Building depth at the quarterback position in college football is almost impossible in the transfer portal era. It’s rare that a quality backup actually sticks around, especially since — if they’re good enough — they can go somewhere that they’re promised a more immediate starting spot.
So quality backup quarterbacks are an invaluable commodity. Teams hope they never need them, but it’s entirely possible that a No. 2 quarterback could make or break a season, depending on injuries and other factors.
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That’s why it’s appropriate to shine a spotlight on those unheralded backups. Whether it’s a veteran that’s stuck around in spite of other changes to the quarterback room, or a young player that decided to transfer to a better situation, here’s a look at the top 10 backups quarterbacks in college football.
It should be noted that this list is limited to collegiate backups that have played meaningful snaps before. One could make an entire article based around the former blue-chip prospects that are serving as backups in 2025 while they wait their turn to start.
As such, those highly rated No. 2s are included in a rapid fire list at the end of the article.
Michael Van Buren, LSU
Van Buren flew under the radar while starting eight games as a true freshman at Mississippi State last season, but he did show some real potential as a future SEC star. He did complete just 54.7% of his passes with seven interceptions, but those numbers are expected of a first-year quarterback starting in one of the most competitive conferences in the nation.
Here’s how Van Buren’s numbers stack up against Florida quarterback DJ Lagway, who played in a comparable amount of games and who, after a similar sample size, is already receiving some recognition is a top-10 quarterback in college football:
|
Lagway |
59.9% |
1,915 |
12 |
9 |
101 |
0 |
|
Van Buren |
54/7% |
1,886 |
11 |
7 |
-12 |
5 |
So Van Buren’s got plenty of potential. Now he’s in an ideal spot. LSU has become a modern quarterback factory and Van Buren gets to learn behind the potential No. 1 overall pick in Garrett Nussmeier while taking more time to develop without the pressure of leading an offense. He’s also a premium insurance option.
Matthew Caldwell, Texas
Texas dipped into the spring portal to add a much-needed veteran backup behind Arch Manning, who has patiently waited on his turn as Texas’ starter. Caldwell comes to Austin as a fifth-year senior that spent the 2024 season at Troy. He started the year on Troy’s bench before starting the final five games.
In his relatively brief playing time, he threw for 1,608 yards and 13 touchdowns while rushing for another five touchdowns. He guided the Trojans to a 3-2 record and, with Caldwell leading the way, Troy’s offense averaged 35.8 points and 235.6 yards passing per game. Caldwell, however, might have competition for the backup job with Trey Owens back after redshirting as a freshman in 2024.
Chriss replaced a struggling Donovan Smith as Houston’s starter midway through the 2024 season. Normally, that would put him in a prime position to maintain the role entering 2025. But the Cougars went into the transfer portal and landed former Texas A&M starter Conner Weigman, a former five-star prospect and a four-star transfer according to 247Sports.
Houston didn’t recruit Weigman to ride the pine. However, Weigman does bring a concerning injury history to Houston, which means that the Cougars may have to rely on Chriss again. While Chriss leaves a lot to be desired as a passer — he had just 824 yards and four touchdowns to eight interceptions in seven starts — he is an excellent runner with plenty of athleticism and speed to burn. His comfortability in coach Willie Frtiz’s system is another boon, were Houston to call his number again.
Ashton Daniels, Auburn
Auburn hasn’t actually named a starting quarterback, so there’s some projection here, but it’s safe to assume that former five-star Jackson Arnold will be the first in the game once Aug. 29 rolls around. That leaves Daniels and freshman Deuce Knight for the backup job. We’ll give Daniels an edge there thanks to his experience.
After serving as a wildcat quarterback at Stanford in 2022, he emerged as the Cardinal’s starter in 2023 and went on to start 20 games over the past two seasons. In that span he threw for 3,947 yards and 21 touchdowns with 20 interceptions. Daniels is also a plus athlete, with 1,117 yards and nine touchdowns rushing in his career, so he could carve out a role as a change-of-pace option in certain formations.
