- Miami has its new man: The Hurricanes made one of the biggest splashes in the transfer portal by bringing in Darian Mensah from Duke.
- 12 new starters in the conference: There are only five returning starters in the ACC.
- 2026 NFL Draft season is here: Try the best-in-class PFF Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2026's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes
In today’s day and age of NIL and the transfer portal, it can be hard to track which players are playing for which schools.
At no position is the transfer portal carousel more chaotic than at quarterback. It’s the most important position on the field, with many quarterbacks making millions of dollars per year now. Nonetheless, there’s only one starter, and the spots are limited.
With the portal now closed, we’re going to predict the next quarterback for every Power Four school. We’ll start with the ACC, where at least 12 of the 17 programs should have new starters.
Boston College Eagles: Mason McKenzie (Transfer)
A transfer from Saginaw Valley State (Division II), McKenzie threw for 2,086 yards and ran for 942 yards this past season. Keep an eye on fellow transfer Grayson Wilson (Arkansas), a redshirt freshman who was a top-30 quarterback recruit from the 2025 high school class.
California Golden Bears: Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (Returning)
Sagapolutele is coming off a terrific freshman season, posting a 79.4 PFF passing grade that led all true freshmen. His 28 big-time throws were also tied for seventh among all quarterbacks in the country. JKS could leap to superstar status as a sophomore.
Clemson Tigers: Christopher Vizzina (Backup)
With Cade Klubnik off to the NFL, Vizzina will get his chance as the starter after three seasons on the bench. The redshirt junior was a top-10 quarterback recruit from the 2023 high school class and has a 55.7 passing grade on 124 career dropbacks.
Duke Blue Devils: Walker Eget (Transfer)
Duke and Darian Mensah went through a messy divorce, and the star quarterback transferred to Miami (FL) after one season in Durham. Another transfer will likely replace him in Eget, who started the past two years for San Jose State and has a solid 78.3 PFF grade in that stretch.
Florida State Seminoles: Ashton Daniels (Transfer)
As disappointing as Florida State’s 5-7 season was, quarterback Tommy Castellanos still impressed with an 86.0 passing grade that placed 10th nationally. With him gone, Daniels will likely take over after transferring in from Auburn. He has 23 starts in his career across his time with the Tigers and Stanford and has great mobility for the position, rushing for 1,728 yards across his four seasons.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: Alberto Mendoza (Transfer)
Haynes King is gone after a terrific three seasons at Georgia Tech and will likely be replaced by a Mendoza. Alberto was the backup to his older brother, Fernando, who led Indiana to a perfect 16-0 record and a national championship while winning a Heisman Trophy in the process. The younger Mendoza had an impressive 85.5 PFF grade across 106 snaps this past season.
Louisville Cardinals: Lincoln Kienholz (Transfer)
Jeff Brohm has brought in a different transfer quarterback to start for him in each of his four seasons as Louisville’s head coach. Kienholz is the latest one after spending the past three seasons as a backup at Ohio State. The former four-star recruit has an impressive 82.9 PFF grade across 130 career snaps.
Miami (FL) Hurricanes: Darian Mensah (Transfer)
Miami made one of the biggest moves of the offseason by bringing in Mensah from Duke. He’s coming off a terrific year with the Blue Devils, where he led the Power Four in passing yards (3,951) and won an ACC championship. With Mensah under center, Miami is the clear favorite to take home the conference title in 2026 and potentially make another deep playoff run.
North Carolina Tar Heels: Billy Edwards Jr. (Transfer)
Edwards will take over at quarterback for Bill Belichick following three seasons at Maryland and this past year at Wisconsin. He could only start two games for the Badgers due to a knee injury but earned a 75.9 PFF grade the year before as the Terrapins’ starter.
NC State Wolfpack: CJ Bailey (Returning)
Bailey has been NC State’s starter in each of his first two collegiate seasons, and that won’t change in 2026. He has a solid 72.6 PFF grade for his career with 42 touchdown passes and 27 big-time throws.
Pittsburgh Panthers: Mason Heintschel (Returning)
Heintschel is back at Pittsburgh after a rollercoaster of a true freshman season. He tossed 13 big-time throws with 20 turnover-worthy plays and must clean up some of his gunslinger habits as a sophomore.
SMU Mustangs: Kevin Jennings (Returning)
Jennings is back for a third season as SMU’s starting quarterback. He led the Mustangs to the College Football Playoff back in 2024 and has an excellent 85.5 PFF grade over the past two seasons.
Stanford Cardinals: Davis Warren (Transfer)
Both quarterbacks who started games for the Cardinal last year, Ben Gulbranson and Elijah Brown, are no longer with the program. New head coach Tavita Pritchard instead turns to incoming transfer Davis Warren from Michigan. He didn’t play a snap in 2025 but started nine games for the Wolverines in 2024, posting a solid 71.8 PFF grade with a 74.4% adjusted completion rate.
Syracuse Orange: Steve Angeli (Returning)
Angeli looked good for Syracuse before suffering a torn Achilles, posting a 78.0 PFF grade through four games. He’ll be the man for the Orange once he recovers from his injury. In the meantime, incoming transfers Amari Odom (Kennesaw State) and Malachi Nelson (UTEP) will compete for a backup job that could include a few starts.
Virginia Cavaliers: Beau Pribula (Transfer)
Virginia added a pair of transfers to compete for its starting job in Pribula (Missouri) and Eli Holstein (Pittsburgh). While both have starting experience, Pribula gets the nod after posting a solid 76.1 PFF grade with the Tigers.
Virginia Tech Hokies: Ethan Grunkemeyer (Transfer)
James Franklin takes over as head coach after getting fired by Penn State. One of his former players with the Nittany Lions will be his first quarterback with the Hokies. Grunkemeyer was thrust into the starting role when Drew Allar broke his ankle. The redshirt freshman took some time to get comfortable but finished on a high with an 83.9 PFF passing grade across his final three starts.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Gio Lopez (Transfer)
After starting 11 games for North Carolina this past season, Lopez is going right down the road to Wake Forest. He posted a 73.1 PFF grade last year with a 74.1% adjusted completion rate.
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