The quarterback has always been the hottest commodity in football. At the college level, the position is arguably more important than ever. With the transfer portal being a dating app for single gunslingers, performance and poise are at the forefront of each program’s checklist. A lot of teams feel that with the right fit at QB, they are real contenders for a title or at least a playoff berth. Teams have been doling out large sums of money to dual threats and pocket passers alike, trying to find that perfect week one starter. This article is part one of our series on projected week one starting quarterbacks. We will speculate and predict the starter for each FBS program, several teams at a time. Today, we will explore some of the Big Ten’s potential starting quarterbacks.
USC TROJANS: Jayden Maiava (RS Junior #14)
Lincoln Riley enters his 4th season as the head coach of the Trojans after leaving Oklahoma in 2021 for greener pastures and a 10-year $110 million contract. Riley’s career trajectory is so intertwined with his track record of successful starting quarterbacks that he is just as relevant a talking point as the QB themself. Having been at the helm for three Heisman Trophy winners (Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Caleb Williams) and a now Super Bowl MVP in Jalen Hurts, Riley was deemed a “QB whisperer”. This past season however, the whisper turned into an inaudible mumble.
Miller moss was the starter at the beginning of the season, leading the Trojans to a week one upset victory over LSU. That week one win was the highlight of his season. He regressed to the point of being benched after a 3 interception outing on the road against the Washington Huskies. Moss’ poor game and the Trojans’ 4-5 record ultimately led to Riley’s decision to give Jayden Maiava a shot as the starter.
Maiava was in his first season as the Trojans’ starter after being the Mountain West Conference freshman of the year at UNLV in 2023. His first start came in a home game against Nebraska and after a punt on the first drive, Maiava threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown to open the scoring for either team. The doubt was put to rest by the end of the game as Maiava put up 259 yards and 3 passing touchdowns on 25/35 passing and added a two yard touchdown run. The Trojans beat the skidding Cornhuskers 28-20, needing one more win to become bowl eligible. They got that win the following week against cross town LA rivals UCLA. After losing a shootout in the final week of the season against national runner up Notre Dame, Maiava led the Trojans to a thrilling win over Texas A&M, back in the same place the season started; a game over .500 in Las Vegas. The Trojans finished the season 7-6, an extremely underwhelming mark for a program that holds itself to a much higher standard and had lofty expectations entering the campaign. Maiava finished the season 3-1 as the starter, completing around 60% of his passes for 1,201 yards and 11 passing touchdowns, adding 4 on the ground. He also threw 6 interceptions in that span.
The cyclical nature of USC’s season was reflected in the portal. Miller Moss’ transfer was inevitable after his benching, and he settled at Louisville to replace New Orleans Saints second round pick Tyler Shough. They added transfer Sam Huard, a former five-star recruit who is now at his 4th school and has one start at the FBS level which was in 2021 at the University of Washington. The only other QB on the roster is five-star true freshman Husan Longstreet who missed time as a senior due to injury.
This leaves the QB whisperer, Riley with really one option. Maiava is our prediction by default as the starter for the Trojans. It would not be far-fetched to think the highly touted Longstreet could see some meaningful time if the season doesn’t go according to plan, much like last year. The schedule in 2025 becomes much more rigorous in their fifth game when they visit Illinois, a team with big expectations. After Illinois and a bye week they play Michigan, then visit Notre Dame and Nebraska. Any slip ups by Maiava or injuries could lead to the true freshman thrusted into action. All eyes will be on Maiava at the start of the season in LA, and we’ll see what new ideas the QB whisperer has concocted this off-season.
UCLA BRUINS: Nico Iamaleava (RS Sophomore)
In one of the more shocking off-season moves in recent memory, Tennessee starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava entered the transfer portal seeking more financial compensation. This was just three months after the number one overall recruit in the 2023 class according to On3 led the Volunteers to their first ever college football playoff appearance. A decision met with all sorts of criticism ultimately tainted the QB’s image and led to his decision to commit to UCLA making significantly less money than he did at Tennessee. A dramatic saga that highlights the impact of NIL deals that will surely get more complicated as a federal judge in California approved a settlement on June 6th between the NCAA and athlete plaintiffs that will allow schools to pay players directly. It mseems most likely that Iamaleava may have not even wanted to settle at UCLA, but had poor guidance and little leverage that resulted in a pay cut and a position at a program in the midst of a messy rebuild.
Iamaleava missed UCLA’s spring practice window as he didn’t commit until April 20th and will already be behind when fall camp comes around. Luckily for Iamaleava, the whole offense will be overhauled and all offensive players will experience a learning curve as Tino Sunseri was hired on December 12th of 2024 as the Bruin’s new offensive coordinator. Sunseri comes from Indiana where he was co offensive coordinator in 2024 for the Hoosiers who touted the #2 scoring offense in the nation. Nico’s brother Madden, a QB in the 2025 class also committed to UCLA and will be a true freshman this season. The only other quarterback on the roster is Luke Duncan, a former three-star in 2023 who has seen zero snaps in his two seasons in LA.
