With no spring transfer portal window in 2026, college football rosters for the upcoming season are mostly finalized as of mid-May—barring any extreme cases. That means it’s time to take a look at the most important position on the field for the sport’s top programs: the quarterbacks.
Spring ball is now complete, and with the insight we’ve gained from a busy offseason and early practices, Sports Illustrated will project every Power 4 starting quarterback, as well as a handful of Group of 6 signal-callers over the next couple of weeks. We’ll also include a confidence meter, based on how certain we are that the named quarterback will be the one who trots out on to the field for his team in Week 1.
Earlier this week, SI projected all 18 Big Ten signal-callers in 2026. Now, it’s on to the ACC as the league hosts its spring meetings this week. The conference hosted one of the biggest defections in the sport this offseason, with Miami poaching Darian Mensah from Duke, but also managed to retain some of its top-end talent at the position. Here’s a closer look at each projected starter for the 17 programs.
Boston College: Mason McKenzie
2025 stats (Division II Saginaw Valley State): 59.8% completion rate, 2,086 yards, 17 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 129.3 efficiency rating
Confidence Level: High
The Eagles hope to have found the next Trinidad Chambliss by plucking McKenzie from the D-II level. The Saginaw Valley State transfer was often the best athlete on the field, leading a middling program in both passing and rushing (942 yards, 10 touchdowns). Turnovers will be a concern, especially at the higher level, as McKenzie threw double-digit interceptions and also fumbled seven times, losing four of them. Bill O’Brien will take over play-calling duties and hope to get the best out of his new QB to wash away the taste of a dismal 2025 season.
California: Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele
2025 stats: 64.2% completion rate, 3,454 yards, 18 touchdowns, nine interceptions, 131.6 efficiency rating
Confidence Level: High
Cal pulled out all the stops to keep the former five-star recruit who dazzled as a freshman for a program that could never break through with Justin Wilcox. And for good reason. Sagapolutele was fifth nationally in completions per game, handling a massive workload for a 19-year-old and showing the same sort of trajectory as his predecessor, Fernando Mendoza. The defense should take a big step forward with former Oregon DC Tosh Lupoi at the helm and if Sagapolutele can take another step forward, the Golden Bears will be a tough out in the conference.
Clemson: Christopher Vizzina
2025 stats: 63.4% completion rate (71 total attempts), 406 yards, four touchdowns, one interception, 127.2 efficiency rating
Confidence Level: High
Dabo Swinney & Co. are all in on Vizzina, who backed up Cade Klubnik for the past two seasons. He did give a reason for optimism in his lone start in 2025 against SMU when he threw for 317 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. The only issue will be a lack of big-game experience and it doesn’t get much bigger than at LSU in prime time for Lane Kiffin’s first game with the Tigers. Klubnik had a rough go in last year’s opener and that was at home, meaning Swinney will have to hope for the best right off the bat.
Duke: Walker Eget
2025 Stats (San José State): 59.0% completion rate, 3,051 yards, 17 touchdowns, nine interceptions, 133 efficiency rating
Confidence Level: Medium
The Blue Devils were dealt a late curveball when Miami plucked standout Darian Mensah to succeed Carson Beck, leaving Manny Diaz scrambling at the 11th hour to find a replacement. There were worse places to have landed than Eget, who had ample experience as a starter with the Spartans. Given that this wasn’t Duke’s first choice, and Eget’s poor 6–12 record as a starter, there’s a chance this unexpected marriage goes sideways. Backup Dan Mahan, a redshirt freshman with no game experience, figures to be Diaz’s escape valve if the situation goes sideways.
