Big 12 QB renaissance: Conference stacked with star power, potential at position entering 2024 season

The Big 12 quarterback situation wasn’t much to write home about last season. Texas and Oklahoma were the only teams in the league with a signal caller in Pro Football Focus’ top 15 in passing grade, while the Sooners and TCU were the only squads to reach that mark in passing offense per game.
That shouldn’t be the case in 2024, as additions to the conference from the Pac-12 seriously bolster the Big 12’s quarterback quality. Three of the four West Coast transplants return a highly effective quarterback, including two-time Pac-12 champion Cameron Rising. Additionally, Baylor and UCF each reached into the portal to grab experience under center, while Kansas State and Iowa State bet big on internal candidates.
Overall 12 of the 16 Big 12 teams are expected to field a multi-game Power Five starter from last season. Only one school (Arizona State) is set to start a complete unknown. The experience, mixed with a stacked slate of running backs, means that the Big 12 could be in for a quarterback renaissance in 2024.
With that said, we decided to break the Big 12’s quarterback situation into tiers and loosely rank them. The first tier includes returning players who expect to compete for All-Big 12 recognition, or more, from Day 1. The second tier is first-year starters who could reach that threshold. The third tier includes returners who could improve their stature dramatically over the course of the season, while the fourth tier is left for the true unknowns.
Tier I: Returning star
Utah — Cameron Rising: When Rising is in the lineup, Utah is a conference championship contender. While wins are not a quarterback-specific stat, the Utes are 19-5 in games that Rising started and finished with two Pac-12 titles. They are just 12-10 in games without Rising since 2020. Granted, Rising has not played since tearing his ACL in 2022, but his 6,500 total yards and 58 touchdowns in two seasons as a starter earns him enough credibility to lead the conference.
Colorado — Shedeur Sanders: Sanders is deservedly rated one of the top quarterbacks in college football after throwing 27 touchdowns to only three interceptions last season for Colorado. At the same time, he also recorded one of the worst pressure-to-sack and time-to-throw rates in the sport. The transition from a veer-and-shoot offense under Sean Lewis to a pro-style scheme under Pat Shurmur will be a major zag, but Sanders gives any offensive coordinator a serious building block.
Arizona — Noah Fifita: When Fifita entered the starting lineup, Arizona’s fortunes changed. After close losses against Washington and USC, Fifita helped lead Arizona to seven straight victories to close the year, headlined by wins over Utah and Oklahoma. Fifita boasted one of the top 15 passer ratings in college football. With former high school teammate Tetairoa McMillan, Fifita makes up perhaps the most lethal quarterback-receiver pairing in college football.
Kansas — Jalon Daniels: Like Rising, Daniels missed almost the entire 2023 season due to injury. But when he’s healthy, Daniels ranks among the best quarterbacks in college football. In nine games in 2022, Daniels completed 66% of his passes for 2,014 yards and rushed for 425 yards and seven touchdowns. With Daniels is in the lineup, Kansas is a dangerous squad capable of winning the Big 12.
West Virginia — Garrett Greene: Greene is one of the most polarizing players in the conference, but he oozes star power. In a win against Baylor Greene passed for 250 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Greene trails only Dillon Gabriel as the highest-rated quarterback in college football on deep throws. If Greene can more consistently hit the layups in the passing game, and therefore improve on his 52.9% completion, the sky’s the limit.
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Tier II: New starter with star power
Kansas State — Avery Johnson: When Chris Klieman was recruiting Johnson to Kansas State, he pitched Johnson as the face of the program. Klieman kept his word by letting incumbent Will Howard move on to Ohio State. In his first career start, Johnson posted 249 total yards and three touchdowns in a Pop-Tarts Bowl victory over NC State. Against Texas Tech, he scored five touchdowns. There’s a pathway to him ending 2024 as the best quarterback in the conference.
UCF — KJ Jefferson: Jefferson took a step back in 2023, but deserves little blame. Arkansas moved to a pro-style offense and featured a wildly overmatched offensive line, both of which limited Jefferson’s effectiveness. At UCF, Jefferson gets back to business with a stacked collection of skill talent. The senior has compiled nearly 10,000 yards of total offense and 88 touchdowns but could have his best season yet playing for Gus Malzahn at UCF.
Baylor — DeQuan Finn: Finn was the MAC Player of the Year at Toledo as a junior and has amassed nearly 7,000 yards passing, 2,000 yards rushing and 88 touchdowns to his name. In two appearances against power conference teams as a starter (Ohio State, Illinois), Finn accounted for more than 500 yards of offense with six touchdowns. He gives Baylor a dynamic dual-threat athlete who can erase negative plays with his legs, somethign kind the Bears haven’t seen at the position since Seth Russell in 2016.
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Tier III: Returning starter with upside
Iowa State — Rocco Becht: Becht is right on the line of Tier II status after a wildly impressive freshman season. He completed 63% of his passes for 3,120 yards and 23 touchdowns, including an impressive 8.5 yards per pass attempt. After tough games against Oklahoma and Iowa, Becht ended the season incredibly strong, throwing 10 touchdowns to one interception over the final four games. He is a major breakout candidate.
Houston — Donovan Smith: Smith has quietly climbed NFL Draft boards and is now seen as a potential high-upside candidate. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, it’s easy to see why. In three seasons between Texas Tech and Houston, Smith has thrown for 5,487 yards, rushed for 698 yards and added 57 total touchdowns. His big arm and physical run ability gives Willie Fritz a fascinating building block heading into Year 1. The only thing that might hold Smith back is the rebuilding roster around him.
Oklahoma State — Alan Bowman: Bowman joins Rising as a seventh-year player in college football after somehow finding yet another season of eligibility. After putting up massive numbers early in his career, Bowman settled as a solid game-manager. Last season Bowman completed 61% of his passes for 3,460 yards. His 15-to-14 touchdown-to-interception ratio left much to be desired, but he kept it under control in big games. Bowman is a safe quarterback who can help key a Big 12 title run.
TCU — Josh Hoover: Hoover was thrust into the starting lineup due to injuries last season and quietly got better as the year went on. Outside of a clunker against Kansas State, Hoover cleared 300 yards in every start and hit 400 yards twice. Hoover has to clean up his game and better avoid turnovers, but his skill set is a major addition for TCU as it tries to move forward from a disappointing 2023 season.
Texas Tech — Behren Morton: Morton’s talent jumps off the page, but he’s rarely been healthy enough to harness his full potential. In two seasons, he has completed 60% of his passes but averaged just 6.2 yards per pass attempt with 22 touchdowns to 14 interceptions. Morton also missed the spring with treatment for a nagging injury, putting a damper on his first offseason as the starting quarterback. Still, he could fly up the board with a healthy year.
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Tier IV: Jury’s still out
Cincinnati — Brendan Sorsby: Sorsby quietly turned heads during camp after transferring from Indiana. In his lone season playing for the Hoosiers, Sorsby threw for 1,587 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions. If he can add a consistent component to Cincinnati’s offense, it opens the game up. If he can be a playmaker, it changes the calculus dramatically.
BYU — Gerry Bohanon or Jake Retzlaff: Bohanon is easily the most accomplished quarterback in Tier IV but is three full years removed from being a major contributor at Baylor. His South Florida tenure finished well below expectations, especially after he missed the 2023 season. Retzlaff completed only 50.4% of his passes for BYU in limited time last season.
Arizona State — Sam Leavitt: Leavitt is potentially the least-known quarterback in the Big 12. The Michigan State transfer was a former blue-chip recruit who only threw 23 passes in his freshman season before landing in Tempe. He enters a tough rebuilding situation at Arizona State.