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Entering the 2026 college football season, quarterback competitions are about to take center stage. Programs across the country are gearing up to name their starters, and ESPN’s Greg McElroy broke down the battles that will shape the upcoming year.
The SEC has some of the most notable quarterback competitions that will hit full gear, notably at Alabama and Tennessee. However, there are others that will still draw headlines despite some indicators from coaches during the media days circuit and “Talkin’ Season.”
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August marks the start of training camp, which means the competitions will heat up in a big way. Here are the seven quarterback battles McElroy is watching the closest, as he detailed on Always College Football.
7. North Carolina
Bill Belichick’s second season at North Carolina features a battle for the starting quarterback job after Gio Lopez’s departure. Transfers Billy Edwards and Miles O’Neill are at the forefront of the competition, and Greg McElroy thinks Edwards could have the upper hand because of how Belichick approached these situations with the New England Patriots.
“Every football person on the continent has an opinion on whether the greatest coach in NFL history can actually do this,” McElroy said. “Well, the answer is going to be decided by a quarterback room that he built from scratch in the offseason. … I think it’s going to be Billy Edwards, and that’s exactly why it sits at 7 instead of 2 because we already know, Bill Belichick has spent 50 years telling you who he is in his position and has never once been sentimental about upside. He plays the guy who doesn’t lose him the football game.”
6. Arizona State
With Sam Leavitt now at LSU, Arizona State is now getting ready for its quarterback competition to replace him. Kentucky transfer Cutter Boley is the big name to watch, according to Greg McElroy, though Mikey Keene is also on the roster after transferring to ASU. But based on comments from Kenny Dillingham, McElroy predicted Boley will begin the year as QB1.
“The reason this one matters is Dillingham himself,” McElroy said. “This guy has got fingerprints on Jordan Travis, Bo Nix and Sam Leavitt. He’s one of the better quarterback developers working in the sport right now. Right now, he’s got four different guys to choose from. … He’s leaving himself all the room in the world. I still think it’s Boley.”
5. Clemson
For the first time in a long while, Clemson is preparing for a classic quarterback competition as Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds battle to replace Cade Klubnik. But as Greg McElroy noted, Dabo Swinney already said Vizzina currently has the upper hand, but the competition will continue into training camp.
“Clemson has not had a big-time quarterback competition in quite a while,” McElroy said. “They’ve had a bit of a succession plan. … Dabo Swinney has been about as clear as it gets: The job is Vizzina’s to lose. He’s a fourth-year guy with one career start, north of 100 passing attempts, where he sat and waited behind Klubnik. He knows and he’s waited his entire career for this.”
4. Iowa
While the other quarterback competitions seem like they’ll have clarity, Iowa’s is a bit more up in the air. Hank Brown and Jeremy Hecklinski are both battling for the starting role now that Mark Gronowski is out of eligibility. Greg McElroy said he doesn’t know who’ll come out on top as Kirk Ferentz goes forward with an old-school, bona fide open competition.
“What’s my call? It’s tough to have one right now,” McElroy said. “I have no feel for it whatsoever. It feels like a complete toss-up. … And I don’t think that’s a failure of reporting. I think that’s the entire point. Ferentz engineered a competition with no leader on purpose, and he is the last coach in America who would rather be right in September than decisive in April. No portal rescue, no anointing, no press release. Two guys, same reps, until one of them just goes and takes the job.”
3. Florida
As Jon Sumrall takes over at Florida, all eyes are on the quarterback competition between Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones. But Philo knows Buster Faulkner’s system from their time together at Georgia Tech, which Greg McElroy said could give him an edge. But Jones played better during the spring, McElroy added, making the battle especially interesting.
“My call right now, I lean Philo,” McElroy said. “I’m going to hold on to that loosely, but I want to be straight about why. Every structural advantage in this thing kind of belongs to Philo. He knows the words, he knows the reads, he knows the offense for this coordinator. … But familiarity is a head start. It’s not the finish line. And the guy who actually played better in the spring? That was Tramell Jones. So it would not even be a little bit [surprising] if Jones takes this job outright.”
2. Tennessee
After Joey Aguilar was denied an injunction in his eligibility lawsuit, Tennessee pivoted to an old-school competition between two young quarterbacks. It’s a battle between redshirt freshman George MacIntyre and true freshman Faizon Brandon for the QB1 spot, and as he evaluated the situation, Greg McElroy predicted Josh Heupel could go with Brandon’s upside over MacIntyre’s floor.
“When the gap between your floor and your ceiling is that wide, you don’t play for the floor,” McElroy said. “Nobody in that room has proven they can go and win you the SEC, so you get and get the guy that might. … Now, Neyland gets to watch a kid who was in high school last fall find out in real time. But I, for one, after watching him just a little bit – not enough to really have a great feel for it, but watching him a little bit – I think he’s ready. I think it’s going to be Faizon Brandon for Tennessee this year.”
1. Alabama
To Greg McElroy, Alabama’s quarterback competition will be the one that will most shape the 2026 college football season. The battle between Austin Mack and Keelon Russell is at the forefront of the conversation around the Crimson Tide, but McElroy thinks Kalen DeBoer could go with an interesting wrinkle, similar to how Nick Saban approached the quarterback situation in 2023.
“Here’s my call. I think Mack and Russell will both play the first couple weeks, and then Alabama will lock in on one for that Florida State game in Week 3,” McElroy said. “So DeBoer gets two live games to answer a question that no amount of practice was ever going to answer, and his deadline is that revenge game. The winner inherits Alabama and the loser becomes one of the better backup quarterbacks in America.”
Quarterback competitions will soon take center stage once training camp officially begins for teams across college football. Then, the starters will be able to prove themselves when the season gets underway.
