman starter. He completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 2,819 yards. However, he only had 13 touchdowns and threw 11 interceptions. While not necessarily being known as a rushing threat, Raiola can use his legs when needed. Unfortunately, he was sacked 27 times in 2024, losing 184 yards on those sacks and finished with minus-65 rushing yards. While the receiver corps was not one of the top groups in the Big Ten in 2024, the Huskers did land three Power Four transfers in Dane Key and Hardley Gilmore IV from Kentucky, and Nyziah Hunter from Cal. Raiola is poised for an impressive sophomore season and should have the trust of the coaching staff to open the playbook more in the passing game.
No. 1: Drew Allar, Penn State
After flirting with the possibility of entering the 2025 NFL Draft, Allar decided one more season in Happy Valley was his best move. With a less than stellar receiving corps at Penn State in 2024, Allar still completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 3,327 yards with 24 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Allar is also a threat with his legs, gaining 302 yards on the ground after factoring in a loss of 136 yards on 19 sacks. Losing All-American TE Tyler Warren will hurt, but coach James Franklin bolstered the receiver room by landing Kyron Hudson from USC and Devonte Ross from Troy in the transfer portal. Ross had more than 1,000 receiving yards in 2024. Where Allar needs to improve is in his decision making. The knock on him seems to be when the lights shine brightest Allar makes mistakes detrimental to the Nittany Lions success. The interception to close out the College Football Playoff game against Notre Dame comes to mind. Allar currently sits fifth in Heisman Trophy favorite odds according to BetMGM at +1300. If Allar can get past the mistakes made in the biggest games, not only will he be the probable Heisman Trophy winner, but Penn State will make the playoffs and be a serious contender for the national championship.
Notable Omissions
Fernando Mendoza, Indiana. Transfers in from Cal but will face much tougher competition in the Big Ten. Dante Moore, Oregon. Minimal playing time at UCLA and Oregon over the past two seasons. Has the talent but needs to put it all together for a season as the starter. Mark Gronowski, Iowa. The South Dakota State transfer is stepping up from FCS to FBS in one of the tougher defensive conferences. Preston Stone, Northwestern. Lost his starting job at SMU after being ineffective. Has the tools, just needs to minimize the mistakes.
