Trying to rank the top 25 or so Quarterbacks in college football is fools play. I mean, what are the guidelines? All arbitrary, right? Stats can be fun but they don’t tell the whole story. The real interesting analysis is found within the context of a Quarterback’s journey; his roots, unique skill sets and the challenges faced along the way to his 2024 season. So The Quarterback Connection is going to provide you with a profile of some of college football’s most interesting QB stories for 2024, but we’re going to approach it from a little bit different perspective. Sure, we’ll talk about the top tier guys, but we’re also going to introduce you to some veteran QBs that have been flying below your radar. We’re also going to introduce you to the brand New Kids on the Block with staggering potential.
In the spirit of brevity we’re going to present our profiles in a two-part series. This week we are introducing you to two distinct groups. First is The 5 Best FBS Quarterbacks Under the Radar. These are QBs who have been a starter for at least one season or more, but are not necessarily household names. There is a good chance you have never heard of these guys. But, you should know them because they are all positioned for break-out seasons. In most cases they have a chance to lead their teams to one of the 12 CFP slots.
The other group we’re introducing today is The 5 Best QB Newcomers. “Newcomers” are defined by having started no more than two FBS games. In most of the cases their first start was in a 2023 post-season Bowl game which opened up for them when the incumbent QB1 opted out in preparation for the NFL draft.
Next week we will feature The Top 10 NFL Draft Prospects.
So lets get started!
5 Best NCAA Returning QB Starters Under the Radar
5. Garrett Greene, West Virginia Mountaineers, 5’11” 200 lbs, Redshirt Senior
In his first season as a starter, Garrett Greene proved to be the perfect leader of a West Virginia offense built around pounding the ball on the ground. The Mountaineers led the Big 12 in rushing and finished fourth in the category nationally. Not surprising that Garrett would find a home in Neal Brown’s rushing offense at WV as he rushed for 2,660 yards at Chiles HS in Tallahassee to go along with an additional 2,917 yards through the air. The quintessential dual threat!
But it would take Garrett until the 12th week of his red-shirt sophomore season (3rd year) to break into the starting lineup. He would finish spot play in 2022 with stats of 43 of 78 for 493 yards and five TD passes. In a preview of days to come he would also add 276 yards on the ground and another 5 TDs rushing.
Entrenched as the full-time starter in 2023 Garrett delivered those dual threat skills he show-cased at Chiles while leading West Virgina to a breakout 9-4 season. The Mountaineers led the Big 12 in rushing and ranked fourth nationally. Pressuring defenses on the ground and in the air Greene passed for 2,406 yards with 16 TDs and only 4 interceptions. He added another 772 yards rushing and a whomping 13 rushing TDs. His QBR rating of 75.8 was ranked 20th in the country in 2023.
But that’s not all. Greene was also named to the Academic All-Big 12 Conference First Team. This guy actually goes to class! Keep an eye on West Virginia in the Big 12. Not only does Garrett Greene return but so does a talented backfield of Jaheim White (842 yards rushing) and CJ Donaldson (798 yards rushing). If Greene can elevate his game, he could have West Virginia in the Big 12 championship mix as well as draw some Heisman chatter his way. A key test comes early as the Mountaineers open on August 31 with Penn State at home.
4. Kaidon Salter, Liberty Flames, 6”1” 200 lbs, Redshirt Junior
Another Texas HS product, Kaiden Salter initially enrolled at Tennessee but transferred after being dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons. He would find a new home at Liberty in Conference USA. After mostly sitting in 2021, Kaiden would log four starts in 2022 when Liberty went 8-4 under Hugh Freeze. Freeze left after the season to take the head job at Auburn.
Enter coach Jamey Chadwell whose biggest recruiting job was convincing Kaiden Salter to stay put in the Shenandoah Valley with Liberty. And stay he did, with a huge breakthrough season in 2023. Salter led the Flames to a pristine 13-0 record including an exciting 49-35 win over New Mexico State in the Conference USA title game.
Salter finished the season with 32 TD passes (vs only 6 pics) and 2,750 yards. All of this with an offense that led the country in rushing ((293.3 yds per). Salter also contributed to the ground attack with 1,064 rushing yards of his own, good for another 12 TDs. Yikes! His total TD responsibility of 44 ranked third in the country behind only Bo Nix (51) and Heisman winner Jayden Daniels (50).
The Flames, with Salter at the controls, should once again plow through their C USA schedule. In fact the light schedule may hurt their chances to repeat as the top-rated G5 program. After going 13-0 their 45-6 thumping against Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl revealed they still may not be ready for a primetime spot on the national stage. But, with 12 slots now up for grabs in the CFP, Liberty and Kaiden Salter should be in the conversation.