Florida State: Ashton Daniels
2025 Stats (Auburn): 57.1% completion rate, 797 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions, 118.4 efficiency rating
Confidence Level: High
Mike Norvell gave Daniels the official nod in late April after just over a dozen spring practices, opting to go with the experienced transfer over sophomore Kevin Sperry. It’ll be the third straight year for a player out of the portal to get the nod in Norvell’s offense and the last two go-arounds with DJ Uiagalelei (2024) and Tommy Castellanos (’25) left a lot to be desired. Daniels has never quite put the pieces together in stints at Stanford and Auburn, but has a lot to offer as a runner, which could make up for his below-average accuracy.
Georgia Tech: Alberto Mendoza
2025 Stats (Indiana): 18 for 24, 286 yards, five touchdowns, one interception
Confidence Level: High
The younger brother of the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft received a massive show of confidence from head coach Brent Key during spring ball. He backed that up by completing 12-of-16 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown in the Yellow Jackets’ spring game. Mendoza has big shoes to fill, not just because of his last name, but he’s replacing Haynes King at Georgia Tech—a beloved player who was as tough a quarterback as any in college football last season. But if he has the same makeup, and arm talent, as his older brother, the Jackets are in a good spot.
Louisville: Lincoln Kienholz
2025 Stats (Ohio State): 11 for 14, 139 yards, one touchdown
Confidence Level: High
Louisville isn’t afraid to spend money on its football program to keep pace in the rat race, but that doesn’t mean it splurged on a quarterback. Kienholz arrives as the clear No. 1 having lingered in the background for three seasons at Ohio State. Having never attempted more than 17 passes in a game (mostly in relief of the likes of Kyle McCord and Julian Sayin), the rising senior is somewhat of an unknown commodity. But there was interest in the portal, and Jeff Brohm has gotten a reputation for developing quarterbacks (see: Tyler Shough) at Louisville, making this an intriguing fit.
Miami: Darian Mensah
2025 Stats (Duke): 66.8% completion rate, 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns, six interceptions, 153.6 efficiency rating
Confidence Level: High
In one of the more controversial quarterback happenings of the offseason, Mensah flew south in the conference to link up with Mario Cristobal in South Beach. He also instantly gives Miami one of the best signal-callers in the sport. Mensah’s usage at Duke was massive, as he led the ACC in attempts, yards and touchdowns, never afraid to test defense downfield. But he did take 27 sacks and had serious lapses in losses to UConn, Virginia and his first school, Tulane. Still, with the likes of Malachi Toney and Mark Fletcher Jr. around him, along with a much more competent offensive line, Mensah will be set up for success in 2026.
North Carolina: Billy Edwards Jr.
2025 Stats (WIsconsin): 7 for 16, 113 yards
Confidence Level: Medium
Bill Belichick is desperately hoping for a step forward in 2026, but having Edwards as his best option doesn’t inspire much confidence. The sixth-year senior saw his lone season at Wisconsin derailed by a PCL sprain and nothing in his three years at Maryland particularly stood out. There is also a tantalizing option behind Edwards in Western Carolina transfer Taron Dickens, who threw for over 3,500 yards with 38 touchdowns to two interceptions last season. But obviously the level of competition is far from what Edwards has played against, leaving Belichick with an intriguing decision to make.
NC State: CJ Bailey
2025 Stats: 68.8% completion rate, 3,105 yards, 25 touchdowns, nine interceptions, 150.7 efficiency rating
Confidence Level: High
Retaining Bailey was vital for the Wolfpack, especially given the leap he made in his sophomore season. He has a big arm but doesn’t tend to put the ball in harm’s way, while also being one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the conference. Bailey can also use his 6'6" frame in interesting ways in the run game, giving Dave Doeren a versatile option to build around. Trajectory suggests he’s in for another big year and could be one of the top five guys in the conference.
Pittsburgh: Mason Heintschel
2025 Stats: 63.6% completion rate, 2,354 yards, 16 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 137.8 efficiency rate
Confidence Level: High
Pat Narduzzi took quite the swing four games into the 2025 season when he benched ’24 starter Eli Holstein after a 2–2 start. In came Heintschel, a true freshman, who rattled off five straight wins and a series of massive performances. The good times didn’t keep rolling against better competition unfortunately—some of which wasn’t Heintschel’s fault. He was far less efficient against the likes of Notre Dame and Miami and sacked 18 times in Pitt’s last four games, during which time the Panthers posted a 1–3 record. Narduzzi will hope his quarterback just hit a wall but will be back on the upswing in his sophomore season.
