The Big 12's outlook brightened considerably Monday when a Lubbock County district court judge issued a temporary injunction allowing Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby to play this fall despite having gambled on Indiana while a member of the Hoosiers' program a few years ago.
With Sorsby available for all but the first two games, the Red Raiders are a serious threat to repeat as conference champions and return to the College Football Playoff.
They also have one of the deepest quarterback rooms in the country with Sorsby and two quality backups in Will Hammond and Kirk Francis.
Numerous teams across the power conferences don't have any proven quarterbacks. The Red Raiders arguably have three.
For that reason, they occupy the top spot in the Hotline's 2026 Quarterback Comfort Quotient rankings (QBCQ), which take into account both the quality of the starter and the reliability of the backup.
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After all, QB2 is the least important player on any team until he's the most important.
Here we go ...
(In some cases, we have projected the identity of the starter and/or backup.)
1. Texas Tech
Starter:Â Brendan Sorsby
Backup:Â Will Hammond
Comment:Â The NCAA is expected to appeal the district court judge's decision, meaning Sorsby, a dynamic run-pass threat who transferred from Cincinnati, could ultimately be deemed ineligible. (For the sake of the sport, he should be.) Hammond is recovering from knee surgery, but once fully recovered, is a top-tier backup. And Francis, the third-stringer, passed for more than 3,000 yards at Tulsa.
2. Utah
Utah Utes quarterback Devon Dampier (4) gets past Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive back Donovan Jones (37) with defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri (96) attempting to stop his scoring during the first half of their Las Vegas Bowl game at Allegiant Stadium on Dec. 31, 2025, in Las Vegas.
Starter:Â Devon Dampier
Backup:Â Byrd Ficklin
Comment:Â Like Texas Tech, the Utes possess one of the best QB rooms in the country. Dampier produced 24 touchdown passes, just five interceptions and ran for more than 800 yards last season. Meanwhile, Ficklin became the rare backup with starting-caliber talent to shun the transfer portal. Sure, his passing skills must be refined, but plenty of teams in the Big 12 would be thrilled to have Ficklin as their starter.
3. Oklahoma State
Starter:Â Drew Mestemaker
Backup:Â Grant Jordan
Comment: The Hotline views Oklahoma State as a dark-horse title contender in the Big 12 with the combination of first-year coach Eric Morris and Mestemaker, who threw 34 touchdowns for North Texas last season, as the primary reason. (In previous years, Morris discovered Cam Ward and John Mateer; few coaches have a better eye for the position.) Jordan isn’t the best backup option in the conference, but he’s hardly the worst after throwing 360 passes over two years at UMass.
4. Houston
Starter:Â Conner Weigman
Backup:Â Keisean Henderson
Comment: This might be seen as an unusual selection, but the Hotline was impressed with Weigman’s performance in his first season with the Cougars — he accounted for 36 touchdowns (passing and running) — and there’s zero reason to believe he won’t continue to develop. Meanwhile, coach Willie Fritz has an elite backup option: Henderson was the top-rated prospect (any position, any state) in the country in the 2025-26 recruiting cycle.
5. Arizona
Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita sprints into the end zone during spring practice at the Dick Tomey Practice Fields, April 6, 2026.
Starter: Noah Fifita
Backup: Sawyer Anderson
Comment: Fifita returns for Year 4 with the opportunity to secure his status as the greatest quarterback in school history and one of the best in the conference. (Critically, offensive coordinator Seth Doege is returning, as well.) But there isn’t much experience behind Fifita — in fact, there is zero experience behind Fifita — which is the reason for Arizona’s placement. If he misses more than a series or two, trouble could follow.
6. BYU
Starter: Bear Bachmeier
Backup: Treyson Bourguet
Comment: After a stellar freshman season, Bachmeier is well-positioned to emerge as an elite dual-threat quarterback as long as his playmaking from the pocket improves. (The combination of BYU’s veteran line and stellar tailback LJ Martin should alleviate the pressure on Bachmeier to carry the offense.) If Bourguet’s name is familiar, he’s the younger brother of former ASU quarterback Trenton Bourguet.
