After wrapping up our study of Power 4 quarterbacks last week, today we look at the Group of 5. The plan was to get this out last week, but with so many jobs open until game day, it was easiest to just wait and see who took the first snap.
As expected, the trend lines we saw in the P4 were exaggerated in the G5. It's far more likely to find a G5 quarterback on his (second, or third, or fourth) school than it is to find a guy starting his third season for the school he signed with out of high school. The upshot for the few G5 QB1s that applies to -- Keyone Jenkins at FIU, Jaylen Raynor at Arkansas State -- is that they have great chances to legitimately become some of the most beloved players in their school's history.
However, the typical G5 QB1 is in his fourth or fifth year of college and was forced out of his previous school by injury, coaching change, or circumstance. The MAC will start two home-grown quarterbacks this season; Conference USA will start three. In all, more Group of 5 schools will start multi-time transfers than homegrown quarterbacks, especially when taking the service academies out of the equation.
22 of 68 starters signed with their current program out of high school
44 of 68 are utilizing first-time starters
61 of 68 starters redshirted at some point in their careers
G5 QB1s by Signing Class
2025: 0
2024: 4
2023: 14
2022: 22
2021: 12
2020: 11
2019: 5
G5 QB1s by Home State
15: Texas
13: California
5: Arizona, Florida
4: Georgia
3: North Carolina
2: Alabama, Kentucky, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia
1: Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, West Virginia
G5 QB1s by Recruiting Ranking
5-star: 1
Top 100 4-star: 1
4-star, 101 or below: 8
3-star: 39
2-star: 2
Unrated: 17
We've been keeping cumulative data throughout this project thus far, but rather than dump a treasure trove of information at the bottom of this article, we'll package it all into a standalone article. (All recruiting rankings via 247Sports composite; all stats were taken before the season-opener.)
AMERICAN
DeWayne Coleman, Army
first-time starter as a senior; signed with Army out of Selma, Texas; unrated recruit in the class of 2022
Conner Harrell, Charlotte
redshirt junior with two starts (none at UC); signed with North Carolina out of Alabaster, Ala.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Katin Houser, East Carolina
redshirt junior with seven starts; signed with Michigan State out of Anaheim, Calif.; 4-star recruit in the class of 2022
Caden Veltkamp, Florida Atlantic
redshirt junior with 12 starts (none at FAU); signed with Western Kentucky out of Bowling Green, Ky.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Brendon Lewis, Memphis
sixth-year senior with 12 starts (none at Memphis); signed with Colorado out of Melissa, Texas; 3-star recruit in the class of 2020
Blake Horvath, Navy
senior with 12 starts; signed with Navy out of Hilliard, Ohio; unrated recruit in the class of 2022
Drew Mestemaker, North Texas
redshirt freshman with one start; signed with North Texas out of Austin, Texas; unrated recruit in the class of 2024
Chase Jenkins, Rice
first-year starter as a redshirt sophomore; signed with Rice out of Katy, Texas; 3-star recruit in the class of 2023
Byrum Brown, South Florida
redshirt junior with 22 starts; signed with South Florida out of Raleigh, N.C.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Evan Simon, Temple
sixth-year senior with 10 starts (nine at Temple); signed with Rutgers out of Mount Joy, Pa.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2020
Jake Retzlaff, Tulane
fifth-year senior with 42 starts (none at Tulane); signed with Golden West College out of Corona, Calif.; unrated recruit in the class of 2021
Kirk Francis, Tulsa
redshirt sophomore with seven starts; signed with Tulsa out of Tulsa, Okla.; unrated recruit in the class of 2023
Jalen Kitna, UAB
fifth-year senior with eight starts (all at UAB); signed with Florida out of Burleson, Texas; 3-star recruit in the class of 2021
Owen McCown, UTSA
redshirt junior with 17 starts (14 at UTSA); signed with Colorado out of Rusk, Texas; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
CONFERENCE USA
Nick Minicucci, Delaware
true junior with six starts; signed with Delaware out of Midland Park, N.J.; unrated recruit in the class of 2023
