We declared the ACC the Conference of the Journeyman Quarterback, with 12 transfers among its 16 known or expected starters.
The Big 12 has a similar number, with 10 transfers among its 14 known or expected starters. But these guys aren't journeymen. No, the Big 12 is a conference of Franchise Quarterbacks. Sure, many of them were someone else's franchise quarterback for most of their respective careers, but the through-line across the conference is that the vast majority are franchise guys, in one form or another.
There's Arizona's Noah Fifita and Kansas State's Avery Johnson, who each have 2+ years for the school they signed with out of high school. There's Colorado's Julien Lewis and Texas Tech's Will Hammond, Year 1 of the same development cycle Fifita and Johnson were in a couple years ago. There's Houston's Conner Weigman and Baylor's DJ Lagway, 5-stars who found their "forever home" at a place close to home.
And then there's the fourth group: franchise guys at the Group of 6 or FCS level playing contract years in the Big 12: TCU's Jaden Craig (Harvard), Cincinnati's JC French IV (Georgia Southern, by way of Memphis), Iowa State's Jaylen Raynor (Arkansas State), Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State), Utah's Devon Dampier (New Mexico), and UCF's Alonza Barnett III (James Madison).
In fact, the Big 12 will start a First Team All-Conference quarterback from five different conferences in 2026: the American (Mestemaker), Ivy League (Craig), Sun Belt (Barnett), Mountain West (Dampier) and, last but not least, the Big 12 (Fifita). All while adding the No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2024.
Relatedly, the 14 names here have a whopping 25 median career starts, well above the ACC's 11.5, the SEC's 15.5, and the Big Ten's 17.5. Subbing in a zero for Arizona State and Kansas, Big 12 quarterbacks still enter the season with a median of 24 starts, with a whopping eight players beginning the season with two years of starting under their belts -- and that doesn't include arguably the two most talented in Lagway (19 starts) and Mestemaker (15).
Add it all up and the Big 12's quarterback crop clearly out-yields the ACC, and gives the league a strong argument with the SEC and Big Ten for the deepest group in college football.
Big 12 QBs by Signing Class
2026: 0
2025: 2
2024: 4
2023: 3
2022: 5
2021: 0
Big 12 QBs by Home State
5: Texas
2: California, Georgia, North Carolina
1: Arizona, Kansas, New Jersey
Big 12 QBs by Recruiting Ranking
5-star: 2
4-star: 4
3-star: 6
Unrated: 2
Big 12 QBs at a Glance
Noah Fifita, Arizona
fifth-year player with 34 starts in 40 games; signed with Arizona out of Huntington Beach, Calif.; a 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Arizona State -- too close to call
DJ Lagway, Baylor
third-year player with 19 starts in 24 games; signed with Florida out of Willis, Texas; a 5-star recruit in the class of 2024
Bear Bachmeier, BYU
second-year player who started all 14 games as a true freshman; signed with Stanford out of Murrieta, Calif.; a 3-star recruit in the class of 2025
JC French IV, Cincinnati
fifth-year player with 26 starts across 36 appearances; signed with Memphis out of Roswell, Ga., with a stop at Georgia Southern; a 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Julien Lewis, Colorado
second-year player with two starts in four games; signed with Colorado out of Carrollton, Ga.; a 4-star recruit in the class of 2025
Conner Weigman, Houston
fifth-year player with 26 starts in 28 games; signed with Texas A&M out of Cypress, Texas; a 5-star recruit in the class of 2022
Jaylen Raynor, Iowa State
fourth-year player with 36 starts in 37 games; signed with Arkansas State out of Winston-Salem, N.C.; a 3-star recruit in the class of 2023
Kansas -- too close to call
Avery Johnson, Kansas State
fourth-year player with 26 starts in 33 games; signed with K-State out of Wichita, Kan.; a 4-star recruit in the class of 2023
Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State
third-year player with 15 starts in 19 games; signed with North Texas out of Austin; unrated recruit in the class of 2024
Jaden Craig, TCU
fifth-year player with 24 starts in 28 games; signed with Harvard out of Montclair, N.J.; unrated recruit in the class of 2022
Will Hammond, Texas Tech
third-year player with three starts in 12 appearances; signed with Texas Tech out of Hutto, Texas; a 4-star recruit in the class of 2024
Alonza Barnett III, UCF (no relation)
fifth-year player with 27 starts across 30 appearances; signed with James Madison out of Whitsett, N.C.; a 3-star recruit in the class of 2022
Devon Dampier, Utah
fourth-year player with 25 starts in 33 games; signed with New Mexico out of Phoenix; a 3-star recruit in the class of 2023
Michael Hawkins, Jr., West Virginia
third-year player with four starts in nine appearances; signed with Oklahoma out of Frisco, Texas; a 4-star recruit in the class of 2024