Big Ten QB Power Rankings: Post-spring tiers for every B1G QB room

The calendar still says “May,” but before we know it, leaves will begin turning, summer will be fading, and the fervor around college football will be ramping up.

There’s a lot that goes into each and every college football season. However, the quarterback position is consistently intriguing, and even more so in the era of NIL payments and transfer portal movement.

In fact, Drew Allar, Dylan Raiola and Demond Williams Jr. are among a rare group of quarterbacks who are projected to start for the programs that initially recruited them. It makes it tougher to project QB rankings where movement is at an all-time high, but with continuity still a key factor in traditional success for the position.

It will be easy for some fans to zero in on Will Howard winning the national title in his one and only season at Ohio State. However, it’s safe to call that a rarity and not the normal status quo, even in the modern era of college football.

With that in mind, let’s dive into some Big Ten QB rankings for the 2025 season now that we’re safely through the spring. (The QBs listed in italics are the likely/currently projected starters. Of course, that could certainly change at many programs throughout the summer and fall camp.)

One note on the rankings system: I have opted for a tier-based system on QB rooms as a whole instead of trying to rank every projected starter 1 through 18. Some of that has to do with QB battles still ongoing and the fact that a key chunk of the projected starters have not taken many meaningful snaps inside the Big Ten.

Big Ten QB Rankings

Here are the complete tiers of B1G QBs as we enter the summer:

Elite status

Penn State (Drew Allar)

Allar certainly has his detractors, and for good reason. You don’t get to end your season with the kind of interception that was thrown in the Orange Bowl (while completing less than 60% of your passes in the final 4 games of the season) and have everyone on board with what you can do.

However, for whatever bad Allar brings to the table, he was 4th in the Big Ten last season at 8.4 yards per attempt, and that is with a streaky wide receiver room, to put it lightly. That mark leads all returning QBs in the conference, as does his 24 passing touchdowns.

It feels fair to expect improvements from Allar in his 3rd season as a starter, as he has gotten better on an annual basis. If he does take another leap, it will be a scary offense for the Nittany Lions.

Illinois (Luke Altmyer)

Altmyer took a major leap from his 2023 performance into the 2024 season, and he is among the top returners in the B1G as a result. It’s fair to wonder if he can duplicate last season’s numbers, but I tend to lean towards the positive after how he grew last year.

During his first season in Champaign, Altmyer was limited to 9 games and threw just 13 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. Last season, he started all 13 games and bumped his touchdowns to 22 while cutting down his interceptions to 6.

To little surprise, the Illini took a jump, and retaining Altmyer in this era of money chasing and portal jumping stands out as a major win for Bret Bielema in the offseason.

Really good

Nebraska (Dylan Raiola)

On paper, Nebraska has the makings of a team prepared to make a significant jump, particularly at the quarterback position. The Huskers have the continuity of the starter returning in Raiola, and he gets an added boost from getting his feet wet with Dana Holgorsen to end last season ahead of a full season with the coaching veteran at OC.

Oregon (Dante Moore)

We still don’t know a lot about Moore, the No. 4 overall prospect from the 2023 recruiting class. However, it speaks volumes that Dan Lanning and his staff had zero interest in the Nico Iamaleava saga. Moore has the experience of throwing for over 1,600 yards with 11 touchdowns as a true freshman at UCLA before backing up Dillon Gabriel in 2024. He should prove to be just fine for the Ducks.

Ohio State (Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz)

It’s hard to tell who the true leader is in Ohio State’s battle, and whoever wins the battle will also have a new OC in Brian Hartline at the controls. The Buckeyes have not had that much uncertainty offensively in a while, but there is plenty of talent on the roster to ease concerns.

RELATED: Ohio State enters the 2025 season among the favorites to win the national title. Be sure to use the Ohio betting apps to get into the best odds and action as the Buckeyes search for their repeat.

Washington (Demond Williams Jr.)

Williams enters his first season as the starter at Washington, but Jedd Fisch was able to get the rising sophomore action in all 13 games as a true freshman. He was more than just a mobile option, too, with Williams attempting 5+ passes in 5 regular-season games.

During the bowl game, all eyes were on Williams, and he responded with an electric 374 yards and 5 total touchdowns while completing 81% of his passes. That’s unlikely to be a regular occurrence, but it shows the moment wasn’t too big, and his early experience as a freshman should serve the Huskies well.