Keyone Jenkins, FIU
true junior with 23 starts; signed with FIU out of Miami, Fla.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2023
Gavin Wimsatt, Jacksonville State
fifth-year senior with 19 starts (none at Jax State); signed with Rutgers out of Owensboro, Ky.; 4-star recruit in the class of 2021
Dexter Williams, Kennesaw State
sixth-year senior with two starts (none at KSU); signed with Indiana out of Macon, Ga.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2020
Ethan Vasko, Liberty
redshirt junior with 16 starts (none at Liberty); signed with Kansas out of Chesapeake, Va.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Trey Kukuk, Louisiana Tech
true junior with 21 starts (none at LT); signed with Saddleback College out of Mission Viejo, Calif.; unrated recruit in the class of 2023
Nicholas Vattiato, Middle Tennessee
fifth-year senior with 31 starts; signed with MTSU out of Plantation, Fla.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2021
Jacob Clark, Missouri State
seventh-year senior with 16 starts (all at MSU); signed with Minnesota out of Rockwall, Texas; 3-star recruit in the class of 2019
Logan Fife, New Mexico State
sixth-year senior with 14 starts (none at NMSU); signed with Fresno State out of Tracy, Calif.; 2-star recruit in the class of 2020
Hunter Watson, Sam Houston
fifth-year senior with 25 starts (12 at SHSU); signed with Arkansas-Monticello out of Celina, Texas; unrated recruit in the class of 2021
Malachi Nelson, UTEP
first-time starter as a redshirt sophomore; signed with USC out of Los Alamitos, Calif.; 5-star recruit in the class of 2023
Maverick McIvor, Western Kentucky
seventh-year senior with 33 starts (none at WKU); signed with Texas Tech out of San Angelo, Texas; 3-star recruit in the class of 2019
INDEPENDENT
Joe Fagnano, UConn
seventh-year senior with 39 starts (12 at UConn); signed with Maine out of Williamsport, Pa.; unrated recruit in the class of 2019
MAC
Ben Finley, Akron
sixth-year senior with 16 starts (12 at Akron); signed with NC State out of Phoenix, Ariz.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2020
Kiael Kelly, Ball State
fifth-year senior with six starts; signed with Ball State out of Tampa, Fla.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2021
Drew Pyne, Bowling Green
sixth-year junior with 11 starts (none at BGSU); signed with Notre Dame out of New Canaan, Conn.; 4-star recruit in the class of 2020
Ta'Quan Roberson, Buffalo
seventh-year senior with 10 starts (none at UB); signed with Penn State out of Orange, N.J.; 4-star recruit in the class of 2019
Angel Flores, Central Michigan
redshirt junior with three starts (none at CMU); signed with Northern Arizona out of Casa Grande, Ariz.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Noah Kim, Eastern Michigan
sixth-year senior with five starts (none at EMU); signed with Michigan State out of Chantilly, Va.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2020
CJ Montes, Kent State
fifth-year senior with 16 starts (none at KSU); signed with New Mexico out of Pasadena, Calif.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2021
Brandon Rose, UMass
redshirt junior with one start (not at UMass); signed with Utah out of Temecula, Calif.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Dequan Finn, Miami (Ohio)
seventh-year senior with 34 starts (none at MOH); signed with Toledo out of Detroit, Mich.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2019
Josh Holst, Northern Illinois
redshirt sophomore with two starts; signed with NIU out of Marengo, Ill.; unrated recruit in the class of 2023
Parker Navarro, Ohio
sixth-year senior with 14 starts (all at Ohio); signed with UCF out of Tempe, Ariz.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2020
Tucker Gleason, Toledo
sixth-year senior with 14 starts (all at Toledo); signed with Georgia Tech out of Tampa, Fla.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2020
Brady Jones, Western Michigan
true junior with 12 starts (none at WMU); signed with Riverside City College out of Murrieta, Calif.; unrated recruit in the class of 2023
MOUNTAIN WEST
Josh Johnson, Air Force
redshirt sophomore with one start; signed with Air Force out of Katy, Texas; unrated recruit in the class of 2023