3. Preston Stone, SMU Mustangs, 6”1” 219 lbs, Redshirt Junior
Highly recruited out of Dallas, Texas, Preston had a monster career at Parish Episcopal HS. We’re talking 13,178 yards, 148 passing TDs along with 34 rushing TDs. No wonder the kid carried a four-star rating! Preston passed on a slew of offers to stay home in Dallas to play for the Mustangs.
But it would take Stone three years before winning the QB1 role in 2023. And what a year, as Preston finished the season with a passing rating of 161.3 (good for #13 in the country) leading SMU to a record of 10-2. He demonstrated his long-ball skills by averaging a whopping 9.3 yards per attempt. Preston can go vertical!
Alas, Preston’s season ended with an ankle injury vs Navy which knocked him out of the AAC Championship game vs Tulane. But with 28 TD passes last year (vs only 6 pics) he will be a key reason why SMU should be competitive in their first season joining the ACC. SMU seems ready for the move from a Group 5 conference to one of the Power 4 leagues. The schedule looks favorable as SMU has a real chance to be 4-0 going into its ACC opener vs Florida State on Sept 28.
2. Noah Fifita, Arizona Wildcats, 5’11” 194 lbs, Redshirt Sophomore
Noah began the 2023 season as a redshirt freshman backup to Jayden de Laura, but was called to action in week four when the starter went down with an injury vs Stanford. Fifita led a 67 yard drive in the fourth quarter to score the go-ahead TD and beat Stanford 21-20. In his first start the next week vs #7 Washington, he tossed for 3 TDs and 232 yards in a tough 31-24 loss. His real breakthrough came the following week against #9 USC when Noah passed for over 300 yards and 5 TDs in a gut-wrenching triple-overtime 43-41 loss to the Trojans.
However, following the USC loss the Wildcats would go on a tear, winning their final seven games including the huge win over Oklahoma 38-24 in the Alamo Bowl. The seven wins included five over top 25 ranked teams, and against rival Arizona State Noah passed for 527 yards (school record) and 5 TDs! Fifita finished the season with a completion percentage of 72.4% which ranked fourth in the country. All of this as a redshirt freshman!
When head coach Jed Fisch left to take the Washington job Fifita decided to stay in Tucson with new coach Brent Brennan (San Jose State) and OC Dino Babers (Syracuse). Babers will run a spread scheme that should highlight Noah’s formidable skill sets. Fisch left a loaded offense and a strong defense that should hold up well versus a tough Big 12 schedule. The first real test will be Sept 13 at Kansas State.
1. Seth Henigan, Memphis Tigers, 6”3” 210 lbs, Senior
Entering his fourth year as the starting QB, Seth is one of the most experienced Quarterbacks in the country that you’ve never heard of !
Yet another Texas HS star from Billy Ryan HS in Denton, Texas, Seth led Billy Ryan to a 39-2 record over his three seasons as starter. He passed for an eye-popping 79 touchdowns against only 14 pics over those three years. You can’t make this shit up!
Moving on to Memphis in 2021, Seth became the first true freshman to ever start the season opener for the Tigers. And he didn’t waste much time getting acclimated as he threw for 417 yards and 5 TDs in only his 2nd start vs Arkansas State. In his career, Henigan has started 37 games going 23-14, including 10-3 in 2023. The wins pile up over a career when you’re throwing for 79 TDs vs only 25 pics. In 2023 Seth tossed 32 of those TD passes against only 9 pics and a career high 3,883 yards (4th in the nation). The Tiger offense led the AAC with 39.4 points per game and scored on 55 of 63 trips inside the red zone. Now that’s great Quarterbacking!
Head coach Ryan Silverfield and Seth Henigan have Memphis positioned as the favorite to win the AAC as they return seven starters on offense. If Memphis stays healthy they could be the G5 challenger for one of the twelve spots in the CFP. The Sept 14 clash at Florida State looms large in the Memphis playoff prospects.
5 Best Newcomers (No More than Two Starts)
5. Jackson Arnold, 6’ 1” 214 lbs, Oklahoma Sooners, Sophomore
Jackson was born in Atlanta but grew up in Denton, Texas (are all these QBs from Texas?). The pedigree is amazing. As a junior at John H Guyer HS he accounted for 46 TDs passing and rushing. He was immediately rated to four stars. In 2022, his senior year, he was named MVP of the Eilte 11 summer camp and also recognized as the Gatorade National Player of the Year. Recruited by almost everyone, Jackson early enrolled at Oklahoma in January 2023.
