The college football spring practice schedule really gets rolling as the calendar turns from March to April, and with more scrimmages and even a few spring games, fans get some clarity on what their favorite teams will be doing at the quarterback position in 2025. Coaches love the competition that comes with position battles in spring practice, and there is no spot on the depth chart where opportunities are more exclusive than starting quarterback.
It’s worth considering that quarterback battles — in the traditional sense when it comes to spring practice — are starting to become as antiquated as the traditional spring game. With the current state of roster construction in college football, many schools make conscious decisions with transfer portal additions and NIL that essentially remove doubt from a quarterback’s position heading into the season. If you are going to commit significant resources to bring in a quarterback with a proven track record at the college level, it’s likely with the intention that he will be the team’s starter in Week 1 the following fall.
But not every portal addition is a guaranteed starter, and there’s certainly a lot of notable teams who have open competition among players that are either back from last year’s team or joining the program early out of high school. The battles among those quarterbacks can be just as intriguing when there’s more talent to go around than reps with the first-string offense.
Below, we’ve highlighted some of the notable quarterback battles to keep an eye on across the country. Not all (and likely most) of these competitions won’t have clarity until we get closer to the start of the season, but until a starter is named, the uncertainty at quarterback will be one of the top storylines around the team.
Let’s dive in, starting with a team that has some urgency to make a return to the College Football Playoff after falling just short a year ago.
Contenders: Ty Simpson, Austin Mack, Keelon Russell
Ty Simpson might have a full punch card for all the times he has been deemed a contender for the starting role as the former five-star prospect prepares for his fourth season of spring practice with Alabama. After running backup to Jalen Milroe, one would think he’s ready to finally ascend to the starter’s role, but he’s got some stiff competition that Kalen DeBoer and the current staff were responsible for recruiting to Tuscaloosa. Mack has impressive size at 6-foot-6, 235 pounds and followed DeBoer from Washington to Alabama after redshirting with the Huskies in 2023. With Ryan Grubb reuniting with DeBoer as offensive coordinator, that reignites yet another connection of familiarity that could give him an edge in the battle.
Then there’s Russell, who in a perfect world for the Tide probably spends this spring developing and getting accustomed to life in the program. An elite playmaker who has drawn comparisons to Jayden Daniels by talent evaluators, Russell was a five-star prospect in the 2025 class with a perfect 100 grade, but he could benefit from putting on weight before being thrown into the fire of SEC competition.
Contenders: Steve Angeli, CJ Carr, Kenny Minchey
This is one of the most intriguing battles in the sport this spring. It’s a throwback of sorts in that all three players were on the roster last season when Notre Dame made its run all the way to the national title game, and all three players will be given ample opportunities to prove themselves as the next QB1 this spring. Notre Dame was in the position the last two offseasons of brining in a high-profile transfer that somewhat limited competition, but all reports point to an even battle between the three returning signal callers.
Angeli has the most game experience, backing up both Hartman and Leonard and stepping up big against Penn State in the College Football Playoff semifinal win. But Carr was a prized prospect signee with tons of arm talent, and Minchey might possess the most athleticism while also being an accurate passer. Of course, with three gifted players at quarterback, all eyes will be on how this is handled in spring and what, if anything, happens in terms of portal exits at the end of April. When you combine the status of Notre Dame as a title contender, the number of contenders and their collective ability, this might be the best quarterback battle in the country this spring.
Contenders: Mikey Keene, Bryce Underwood, Jadyn Davis
Sherrone Moore will have door No. 1 and door No. 2 available throughout spring practice, and there’s a chance that this competition will bleed over into not only fall camp but even the early weeks of the season.
Bryce Underwood is one of the most exciting quarterback prospects of the last 10 years, possessing size (6-foot-4, 208 pounds), skill and tools to be a multi-year impact player for a national title contender. But he’s also young, not only as an early enrollee true freshman but as a 17-year old who won’t turn 18 until August while joining a program that is not in the business of rebuilding years.
