The transfer portal has become quarterback central, and the 2026 season could be another reminder of why. Indiana and Miami have already ridden that route to the sport’s biggest stage, and both programs are again leaning on a newcomer under center.
That formula has worked before. Kurtis Rourke helped Indiana reach its first College Football Playoff in 2024, while Miami’s Cam Ward finished as a Heisman Trophy finalist before going No. 1 in the NFL Draft. Then came last season, when Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy and pushed the Hoosiers past the Hurricanes and Carson Beck in the national title game.
So who are the next transfer quarterbacks set to shape the conversation in 2026? Here are seven names with the juice to do it.
Darian Mensah is the new face at Miami after arriving from Duke as a late portal addition. The redshirt junior put together a huge one-year run with the Blue Devils, throwing for an ACC-best 3,973 yards and 34 touchdowns while helping Duke win the ACC championship.
Miami has already seen what Shannon Dawson can do for downfield passing with Beck and Ward, and Mensah looks like the next quarterback who could cash in on that setup. He’s already being viewed as a trendy Heisman candidate.
At LSU, Sam Leavitt is stepping into a new era for Lane Kiffin. The redshirt junior comes over from Arizona State with some real résumé strength: he’s 16-4 as a starter and led the Sun Devils to a College Football Playoff berth in 2024. Leavitt is coming off foot surgery, but if the scrambling plays are still in his bag, LSU should get an immediate lift.
Drew Mestemaker is another quarterback following his coach, going from North Texas to Oklahoma State with Eric Morris. The redshirt sophomore led the FBS with 4,379 passing yards and tied for second with 34 touchdown passes, matching Mensah. He also posted a 185.7 QB rating in the fourth quarter, a number that will get a serious workout in the Big 12, where games tend to turn chaotic late.
Auburn’s new addition, Byrum Brown, brings production and versatility. The fifth-year senior followed Alex Golesh from South Florida after leading the nation in total offense with 347.2 yards per game in 2025.
Brown threw for 268.5 yards per game against Florida and Miami last season and added 1,008 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. Now he gets his SEC chance.
Penn State picked up Rocco Becht from Iowa State, and the fifth-year senior looks like the kind of steady hand that can smooth over a transition. Becht spent three years as a starter for the Cyclones and went 24-12 there, piling up 64 touchdowns against 27 interceptions. He followed Matt Campbell to Penn State and should fit nicely into a Big Ten schedule that looks friendly on paper.
Dylan Raiola’s move to Oregon is the kind of decision that may not pay off right away, but could matter down the road. The junior and two-year Nebraska starter is set to reset for a year behind Dante Moore after breaking his fibula against USC in 2025. The former five-star quarterback may be out of the spotlight for now, but the upside remains obvious.
And then there’s DJ Lagway, who heads to Baylor after his time at Florida. The junior, whose father Derek played at Baylor, is looking for a fresh start after leading the Power 4 with 14 interceptions as a sophomore.
Even so, he completed 62 percent of his passes over the last two years, and that kind of efficiency should fit well in the Big 12. Baylor is betting he can become a playmaker again.
In Other News...
Keshaun Singleton Is Turning Into A Real Auburn Test Case
Keshaun Singletons August was a little different from most of Auburns receivers. He spent 13 days at the Marriott Grand National during fall camp, a stretch coach Alex Golesh said was good for Singletons focus and development as the Tigers worked through the early part of preseason preparation.
Golesh, who has known Singleton for five years, sees the talent clearly and believes there is still another level for the receiver to reach. The message around Singleton is less about ability than about consistency and off-the-field focus, with Auburn viewing him as a player whose maturity and process could determine just how high his ceiling climbs. [Read more 🡒]
Auburns 2026 Hype Comes Down To How Fast This Turnaround Hits
Auburns case as a sleeper for 2026 starts with the sense that the pieces are already there for a quicker rise than the preseason chatter suggests. Among the teams being floated as potentially underrated, the Tigers stand out because the program has already made a coaching shift and still has a base of talent that could help it outperform modest expectations if the new direction takes hold early.
The larger question is how fast that turnaround can translate on the field, especially with the offense needing a cleaner jump to match the profile of the roster around it. Auburns buzz going into 2026 is tied to the belief that recent changes have given it a path to surprise, but the real intrigue is whether those adjustments show up soon enough to turn projection into something much more convincing. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Showed Alex Golesh Exactly What He Needed In Camp
The first fall camp scrimmage gave Alex Golesh a clear message about where Auburn still had work to do, especially when it came to tackling. By the time the Tigers came back for their second scrimmage, the head coach said the group had shown improvement, a sign that the defense was absorbing the lessons from a camp built to sharpen game-day habits before the season opener against Baylor.
Golesh has also leaned into the value of longer, fast-tempo drives in practice, using fall camp to put the Tigers in the kind of situations they will have to handle once the games count. Auburn is still moving through its camp schedule with the opener approaching, and the scrimmages have given the staff a better read on how close the team is to playing at the pace and physical standard it wants. [Read more 🡒]