There was once a time where Van Dyke looked like the next big thing in college football. He was a breakout star at Miami in 2021 when he threw for 2,931 yards and 25 touchdowns in just nine starts. But his 2022 campaign was hampered by an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder and a majority of his 2023 season was impacted by a knee injury, so he never quite reached the highs he set as a sophomore.
He transferred to Wisconsin in 2024 and had his lone year with the Badgers cut short after three games due to a torn ACL. Durability is a major concern, though that doesn’t matter as much when SMU isn’t relying on him to appear in every game. He’s a top tier option as a spot starter, were something to happen to Mustangs star Kevin Jennings, and he’s familiar with SMU boss Rhett Lashlee, who served as Miami’s offensive coordinator from 2020-21, where he coached Van Dyke through the best year of his career.
It still isn’t clear exactly what direction Bill Belichick will go at quarterback in his first year with the Tar Heels. North Carolina did take South Alabama transfer Gio Lopez during the spring transfer window, which seems to indicate that he’ll get the first crack at starting. Four-star freshman Bryce Baker also looks like the future of the program.
Johnson shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle, even if he is recovering from a devastating leg injury. He did enter the 2024 season as North Carolina’s QB1 and, prior to that, he started 23 games at LSU and Texas A&M. His best year came in 2021 when, with the Tigers, he logged 2,814 yards and 27 touchdowns passing. He also had 1,969 yards and 12 touchdowns in his two years with the Aggies, though he never played a full season.
It’s more a question of when, and not if, Underwood will emerge as Michigan’s starter. He’s simply too talented to keep in the pen for long. Keene might at least get a chance to secure his spot through the first few games, though. Regardless of who goes out there first, Michigan is in a great spot with its second option.
Underwood was the top prospect in the class of 2025. He’s got a college-ready frame, a live arm and the talent to elevate a stagnant Wolverines offense. Keene, meanwhile, brings 34 games of starting experience from stops at UCF and Fresno State. He’s got more than 8,000 yards passing and 65 touchdowns in his career.
TCU is in great hands with Josh Hoover, especially given his durability. The Horned Frogs could do much worse than having Seals as a “break glass in case of emergency” option. Seals didn’t play last season — his first with TCU — but he did start 22 games in the SEC with Vanderbilt prior to moving to Fort Worth.
In 2020, he became just the third SEC true freshman quarterback to start a season opener and he went on to toss a career best 1,928 yards and 12 touchdowns with 10 interceptions in nine games. Over the next few seasons, he bounced between the starting spot and a reserve a role. Seals did surpass 1,000 yards through the air in 2021 and 2023.
Few backups come as battle tested as Sims. He started 10 games as a freshman at Georgia Tech in 2020, was an on-again, off-again starter for the Yellow Jackets over the next two years, and then transferred to Nebraska in 2023, where he was benched after two starts. Sims turned the ball over in 11 of his 28 drives as a Nebraska QB.
So he transferred again and was the No. 2 option for a 2024 Arizona State team that won the Big 12 title and made it to the College Football Playoff. He started in Arizona State’s loss to Cincinnati last season while Sam Leavitt was out with injury. Sims brings value as a veteran in the quarterback room, even if you don’t necessarily want to see him enter a game in crunch time.
Like a few teams on this list, Texas A&M is entering the 2025 season with a young starter — Marcel Reed — and decided to scour the transfer portal for a veteran. The Aggies landed one of the most experienced options available in Zeno, who’s been around college football since 2019. He initially signed with Baylor and then transferred to UAB in 2022.
He finally earned a chance to consistently start in 2023 and showed well by completing 73.6% of his passes for 3,126 yards and 20 touchdowns. He held down the starting job in 2024 but suffered a season-ending shoulder injury four games into the year.
Former top prospects to keep an eye one
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