It did not place a team in the top 10 of the AP preseason poll.
It doesn’t have a betting favorite for the national championship.
Its star players are not considered Heisman Trophy frontrunners or candidates for the top of the 2026 NFL Draft.
But in one category, the Big 12 can stand with any league in the land: Its lineup of quarterbacks is deep, experienced and talented. Only a handful of teams will rely on unproven starters this fall.
Of course, the backups matter, too: They are the least important players on the roster until they’re the most important.
The Hotline’s Quarterback Comfort Quotient (QBCQ) accounts for second stringers when assessing quarterback depth across the conference.
We weighed the starter’s talent and production against the second stringer’s experience (or lack thereof) to generate an admittedly subjective ranking of the QB rooms.
Let’s plunge in.
1. Arizona State
Projected starter: Sam Leavitt
Key backup(s): Jeff Sims
Comment: The Sun Devils are blessed with a first-rate starter — Leavitt is 20/1 to win the Heisman (best odds in the Big 12) — and have one of the most experienced backups in the country. Sims is a sixth-year senior with more than 600 career attempts and 31 touchdowns. He has started games for Nebraska, Georgia Tech and ASU.
2. TCU
Projected starter: Josh Hoover
Key backup(s): Ken Seals
Comment: Hoover is poised for a huge season in the Sonny Dykes system. If he’s forced to miss any snaps, possessions or games, the Horned Frogs will turn to a backup, Seals, who started 22 games for Vanderbilt over three seasons. After experiencing the mayhem of SEC road games, he shouldn’t be fazed by Big 12 defenses.
3. Kansas State
Projected starter: Avery Johnson
Key backup(s): Jacob Knuth and Blake Barnett
Comment: The Wildcats’ position is largely based on the potential for Johnson, a junior with arm talent and superb mobility, to emerge as the conference’s best quarterback. (Hence the subjective component referenced above.) Knuth has played sparingly across two seasons; Barnett has no game experience.
4. Utah
Projected starter: Devon Dampier
Key backup(s): Isaac Wilson
Comment: We expect a breakout season from Dampier, who is adjusting to a new team but, crucially, not a new system: Offensive coordinator Jason Beck joined him from New Mexico, where they produced 33.5 points per game last season. And although he struggled last season, Wilson possesses more than enough experience to qualify as a high-level backup.
5. Iowa State
Projected starter: Rocco Becht
Key backup(s): Connor Moberly
Comment: Becht does nothing at an elite level, except win. That counts for plenty in the Hotline’s QBCQ, but not for everything. Moberly’s experience level (four games and 10 pass attempts last season) doesn’t come close to matching his counterparts at Arizona State and TCU.
6. Baylor
Projected starter: Sawyer Robertson
Key backup(s): Walker White
Comment: We would not be the least bit surprised if Robertson, who threw 28 touchdowns last year, ends 2025 as the Big 12’s best quarterback. But the Hotline isn’t willing to make that leap of faith just yet. (His efficiency in big games must improve.) White was a blue-chip recruit who attempted five passes for Auburn last season.
7. Arizona
Projected starter: Noah Fifita
Key backup(s): Braedyn Locke
Comment: Locke stands as one of the best backups in the conference based on playing 16 games for Wisconsin over two years. So why not slot the Wildcats a few spots higher? Because of lingering doubts that Fifita will play at a high level on a weekly basis without Tetairoa McMillan. New offensive coordinator Seth Doege is an indisputable upgrade, which should help.
8. Texas Tech
Projected starter: Behren Morton
Key backup(s): Will Hammond and Mitch Griffis
Comment: It’s entirely possible that the surrounding talent is simply overwhelming — that the Red Raiders will roll to the conference title without elite quarterback play. But we haven’t see enough from Morton over the years to slot Texas Tech any higher, especially with inexperienced backups.
9. Houston
Projected starter: Conner Weigman
Key backup(s): Zeon Chriss
Comment: Weigman was a five-star prospect who spent three years at Texas A&M (and started the 2024 season opener). He should receive expert coaching in Houston and could be one of the Big 12’s best by November. Meanwhile, Chriss threw 11 touchdowns for Louisiana. The Cougars could do much, much worse in the backup department.
10. Cincinnati
Projected starter: Brendan Sorsby
Key backup(s): Brady Lichtenberg
Comment: We’ll start with the second stringer: Lichtenberg has just 39 career attempts but possesses a keen understanding of the playbook. The Bearcats could do much worse for a backup. Sorsby is either due for a breakout season or destined for another year of mediocrity. We can’t begin to guess how his season will unfold.
11. Kansas
Projected starter: Jalon Daniels
Key backup(s): Cole Ballard and Isaiah Marshall
Comment: Few quarterbacks generate higher highs or lower lows than Daniels, whose accuracy and health are ongoing concerns for the Jayhawks. Combine those issues with inexperienced backups, and we’re more skeptical than optimistic about KU’s quarterback play.
12. Colorado
Projected starter: Kaidon Salter
Key backup(s): Julian Lewis
Comment: Admittedly, this projection could make the Hotline look foolish three months from now. Salter was an elite quarterback at the Group of Five level (with Liberty) for the past two seasons — we view him as the frontrunner to win the competition — while Lewis earned blue-chip accolades from recruiting services.
13. West Virginia
Projected starter: Nicco Marchiol
Key backup(s): Jaylen Henderson and Max Brown
Comment: We subscribe to the adage that teams proclaiming to have two starting quarterbacks actually have none. So how do you describe a situation in which three players are competing for the job? As mayhem — pure and utter mayhem. Then again, the Hotline is convinced coach Rich Rodriguez will elicit greater efficiency from the position than is reasonable to expect.
14. Brigham Young
Projected starter: Bear Bachmeier
Key backup(s): McCae Hillstead and Treyson Bourguet
Comment: Everything changed for the Cougars (and the Big 12 race) when Jake Retzlaff departed the program in July following his off-the-field issues. Without him, BYU has a massive void. A four-star recruit, Bachmeier enrolled at Stanford last winter but later transferred to Provo. His potential is substantial, but to this point, there are far more questions than answers.
15. Oklahoma State
Projected starter: Zane Flores or Hauss Hejny
Key backup(s): Flores or Hejny
Comment: Can Mike Gundy conjure more production from the Cowboys’ inexperienced options than anyone has a right to expect? We’re skeptical. Hejny played in four games for TCU last season, while Flores spent 2023-24 in Stillwater without a game appearance.
16. UCF
Projected starter: Tayven Jackson
Key backup(s): Jacurri Brown or Cam Fancher
Comment: Thus far, coach Scott Frost has kept his cards close: The Knights have not named a starter and, it appears, have a true three-man competition. Our lean to Jackson is based on his experience at Indiana, where he attempted 169 passes and started six games over two seasons.
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The post Wilner – Big 12 quarterback rankings for 2025: Arizona State’s on top (not because of Sam Leavitt), followed by TCU and K- State first appeared on Sports360AZ.