Much like cross-town rival USC, UCLA ultimately has one legitimate option at quarterback. On top of Nico being the most talented QB for the Bruins and the only one with any experience, he came with an estimated $1.5 million price tag. He’ll be the starter for the Bruins this season, and is looking to reconcile his transfer portal debacle by becoming the star quarterback everyone has expected him to be since his freshman year in high school.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS: Drew Allar (Senior #15)
There is no question that Drew Allar will be the starter at Penn State in 2025, a season with higher expectations than ever. The Nittany Lions lost in the national semifinals last season to Notre Dame, after Allar threw a disastrous and costly interception with 33 seconds left in a tie game on first down. Notre Dame started the drive in fringe field goal range, and kicked the game winning field goal with 7 seconds remaining. Before the playoff even started, Allar announced he will return to Penn State for his senior season. His return as well as the team’s soul-crushing loss in the playoffs may have compelled some teammates to return as well. Both running backs are returning in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, defensive lineman Dani Dennis-Sutton will return as well as linebacker Dominic DeLuca and offensive lineman Nick Dawkins. This is just a smattering of the significant starters that will return to Happy Valley this fall. They also hit the portal for three new receivers as well as some other notable contributors. To say expectations are high is short selling the feeling in state college. For some it is national title or bust.
Penn State has developed a reputation under head coach James Franklin as a team that cannot beat any notable opponents. They have not beaten conference rival Ohio State since 2016. Franklin is 1-10 all time against the Buckeyes. Entering the playoffs this season he was 3-19 against top ten teams. Surely some of the blame can fall on Franklin, but at some point Penn State will need a truly elite quarterback to step up and be the difference against elite opponents. This season Drew Allar has the perfect opportunity to do exactly that. He started every game the last two seasons and has amassed 6,302 yards, 53 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions while adding 560 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.
This could also be the perfect storm for the Nittany lions in terms of scheduling. They will almost certainly start the season 3-0, playing 3 straight home games against Nevada, Florida International, and Villanova. After their 3-0 start they will have a bye week before hosting defending Big Ten Champion Oregon Ducks on September 27th at 7:30pm in their famous whiteout game. A win over Oregon who has a first time starter at QB could set them up to coast into the newly expanded playoffs. They travel to Ohio State on November 1st who lost a majority of their roster to the NFL Draft after winning last year’s national championship. There will be a lot of fresh faces in Columbus including a new starting quarterback and offensive coordinator. Even a two-loss Ohio State team who did not make the Big Ten Championship last season still made the playoffs as an 8 seed. It’s hard to even find two games on Penn State’s schedule that they could lose.
Despite Allar’s statistical success in his career, he still has everything to prove. There are no more excuses for the State College signal caller. He and the Nittany Lions will be must see television this year. He will still have to improve, as his 8 interceptions last year were 4 times his total from his sophomore year. There is no doubt Allar will be the starter for Penn state, the biggest question is how many games will the Nittany Lions get to play?
ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI: Luke Altmyer (RS SENIOR #9)
Illinois is another Big Ten team returning an accomplished starter from the previous season. Altmyer had a breakout year passing for 2,717 yards, 22 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions. He also led the Illini to their first 10 win season since 2001 after defeating the South Carolina Gamecocks in the 2024 Citrus bowl. Altmyer had not started every game in a season until 2024 due to a multitude of injuries. He spent his first two seasons at Ole Miss and was eventually replaced by Jaxson Dart after he was injured for the season. He transferred to Illinois for the 2023 season where he started 9 games and experienced some growing pains along the way, throwing 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and going 4-5 in his 9 starts. This past season marked a breakout year for Altmyer and Illinois. The Illini are poised to build on that momentum this season as a good chunk of the experienced roster returns. They also drew a favorable schedule in 2025, avoiding having to play Oregon, Penn State, and Michigan, as well as getting to play Ohio State in their home stadium.
Though not necessarily competing for a starting job, the Illinois QB room is busy. They added Ethan Hampton, who has 21 career touchdown passes in 10 career starts at Northern Illinois, through the transfer portal. Hampton will have one year of eligibility remaining after this season and will compete for the starting job next season. For now, he can be a serviceable veteran backup to Altmyer who as we said before, has only had one full season without injury.
The other 3 quarterbacks on the roster are all freshmen, two of whom are true freshman three-star recruits in Jershaun Newton and Carson Boyd. Trey Petty is a redshirt freshman who was a three-star in the 2024 class. These three will compete for the third string spot, a position that can very quickly make you the next man up if Altmyer goes down.
It’s no secret that Altmyer is an essential piece to Illinois’ success this coming season. If he goes down, you can chalk it up as a disappointment. If he stays healthy, this is a team with a real shot at the playoffs. Illinois opens their season on Friday, August 29th at 6:30pm at home against Western Illinois.
NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS: Preston Stone (Grad #8)
David Braun took over as head coach for the Wildcats in 2023 and was the Big Ten coach of the year that season after defeating Utah in their bowl game and going 8-5. Though expectations aren’t usually high for Northwestern, they managed to grossly underachieve the following season and went 4-8. Their offense at times was very hard to watch, mostly because of their quarterback play. Jack Lausch started most of the season, and was the only player on the roster to throw a touchdown pass, throwing only 7 TDs the entire 12 game season. You don’t have to be a football fan to know that number is embarrassing.
Like any program in the modern era would do to fix their QB woes, they hit the portal. They acquired Preston Stone, who left SMU after he lost the starting job to Kevin Jennings in 2024. Stone started every regular season game for SMU in 2023 and had a breakout year. He threw for 3,197 yards, 28 Touchdowns and 6 interceptions in 12 games. A former 4-star recruit, Stone still has lots to offer and will almost certainly elevate Northwestern’s passing game. They’ll certainly need it, as they play at Penn State, at Tulane, at USC, at Illinois, Michigan at Wrigley Field, Oregon, and at Nebraska. To achieve bowl eligibility this season would be an enormous success.
Besides Jack Lausch, who should be a desperation option at this point for the Wildcats, the only other QB currently on the roster is redshirt freshman Ryan Boe. If Stone goes down, the season is over. Look for Northwestern to air it out early and often this season, as they open against Tulane in New Orleans on August 30th.
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