NFL Draft’s QB Class Thin at Top, but Reshaped New Era of College Football

While quarterbacks are not expected to dominate the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday night, this year’s class of signal callers did make a significant impact on the new era of college football during their time in school.

High-priced transfer portal moves, NCAA lawsuits, NIL (name, image, and likeness) records, and more were all major parts of the stories of this year’s contingent of QBs.

Fernando Mendoza

The 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, all but certain to be selected No. 1 overall by the Raiders, led Indiana to its first national championship after transferring to Bloomington following three seasons at Cal. Under coach Curt Cignetti and backed by billionaire Indiana alum Mark Cuban, the Hoosiers spent big in the transfer portal to build their championship roster.

Mendoza, 22, gained national attention for not only his superb play—but also his quirky personality. In addition to NIL deals with college football staples like Adidas and Dr Pepper, the quarterback also struck an official deal with LinkedIn.

Carson Beck

After six years in college, Beck is projected to be a Day 2 or Day 3 pick in the draft, where his rookie salary will no doubt be much smaller than what he was earning this past season at Miami.

The Hurricanes landed Beck in the transfer portal ahead of the 2025 season, with an NIL package valued at north of $4 million. At the time, Beck’s agents told Front Office Sports the quarterback had already secured close to $10 million in combined NIL deals in the previous 12 months.

Despite a 10-2 regular season record that nearly kept Miami out of the College Football Playoff, Beck ended his collegiate career by leading the Hurricanes on a postseason run to the national championship game that netted the school $20 million in bonus money.

Before Miami, Beck spent five seasons at Georgia, including his final two (2023 and 2024) as the starter. He redshirted in 2020 and received a sixth year of NCAA eligibility due to the COVID-19 waiver.

Diego Pavia

Like Beck, the Vanderbilt standout played six years of college football—but had to sue the NCAA to do it.

Pavia, 24, is projected to be a Day 3 pick (or even an undrafted free agent) despite turning into a Heisman candidate during his final year with the Commodores. He spent two seasons at Vanderbilt, following two years at New Mexico State and two before that at New Mexico Military Institute junior college.

The successful lawsuit from Pavia helped Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar—also a projected late-round draft pick—play an extra year of college football, too.

In a separate ongoing lawsuit, Pavia is attempting to permanently change the rule that currently requires JUCO seasons to count against a player’s four years of NCAA eligibility. 

The Transfer Game

Several high-profile and top-ranked quarterbacks in this year’s draft class were beneficiaries of not only the NIL era but also the first season of revenue-sharing in college football. 

Those added revenue streams likely helped lead to the likes of Alabama’s Ty Simpson, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, and Penn State’s Drew Allar resisting the temptation to seek paydays in the transfer portal and staying at the same school for their entire college careers.

Some lower-end QB prospects did utilize the portal, though, like Taylen Green (Boise State to Arkansas), Luke Altmyer (Ole Miss to Illinois), and Haynes King (Texas A&M to Georgia Tech).

Jake Retzlaff—another projected late-round pick—played for four schools during his time in college: two seasons total at JUCOs Golden West and Riverside City, before two seasons at BYU, and his final year at Tulane. In May 2025, a woman accused Retzlaff of raping her in November 2023; the case was dismissed in June.