News surfaced last week that five-star 2026 quarterback Jared Curtis will announce his commitment on May 5. Curtis is the No. 1 quarterback in the country and the No. 2 overall player, and he’ll decide between two recruiting juggernauts, Oregon and Georgia.
Curtis is one of 26 blue-chip quarterbacks in the 2026 recruiting cycle. Half of them remain uncommitted as the calendar flips to April. After Curtis commits, other dominoes will soon fall.
Advertisement
With that in mind, we’re taking a look at where things stand with the blue-chip quarterback market as the 2026 recruiting cycle heats up over the coming weeks.
(Note: All rankings are by the 247Sports Composite.)
1. Jared Curtis, Nashville (Tenn.) Christian School
Ranking: Five-star, No. 1 QB, No. 2 overall
Status: Uncommitted
Curtis committed to Georgia in late March 2024 but backed off his pledge in October. The Bulldogs remain in the thick of the race, but it’s difficult to discount Oregon in any recruiting battle these days. This decision should be interesting, as should the pivot plan for the program that doesn’t end up with Curtis.
2. Faizon Brandon, Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley
Ranking: Five-star, No. 2 QB, No. 6 overall
Status: Committed to Tennessee
Brandon has been committed to Tennessee since August and hasn’t visited any other schools. He told On3 a few weeks ago that LSU and Alabama continue to reach out, but there doesn’t seem to be any drama here.
3. Dia Bell, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage
Ranking: Five-star, No. 3 QB, No. 11 overall
Status: Committed to Texas
Bell received an offer from the Longhorns on June 1, 2024, and committed just a few weeks later. He hasn’t visited any other programs even though Georgia, Alabama and Texas A&M offered in the months following his pledge to Texas.
4. Ryder Lyons, Folsom (Calif.) High
Ranking: Five-star, No. 4 QB, No. 16 overall
Status: Uncommitted
This is an intriguing recruitment. Lyons is technically a member of the Class of 2026, but he’s essentially a 2027 recruit because he plans to serve a Mormon mission following his senior year. USC was long thought to be the lean — Lyons’ older brother, Walker, plays tight end for the Trojans — but he told Rivals in early March, “that has been fair but maybe not as much anymore.” USC is still in the mix, but Oregon, BYU (where he has strong family ties) and Michigan are very much involved. This figures to be a competitive race.
Advertisement
5. Keisean Henderson, Spring (Texas) Legacy The School of Sport Sciences
Ranking: Five-star, No. 5 QB, No. 17 overall
Status: Committed to Houston
Henderson is a dynamic athlete who some schools have recruited as a receiver or defensive back, but Houston believes in him as a quarterback. He committed to the Cougars last May. Can Willie Fritz and staff hold on to Henderson’s commitment as more high-profile programs make a push?
6. Landon Duckworth, Jackson (Ala.) High
Ranking: Four-star, No. 6 QB, No. 53 overall
Status: Uncommitted
Duckworth has visits planned to Georgia, South Carolina and Florida State but told On3 recently that Ole Miss is “at the top of my list right now.”
7. Brady Smigiel, Newbury Park (Calif.) High
Ranking: Four-star, No. 7 QB, No. 67 overall
Status: Uncommitted
Smigiel committed to Florida State last June but reopened his recruitment in January, and the Seminoles are no longer in the mix. Smigiel has visited Washington and South Carolina. Those two occupy spots in his final four, along with Michigan and UCLA.
8. Jonas Williams, Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln-Way East
Ranking: Four-star, No. 8 QB, No. 88 overall
Status: Committed to USC
Williams committed to Oregon in August, but Lincoln Riley and new USC general manager Chad Bowden made him an immediate priority upon Bowden’s arrival in January. The effort worked, and Williams flipped to USC on Feb. 21.
9. Jake Fette, El Paso (Texas) Del Valle
Ranking: Four-star, No. 9 QB, No. 110 overall
Status: Committed to Arizona State
The Sun Devils have held Fette’s pledge since September. LSU, Ole Miss and Auburn are among the schools that have offered in recent months, so we’ll see if any of them can gain any traction.
10. Bowe Bentley, Celina (Texas) High
Ranking: Four-star, No. 10 QB, No. 123 overall
Status: Uncommitted
Bentley trimmed his list to three schools on Sunday. He could be Georgia’s fallback plan if Curtis picks Oregon. Oklahoma is still recruiting Bentley hard even though it has four-star Jaden O’Neal committed. LSU didn’t sign a quarterback in 2025, so there’s an obvious need there, too.