He would backup All-American QB Dillon Gabriel in 2023 and is now the heir apparent as Gabriel has transferred (yet again) to Oregon. More on Gabriel next week, but he opted out of the Valero Alamo Bowl thus opening the door for Jackson Arnold to take 10-3 Oklahoma into the Bowl vs 10-3 Arizona and Noah Fifita (there’s that guy again!). In his first collegiate start Arnold was part spectacular (363 yards, 2 TDs) and part ugly (committing four turnovers). The Sooners went down 38-24 to Noah and the Wildcats.
Jackson has all the tools, but this is not going to be easy. Oklahoma leaves the Big 12 for the SEC and a meat-grinder schedule. Jackson has only four players on offense who started more than 6 games, plus he’s working with a new offensive coordinator, Seth Littrell. Jackson’s advantages? He had the opportunity to sit behind an All-America QB for 12 games plus head coach Brent Venables returns 11 of the top 13 tacklers on defense. I was once told that the offense’s job is to leave the defense in good field position. Jackson Arnold might keep that in mind as he grows into the QB1 job.
4. Miller Moss, 6’2” 200 lbs, USC Trojans, Redshirt Junior
Miller Moss is the son of two architects, father Eric Owen Moss (he wins awards) and mother Emily Kovner (she taught Architecture at USC). Fittingly, he hopes to be the architect of Southern Cal’s football renaissance. After a brilliant career at Bishop Alemany High in Mission Hills, California, Miller was labeled a 4-star recruit. After entertaining dozens of offers, he committed to Southern Cal.
Miller’s story is yet again, one of a Quarterback biding his time, being loyal to his school, and waiting for his turn. Digest this: Moss was ranked the #12 QB in the nation coming out of Mission Hills. Of the 11 QBs ranked ahead of him in his recruiting class, 9 eventually transferred from their original school. The two who didn’t? Michigan’s JJ McCarthy and North Carolina’s Drake Maye. Both now first round rookies in the NFL.
So Miller stayed through a 4-8 season and watched his coach, Clay Helton, go down with the ship. He stayed when new coach Lincoln Riley brought his All-American QB Caleb Williams with him from Oklahoma. And he stayed for two more years backing up the Heisman winner and first player selected in the 2024 NFL draft. In fact, Williams’ draft status was how Miller Moss was awarded his first career college start. Williams opted out of the Holiday Bowl and handed the keys to the offense over to Moss.
Miller Moss did not disappoint as he led the Trojans to a 42-28 win over Louisville and was named MVP after throwing for a Holiday Bowl record 6 TDs. With the Bowl performance, head coach Lincoln Riley commented, “He might’ve scared off anybody that wanted to come here.” As a result Riley brought in only one QB: Jayden Maiava from UNLV.
Following a “lights out” Spring game in April, Riley was still noncommittal. “He’s certainly ahead right now, there’s no question about that.” But Riley and his staff held back from naming Miller QB1 despite heaping praise on him. Said QB coach Luke Huard, “Miller has done a great job of developing himself, he can make all the throws.” Finally, on August 19 Riley made it official: Miller Moss would be QB1 for the opening game. But it won’t be an opening season cake-walk for Miller Moss and USC. On Sept 1 they will meet LSU and their new QB Garrett Nussmeier in Las Vegas, Nevada. So we have a battle of two QBs in first-time starting roles, both of whom backed up Heisman Trophy winners while waiting for this day to come. Both these teams have the potential to make the College Football Playoffs, so this game will go a long way in defining their playoff chances.
3. Nico Iamaleava, 6′ 6″ 200 lbs, Tennessee Volunteers, Redshirt Freshman
OK, Josh Heupel had to go with Joe Milton last year but it was painful. The Vols record setting offense of 2022 fell woefully short in 2023 with Milton at the helm. But 2024 has high promise with the 6’6” 200 lb redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava taking over. From California and of Samoan descent, Nico was named the Polynesian Football Player of the Year in 2022. No joke. Past winners include Tua Tagovailoa (QB Dophins), Luka Nacua (WR Rams), Laiatu Latu (first Edge taken in the 2024 draft by the Colts) and Dylan Raiola (5 star QB and former Georgia commit who switched to Nebraska and was just named the 2024 starter).
Nico is a former 5-star recruit who was also offered volleyball scholarships! He has an older brother playing volleyball at Long Beach State. But make no mistake, 5-star Quarterbacks are in high demand and with high NIL appetites. It’s rumored Iamaleava signed a deal with Spyre Sports, the collective that represents UT athletes, for $8 million! Gulp.