That’s where Mikey Keene steps in with his experience from both UCF and Fresno State to be the steady hand to guide things until Underwood is ready to take over the offense. The wild card here is Davis, who was a four-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class but never saw time on the field even as Michigan endured a revolving door at quarterback during the season. He could have chosen to hit the transfer portal — like former teammate Alex Orji — given the additions of Keene and Underwood but is sticking around looking to have an impact on the team this spring.
Contenders: Kaidon Salter, Julian Lewis
The post-Shedeur Sanders era at Colorado begins with a battle at quarterback between a pair of notable signal callers looking to hold up the standard set over the last two years in Boulder. Salter was one of the most dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks in college football back in 2023, throwing for more than 2,800 yards and rushing for 1,000 yards as Liberty rolled off a 13-1 season and finished the year in the New Year’s Six as the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. But last season was a disappointment across the board, both in terms of Salter’s production and Liberty’s results, but his transfer sets the stage for a return to form for a player that has long been viewed as a promising talent.
But Salter’s ascension to QB1 is not promised, and he’ll have to battle against one of the top high school players of the last couple years in Julian Lewis. A blue-chip prospect who carries the honor of being the first back-to-back Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year since Trevor Lawrence, Lewis started spending time with the program even in the run up to the bowl game and got to experience first-hand how Shedeur Sanders went through the preparation process with the program. As Colorado looks to replace not just Sanders, but also Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and a plethora of pass-catching options, this quarterback battle takes on even more importance.
Contenders: Dante Moore, Austin Novosad
A five-star prospect coming out of high school, Moore was initially committed to Oregon before a high-profile flip to UCLA just before the early signing period opened in December 2022. He saw some action as a true freshman with the Bruins in 2023 with mixed results and transferred to Oregon prior to the 2024 season.
Now back with the school and head coach he originally committed to back in July 2022, Moore is hoping to put that five-star potential together on the field for the reigning Big Ten champs. But he is not without some real competition this spring, as Austin Novosad remains a factor in the battle. This is Novosad’s third spring practice with the Ducks, all under the leadership of offensive coordinator Will Stein, and that experience edge combines with an athletic profile (hurdles and triple-jump track competitor at the 6A level in high school in Texas) to make him a real factor if Moore can’t seize the job this spring.
Contenders: Justyn Martin, Malik Washington
Mike Locksley enters a pivotal season for Maryland football in 2025 with a quarterback battle on his hands, looking to find the right player to follow in the footsteps of Billy Edwards and Taulia Tagovailoa before him. With gifted skill players cycling through College Park nearly every season, the offense usually has potential but needs the right signal-caller to really unlock the unit’s true potential. Last year’s team saw a disappointing step back in results to 4-8 after back-to-back eight-win seasons, and now it’ll likely be one of two newcomers tasked with leading the return to form.
On one hand, there’s UCLA transfer Justyn Martin, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound redshirt sophomore who brings limited experience (five games, one start) but promising potential that had Locksley and the Maryland staff seeking to land his commitment early in the portal cycle.
On the other hand, there’s the excitement of in-state blue-chip prospect Malik Washington, whose development into being a future Maryland starter will begin this spring. Whether the future needs to be the present will be impacted by how things go this spring, in fall camp and in September when the team hits the field.
Contenders: Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz, Tavien St. Clair
At the surface level, there is no declared starting quarterback for the reigning national champions and preseason favorite in 2025. That is worth noting and will remain a storyline around Ohio State until Ryan Day names the successor to Will Howard in Columbus. That said, there have been too many positive reports for too many months about Julian Sayin to think he’s not going to wind up winning this job. Kienholz has been in the program for long enough to help set the standard for the underclassmen, but if he is going to get more than that, he’s going to have to be more than a pace car in the spring ball.
As for St. Clair, the early enrollee true freshman has eye-popping physical traits and potential, but for him, the competition this spring is likely more aimed at long-term development. So while this seems like a slow march to Sayin being named starter, it’s still competition that will be interesting to track considering the quarterback outlook for 2025 and beyond with the Buckeyes.
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