Not every college football program relies on a transfer quarterback these days.
Seven true freshmen, including six at Power 4 programs, started at least six games this season.
Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the 2025 cycle, was the big name among the crop of rookies. However, BYU’s Bear Bachmeier has his team on the College Football Playoff bubble entering Saturday’s Big 12 Championship Game.
California’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and Maryland’s Malik Washington — both top-100 recruits in the 2025 cycle — started every game in the regular season and performed well.
Pittsburgh’s Mason Heintschel, a middle-of-the-road three-star prospect from Ohio, began the season on the bench, but started eight games and led the Panthers to a successful 8-4 season.
True freshman quarterbacks can still get it done in Year 1. And many of them weren’t committed to their current schools for very long.
Underwood bailed on LSU and Brian Kelly a couple of weeks before the early signing period. Bachmeier signed with Stanford and then found his way to BYU after the Cardinal fired coach Troy Taylor and the Cougars parted ways with Jake Retzlaff, their 2024 starter at QB, in the summer. Sagapolutele signed with Oregon but bolted in early January and enrolled at Cal, the school he first committed to in July 2025.
On Tuesday night, we had the biggest flip of the 2026 cycle when quarterback Jared Curtis, the No. 1 player in the 247Sports Composite, spurned Georgia in favor of Vanderbilt. The Nashville native could step in and replace Diego Pavia as the Commodores starter next season.
Signed 🖋️
Welcome to Commodore Nation, @Jaredcurtis37 pic.twitter.com/XbXUjkvi73
— #14 Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) December 3, 2025
He’s hardly the only quarterback in the 2026 class to switch allegiances. Since the beginning of September, 23 quarterbacks have decommitted from FBS programs, including 11 who were pledged to P4 schools. Among them, 18 had either committed to or signed with a new school as of Wednesday afternoon.
Here’s a rundown of where the top 12 (not including Curtis), according to the 247Sports Composite, ended up signing.
No. 11: Tradon Bessinger, Boise State → Iowa
The 6-5, 210-pound Utah native was committed to the Broncos for six months until he picked up an offer from the Hawkeyes in October. When he pulled into Iowa City in late October, the Hawkeyes treated him to a 41-3 spanking of Minnesota. Bessinger dropped his pledge to Boise State a couple of days later and committed on Nov. 8. Jeremy Hecklinski (Wake Forest transfer) and Hank Brown (Auburn transfer) are expected to battle for the starting spot in 2026. Bessinger could be ready to take over in 2027.
No. 20: Peyton Falzone, Auburn → Penn State
The four-star recruit from Nazareth, Penn., initially committed to Virginia Tech before his junior year. He then flipped to Penn State back in April and then to Auburn at the end of June. (See a trend, here? All three schools he has been committed to fired their coach in 2025.) After Alex Golesh was hired, Falzone dropped his pledge to the Tigers and was looking for a new spot … until he signed with Penn State (which still doesn’t have a head coach) on Wednesday afternoon.
SIGNED: QB Peyton Falzone
The Pennsylvania kid is staying home.#WeAre x @PeytonFalzone pic.twitter.com/9lOh5p2H87
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 3, 2025
No. 21: Troy Huhn, Penn State → Virginia Tech
It shouldn’t surprise you to learn Penn State’s former quarterback commitment has followed James Franklin to Blacksburg. Huhn dropped his 15-month pledge to the Nittany Lions four days after Franklin was fired and committed to the Hokies on Monday, shortly after Franklin was hired. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound California native considered an offer from Andrew Luck at Stanford, but waited to see where Franklin landed.
No. 22: Rocco Marriott, James Madison → UCF
Scott Frost landed the highest-ranked quarterback commitment in Knights history not long after Marriott began his official visit to UCF on Nov. 22. The 6-4, 203-pound Missouri native had been committed to James Madison since May but began looking elsewhere in November.
No. 34: Cole Bergeron, Virginia Tech → Undecided
Virginia Tech’s pursuit of Huhn sent Bergeron, a three-star recruit from Lafayette, La., back onto the market. Bergeron, who had been committed to the Hokies since August, took an official visit to Minnesota the second weekend in November and previously visited Florida Atlantic and Georgia Tech.
No. 42: Deagan Rose, Oregon State → Fresno State
Five days before coach Trent Bray was fired at Oregon State following a 0-7 start, Rose decided to flip his pledge to the hometown Bulldogs. Rose had been committed to Oregon State since July 2024. He had offers from Washington State, Boise State and San Diego State.
No. 44 (tie): Tommy Carr, Miami (Ohio) → Michigan
The younger brother of Notre Dame starting quarterback CJ Carr and grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr had been committed to Chuck Martin from February up until the Wolverines offered him a scholarship on Nov. 16. He joined four-star quarterback Brady Smigiel — a former Florida State pledge — in Michigan’s two-quarterback class. They’ll both be on the bench until Underwood is done with the Wolverines.
No. 44 (tie): Michael Mitchell Jr., Vanderbilt → Stanford
Mitchell decommitted from Vanderbilt when it became apparent that Curtis was on the verge of flipping from Georgia. The San Francisco native then announced his commitment to Stanford, which had been pursuing him for months. Mitchell had been committed to the Commodores since September 2024.
No. 44 (tie): Nathan Bernhard, Appalachian State → Maryland
The 6-5, 227-pound Ohio native jumped on board with the Mountaineers in April but flipped to the Terrapins two weeks ago to get a chance to play in the Big Ten. He’s enrolling in January after throwing for nearly 2,900 yards and 31 touchdowns as a senior.
No. 51: Kane Archer, UCF → Utah
The first quarterback to commit to Frost didn’t stay in the class. Archer, a 6-1, 205-pound three-star recruit from Arkansas, became the second QB in Utah’s class, joining Georgia native Michael Johnson. Archer had been in contact with Utah offensive coordinator Jason Beck for several months.
No. 58: Cash Herrera, Indiana → Boise State
The 6-3, 207-pound three-star recruit from California originally committed to Iowa in October 2024 but flipped to Indiana in June. He then decided to become the second quarterback in the Broncos’ class, joining training partner Jackson Taylor. Herrera said he decided to part ways with Indiana after the Hoosiers told him they were going to pursue a quarterback in the portal.
No. 65: Brady Palmer, California → Minnesota
Palmer, a 6-2, 200-pound three-star recruit from San Diego, had been committed to Cal since June. He dropped his pledge to the Bears three days before Justin Wilcox was fired. He is the Gophers’ second QB in the class, joining Illinois native Owen Lansu.