NEWS: Elite 2026 QB Bowe Bentley is down to 3️⃣ Schools, he tells me for @on3recruits
The No. 5 QB in ‘26 has locked in OVs to each of his finalists:
•Georgia: June 6-8
•Oklahoma: June 13-15
•LSU: June 20-22https://t.co/Fqjz8UXcFV pic.twitter.com/rUdogsLQjE— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) March 30, 2025
11. Jaden O’Neal, Mustang (Okla.) High
Ranking: Four-star, No. 11 QB, No. 138 overall
Status: Committed to Oklahoma
O’Neal recently moved from Southern California to play his senior season in Oklahoma. That brought him closer to the Sooners, which received his commitment in June. Will that hold up? As we noted, Oklahoma is recruiting Bentley, and that’s always a delicate matter among quarterbacks. O’Neal’s commitment to the Sooners came when Seth Littrell was the offensive coordinator, but Littrell was fired in October. And O’Neal is slated to visit Florida State this spring and has expressed an interest in taking trips to other schools. This will be one to monitor.
Advertisement
12. Noah Grubbs, Lake Mary (Fla.) High
Ranking: Four-star, No. 12 QB, No. 176 overall
Status: Committed to Notre Dame
Grubbs committed to the Fighting Irish in June and hasn’t visited any other schools since.
13. Dereon Coleman, Orlando (Fla.) Jones
Ranking: Four-star, No. 13 QB, No. 197 overall
Status: Committed to Miami
Coleman committed to Miami in July.
14. Helaman Casuga, Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon
Ranking: Four-star, No. 14 QB, No. 201 overall
Status: Committed to Texas A&M
Casuga committed to the Aggies in October and appears to be solid there.
15. Will Griffin, Tampa Jesuit
Ranking: Four-star, No. 15 QB, No. 231 overall
Status: Committed to Florida
Florida is Griffin’s dream school, and he committed to Billy Napier in June. This one is rock solid.
Nos. 16-26
16. Oscar Rios, No. 233 overall, uncommitted
17. Peyton Falzone, No. 247 overall, uncommitted
18. Matt Ponatoski, No. 249 overall, uncommitted
19. Troy Huhn, No. 264 overall, Penn State
20. Jett Thomalla, No. 292 overall, uncommitted
21. Tait Reynolds, No. 299 overall, Clemson
22. Gavin Sidwar, No. 335 overall, uncommitted
23. Luke Fahey, No. 339 overall, uncommitted
24. Tayden Kaawa, No. 340 overall, uncommitted
25. Kayd Coffman, No. 351 overall, Michigan State
26. Derek Zammit, No. 390 overall, uncommitted
There are eight uncommitted players in this group, so this is where the bulk of the blue-chip quarterback movement will happen. Rios, the highest-rated player of the bunch, is committed to Purdue but backed off that pledge last fall. He’s scheduled to visit Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Utah, Arizona and Colorado. Falzone has official visits lined up to Iowa and Utah. Ponatoski will be a compelling recruit because baseball will seemingly play a significant role in his decision.
Matt Ponatoski is navigating the recruiting process for two sports.
He’s a four-star QB recruit and has drawn offers from Michigan, Texas A&M, Arkansas and others.
He’s also the No. 16 player in the 2026 class for baseball 👀⬇️https://t.co/iz5rSAWSHB pic.twitter.com/c2KwnuMCeu
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) March 3, 2025
Thomalla recently released a top five of Arizona, Duke, Iowa State, Missouri and Virginia Tech. Missouri, along with Ole Miss, is also showing interest in Sidwar, a former Rutgers commit.
Fahey received an Indiana offer in early March, but we’ll have to wait to see how his recruiting process comes together. Kaawa received offers from Boise State and Cal in March, while Zammit recently announced he’s down to four schools: Alabama, Washington, Mississippi State and Syracuse.
Advertisement
Programs to watch
Georgia and Oregon are battling for the top QB in the cycle. What does the team that doesn’t land Curtis do?
Alabama and Ohio State have yet to add a quarterback to their 2026 class. Both signed a five-star in the 2025 cycle, which might make landing a high-profile QB more difficult this year. The same goes for Deion Sanders and Colorado since it seems clear that Julian Lewis is the future of the position in Boulder.
North Carolina landed top-100 prospect Bryce Baker in the 2025 cycle. Will Bill Belichick make a push for a high-end quarterback in this cycle?
(Photo of Dia Bell: Jonah Hinebaugh / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