Indiana (Fernando Mendoza)

Mendoza was one of the top overall players available in the transfer portal after throwing for more than 3,000 yards with 16 touchdowns. On paper, it should be a perfect match for Curt Cignetti’s system.

Wisconsin (Billy Edwards Jr.)

A dual-threat performer, Edwards showed some impressive flashes in his first season as a starter for Maryland with 20 total touchdowns and over 2,800 passing yards. Granted, it’s another year with a fresh transfer QB (and Danny O’Neil providing depth from San Diego State), but I think Edwards will show a lot of growth with the Badgers.

UCLA (Nico Iamaleava)

For better or worse, UCLA’s offense is going to be the Nico Iamaleava show this fall. He’s likely an upgrade over Ethan Garbers, and the program views him as an upgrade over Joey Aguilar (who I was fairly high on already), or the deal would not have been made to bring Iamleava in. How that translates to team success remains to be seen, but the QB position (if Iamaleava is healthy), should be just fine.

Should be solid

Rutgers (Athan Kaliakmanis)

The Scarlet Knights are not going to suddenly begin throwing the ball around the yard with Kaliakmanis, but he was not the reason Rutgers regressed last fall. The defense bears that responsibility, and Kaliakmanis is coming off a rather productive season with 18 touchdowns and over 2,600 yards.

USC (Jayden Maiava)

USC didn’t flinch when Nico Iamaleava entered the transfer portal. That likely means Lincoln Riley is confident with what he has in Maiava and 5-star freshman Husan Longstreet. If Riley is confident, there is some reason for fans to feel confident as well, though Maiava needs to cut down on his interceptions after 6 in just 7 appearances for the Trojans in 2024.

Some concerns

Iowa (Mark Gronowski)

I like what Gronowski brings to the table after a prolific FCS career, but the fact that he was unable to go through spring practices is worrisome. All expectations are that he will be ready for training camp and beyond, but it’s enough to at least be concerned about it at this juncture.

Michigan (Bryce Underwood)

Even the best true freshmen seem destined for some struggles at some point. Arch Manning waited his time for 2 seasons before his time to start at Texas, and Dylan Raiola was effective but had 11 interceptions for Nebraska last season. Underwood might be dynamite out of the gate, but he’s just as likely to cost Michigan a game or two as he is to win them a couple.

Michigan State (Aidan Chiles)

Chiles showed some big-time flashes in his first season with the Spartans, but he also threw 11 interceptions, tied for the B1G lead. He’s still the leader in MSU’s QB room, but he’ll have to improve that efficiency and limit mistakes if he wants to be a difference-maker at this level.

Very worrisome 

Maryland (Justyn Martin, Malik Washington)

No matter which route Maryland goes, the Terps will start an inexperienced option under center. Most of Martin’s experience comes from last year’s UCLA game vs. Penn State, where he played well but does not have much other time on the field in his 3-year career. Meanwhile, Washington might have the highest ceiling, but starting a true freshman with the other concerns for the Terps does not seem wise.

RELATED: Can Maryland bounce back from a disastrous 2024 season and get to a bowl game in 2025? Use the top Maryland sports betting apps to track all the odds and action for the Terps!

Minnesota (Drake Lindsey)

By most accounts, Lindsey is the guy to take over for one-and-done QB Max Brosmer with the Gophers. Unfortunately, Brosmer still saw the majority of snaps in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl win, so Lindsey ended his redshirt season with 5 attempted passes and 1 carry. He might be the perfect fit for PJ Fleck. But that kind of inexperience in the Big Ten is sometimes a major issue for programs.

Northwestern (Preston Stone)

After a breakout season for SMU in 2023, Stone was bypassed by dual-threat Kevin Jennings in 2024. At the very least, Stone has the most experience of any of the QBs in this tier, but it feels disingenuous to call him anything other than a big unknown at this juncture.

Purdue (Malachi Singleton)

By most accounts, Singleton is in line to get the starting job with the Boilermakers. The former 4-star recruit from the 2023 recruiting class appeared in 5 games for Arkansas last season, though none of his action was particularly extensive. It’s hard to slot Singleton or Purdue’s situation anywhere else at this juncture with a massive overhaul for Barry Odom.