Like Garrett Nussmeier, Miller Moss and Jackson Arnold, Nico’s first collegiate start was in the 2024 post season in the Citrus Bowl vs 10-3 Iowa and their Top 10 defense. Tennessee came in at 7-4 and pounded the Hawkeyes’ pride 35-0 with Nico hitting 12-19 for 151 yards and a TD. He also rushed for three TDs and took home the MVP award.
The future looks bright for Nico Iamaleava, but the outlook for Tennessee is sketchy. No question the talent level has been significantly elevated by Heupel but there are some holes. Iamaleava needs some more star power around him and the defense has yet to perform at an Elite SEC level. Tennessee should be fun to watch but I’m not picking them for one of the 12 top CFP spots.
2. Garrett Nussmeier, 6′ 2″ 200 lbs, LSU Tigers
My inside track on Nussmeier is that I was the TV color commentator when Garrett’s dad, QB Doug Nussmmeier, waxed my Lehigh Engineers 77-14 in 1993 with about a foot of snow falling outside the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. Doug played about 2.5 quarters that night for the Idaho Vandals and managed to hit for 5 scores. He would be drafted in the 4th round by the Saints and play 5 years before transitioning to the coaching side. Doug is currently the QB coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. So his kid gets it honestly!
When tracking Garrett’s college career think about the patience of Carson Beck of Georgia, who waited three years for his chance. He’s been patiently waiting his turn at LSU. Out of Flower Mound, Texas he was recruited by Texas, Miami, Georgia, Baylor, et al. He committed to LSU and played in four games before redshirting in 2021. In 2022 as a redshirt freshman he competed for the QB1 job with Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels. We all know how that worked out as Daniels would start the next two years and take the Heisman with him to the Washington Commanders as the #2 selection in the 2024 NFL draft.
So like Carson Beck did at Georgia, Garrett Nussmeier has been sitting and watching and learning on the LSU bench for the past three seasons. Like Beck he could have easily entered the portal for a starting nod at any number of Power 5 (Now 4!) programs. So why is Garrett so interesting? Well, when Jayden Daniels opted out of the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl in January, Garrett stepped in for his first collegiate start. All he did was lead the Tigers to an exciting 35-31 victory while passing for 395 yards, three TDs and taking LSU on a 98 yard game-winning drive to end the game. Naturally, he took home the game MVP award. At 6’ 2” and 200 lbs Garrett’s got game and boy is he hungry! In year three of the Brian Kelly tenure at LSU I see the Tigers as a Top 12 team with Garrett Nussmeier leading them into the CFP.
1. Avery Johnson, 6’2” 195 lbs, Kansas State Wildcats, Sophomore
Avery Johnson grew up in Wichita, Kansas and was a three sport athlete at Maize HS. He excelled at football and put up staggering numbers both passing and rushing. As a senior he was named Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year and ranked as a four-star recruit. He turned down offers from Oregon and Washington and committed to K-State. And BTW the kid has a great head of hair!!
Will Howard had been the incumbent QB at K-State for three years but entered the portal and transferred to Ohio State for his senior year. Could he hear the Avery footsteps coming? Perhaps not, but Avery Johnson is arguably the highest ranked recruit to grace the Wildcats campus in many many years.
In 2023 as a true freshman, Avery Johnson played in eight games and started two. Season highlights included throwing for 479 yards with 5 TDs and ZERO pics plus rushing for 296 yards and 7 TDs. The 7 rushing TDs tied him for most rush TDs against all freshman nationally and the most among true freshman QBs.
Like several of our “Newcomers” Avery excelled in his Bowl game start. In the 28-19 victory over NC State in the Pop-Tarts Bowl he accounted for three TDs passing and rushing and was named the game’s MVP. He was one of only three true freshman Quarterbacks (Nico Iamaleava at Tennessee and Grayson Loftis at Duke) to start and win a Bowl game.
Avery will start the 2024 season entrenched at QB1 and still only 19 years old as a true Sophomore. He will be called upon to lead an offense with a new offensive coordinator, Conor Riley, the former OL coach. He has help. Star RB, DJ Giddens (1,226 yds, 10 TDs) is back. Also three top receivers return, but, the real challenge will be replacing 4 multi-year starters across the front.
Kansas State with Avery Johnson at QB could compete for the Big 12 Championship. The first real test will be Sept 13 when Arizona and Noah Fifita travel to Manhattan, Kansas. If the Wildcats can get by Arizona they should be in the CFP discussion.
Next week: The Top 10 NFL Draft Prospects all from your Quarterback Connection!