Maddux Madsen, Boise State
redshirt junior with 15 starts; signed with Boise State out of Lehi, Utah; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, Colorado State
redshirt junior with 15 starts; signed with Colorado State out of Aledo, Texas; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
EJ Warner, Fresno State
true senior with 32 starts (none at Fresno); signed with Temple out of Phoenix, Ariz.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Micah Alejado, Hawaii
first-time starter as a redshirt freshman; signed with Hawaii out of Las Vegas, Nev.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2024
Chubba Purdy, Nevada
sixth-year senior with seven starts (one at Nevada); signed with Florida State out of Queen Creek, Ariz.; 4-star recruit in the class of 2020
Jack Layne, New Mexico
redshirt junior with eight starts (none at UNM); signed with Idaho out of Lake Oswego, Ore.; unrated recruit in the class of 2022
Jayden Denegal, San Diego State
first-time starter as a redshirt junior; signed with Michigan out of Apple Valley, Calif.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Walker Eget, San Jose State
fifth-year senior with seven starts; signed with SJSU out of Santa Clarita, Calif.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2021
Anthony Colandrea, UNLV
true junior with 17 starts (none at UNLV); signed with Virginia out of St. Petersburg, Fla.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2023
Bryson Barnes, Utah State
sixth-year senior with 14 starts (three at USU); signed with Utah out of Milford, Utah; unrated recruit in the class of 2020
Kaden Anderson, Wyoming
redshirt sophomore with three starts; signed with Wyoming out of Southlake, Texas; 3-star recruit in the class of 2023
PAC-12
Maalik Murphy, Oregon State
redshirt junior with 14 starts (none at OSU); signed with Texas out of Inglewood, Calif.; 4-star recruit in the class of 2022
Zevi Eckhaus, Washington State
fifth-year senior with 34 starts (one at Wazzu); signed with Bryant out of Culver City, Calif.; unrated recruit in the class of 2021
SUN BELT
AJ Swann, App State
redshirt junior with 12 starts (none at App State); signed with Vanderbilt out of White, Ga.; 4-star recruit in the class of 2022
Jaylen Raynor, Arkansas State
true junior with 23 starts; signed with A-State out of Winston-Salem, N.C.; 2-star recruit in the class of 2023
MJ Morris, Coastal Carolina
redshirt junior with eight starts (one at Coastal); signed with NC State out of Carrollton, Ga.; 4-star recruit in the class of 2022
JC French IV, Georgia Southern
redshirt junior with 13 starts (all at GSU); signed with Memphis out of Roswell, Ga.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Christian Veilleux, Georgia State
fifth-year senior with five starts (none at GSU); signed with Penn State out of Potomac, Md.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2021
Alonza Barnett III, James Madison
redshirt junior with 13 starts; signed with JMU out of Whitsett, N.C.; unrated recruit in the class of 2022
Walker Howard, Louisiana
first-time starter as a redshirt junior; signed with LSU out of Lafayette, La.; 4-star, Top 100 recruit in the class of 2022
Aidan Armenta, ULM
first-time starter as a redshirt sophomore; signed with New Mexico out of Albuquerque, N.M.; unrated recruit in the class of 2023
JacQai Long, Marshall
first-time starter as a redshirt freshman; signed with Marshall out of Hurricane, W. Va.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2024
Colton Joseph, Old Dominion
redshirt sophomore with eight starts; signed with ODU out of Newport Beach, Calif.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2023
Bishop Davenport, South Alabama
redshirt sophomore with two starts (both at USA); signed with Utah State out of Spring, Texas; 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Braylon Braxton, Southern Miss
fifth-year senior with 16 starts (none at USM); signed with Tulsa out of Frisco, Texas; 3-star recruit in the class of 2021
Brad Jackson, Texas State
redshirt freshman; signed with Texas State out of San Antonio, Texas; 3-star recruit in the class of 2024
Goose Crowder, Troy
fifth-year senior with four starts; signed with West Virginia out of Gardendale, Ala.; 3-star recruit in the class of 2021