7. Arizona State
Starter: Cutter Boley
Backup: Mikey Keene
Comment: We expect Boley, the Kentucky transfer, to make ample use of coach Kenny Dillingham’s deft touch with quarterbacks. That said, he’s somewhat unproven after tossing almost as many interceptions (12) as touchdowns (15) last year in the SEC. The defensive talent won’t be quite as stout in the Big 12. But if Boley struggles, few backups anywhere have Keene’s resume, which includes 1,170 attempts and 65 touchdowns across stints at UCF and Fresno State.
8. Colorado
Starter: Julian Lewis
Backup: Isaac Wilson
Comment: The other name to mention here is playcaller Brennan Marion, whose Go-Go offense was productive at UNLV and seemingly suits Lewis’ considerable skill set. But if they don’t mesh, the Buffaloes have a veteran option with Wilson, the former all-everything prospect from Utah.
9. Baylor
Starter: DJ Lagway
Backup: Nate Bennett
Comment: Baylor’s season and coach Dave Aranda’s job hinge on Lagway, the Florida transfer who didn’t come close to meeting lofty expectations in 2025. If the change of scenery and mind-meld with playcaller Jake Spavital manage to bring out Lagway's best and limit his worst, the Bears could be a factor in the Big 12 race.
10. TCU
Starter: Jaden Craig
Backup: Adam Schobel
Comment: Based on stats alone, Craig would be considered one of the top quarterbacks in the conference (52 career touchdown passes, just 12 interceptions). And TCU coach Sonny Dykes has long operated a QB-friendly system. But Craig's numbers were built on Ivy League competition — he spent three years at Harvard. That doesn't rule out the potential for Craig to thrive in the Big 12, but it certainly gives us pause.
11. Cincinnati
Starter: JC French IV
Backup: Liam O’Brien
Comment: French has a stronger resume than his profile would suggest. He spent three years at Georgia Southern and has thrown for 5,900 yards with a career completion percentage of 65. In other words, the positional regression from the Sorsby era should not be quite as severe as it might seem.
12. Kansas State
Starter: Avery Johnson
Backup: Blake Barnett
Comment: Is this finally the year Johnson unlocks his potential as a run-pass dynamo and leads the Wildcats onto the top tier of the conference? The half-full case leans into the arrival of coach Collin Klein, a former KSU quarterback who, in theory, will offer Johnson a fresh start — and potentially make this ranking look silly. The half-empty case of skepticism is based on three years of evidence that suggests Johnson simply doesn’t have another level to his game.
13. UCF
Starter: Alonza Barnett
Backup: Keyone Jenkins
Comment: If you're unfamiliar with Barnett, allow us: The dual-threat veteran led James Madison to the Sun Belt championship and a College Football Playoff bid. If he can't manage the jump in competition, UCF has a viable backup option in Jenkins, who started for three years at Florida International. Coach Scott Frost has two chances to find one dependable starter.
14. West Virginia
Starter: Michael Hawkins
Backup: Scotty Fox Jr.
Comment: Although Hawkins played sparingly across two seasons at Oklahoma, he faced first-rate competition (Texas in the Red River Rivalry, for example) and appears to be the frontrunner in Morgantown. Can coach Rich Rodriguez draw water from stone? Perhaps there's one more trick left in the QB top hat.
15. Iowa State
Starter: Jaylen Raynor
Backup: Zane Flores
Comment: Raynor developed plenty of experience at Arkansas State and threw for more than 8,000 yards, but we wouldn't be surprised if the situation remains unsettled early in the season. (Flores spent one year at Oklahoma State before transferring to Ames.) First-year coach Jimmy Rogers wasn't exactly flawless in his management of the position last season at Washington State.
16. Kansas
Starter: Cole Ballard
Backup: Isaiah Marshall
Comment: The post-Jalon Daniels era begins with a quarterback competition in its purest form. Ballard has slightly more experience, while Marshall probably has the edge in physical ability. All we know is that one of them better emerge as a reliable playmaker or coach; Lance Leipold's sixth season could be his last.