SMU: Kevin Jennings
2025 Stats: 66.1% completion rate, 3,641 yards, 26 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 146.6 efficiency rate
Confidence Level: High
Jennings is one of the more experienced quarterbacks on this list, seeing as he helped deliver SMU to the playoffs in 2024 before a drop-off last year. That’s not to say he was worse by any means, even though he led the league in interceptions. The more concerning aspect of his performance was a lack of running ability. After rushing for 354 yards in 2024, Jennings dropped down to just 54 yards in ’25 and took five more sacks than he did the previous season. In general, SMU didn’t run the ball as well last season (down to 1,740 yards from 2,347 in ’24), which will surely be a point of emphasis for Rhett Lashlee this fall.
Stanford: Davis Warren
2025 Stats (Michigan): N/A (Medical Redshirt)
Confidence Level: Low
After suffering a torn ACL in Michigan’s 2024 bowl game, Warren medically redshirted last season, meaning he hasn’t seen game action since Dec. 31, 2024. And yet he seems to be the primary option for the Cardinal this fall. It’s hard to believe that new head coach Tavita Pritchard will be wholly committed to Warren however. Backup Dylan Rizk has some experience two seasons ago at UCF. Plus, incoming freshman Mike Mitchell Jr. has promise and could be worth building around for the future. It’s a reset year on The Farm—and trotting out a sixth-year senior who has more career interceptions than touchdowns would seem an odd choice.
Syracuse: Steve Angeli
2025 Stats: 62.8% completion rate, 1,317 yards, 10 touchdowns, two interceptions
Confidence Level: Low
The former Notre Dame quarterback got off to an excellent start in his first year at Syracuse, mirroring the sort of high volume that Kyle McCord had in 2024. Unfortunately, Angeli tore his Achilles in the second half of the win against Clemson and missed the rest of the season. That injury occurred all the way back in late September, but Syracuse’s decision to add in the portal suggests it’s planning for the possibility of Angeli not being available. Amari Odom, who led Kennesaw State to a Conference USA title in 2025, joined on after an all-conference year for the Owls and should bring some stiff competition for Fran Brown to make sense of.
Virginia: Beau Pribula
2025 Stats (Missouri): 67.4% completion rate, 1,941 yards, 11 touchdowns, nine interceptions, 134.6 efficiency rate
Confidence Level: Medium
The Cavaliers boast one of the more intriguing quarterback rooms in the country in 2026. Pribula dislocated his ankle in late October but avoided a fracture, which allowed him to come back and play sparingly—albeit not very well—toward the end of the regular season. Still, there’s some evidence that Pribula can be a dynamic dual-threat at the Power 4 level. But he’ll be pushed by Pitt transfer Eli Holstein, who put up impressive numbers in 2024 before struggling at the start of last season and losing his job to a true freshman. Both players have tons of experience and have won at different programs, leaving Tony Elliott to decide which is the better option to win at UVA.
Virginia Tech: Ethan Grunkemeyer
2025 Stats (Penn State): 69.1% completion rate, 1,339 yards, eight touchdowns, four interceptions, 142.6 efficiency rating
Confidence Level: High
Grunkemeyer will head south with head coach James Franklin to take over as the presumptive starter at Virginia Tech. And there’s no doubt that Drew Allar’s replacement started to hit his stride against lesser Big Ten competition down the stretch. In his final four games with Penn State, Grunkemeyer went 4–0, completed 73.8% of his passes and threw six touchdowns with no interceptions. Plus, he’s still young and could benefit from entering the season as the clear No. 1 option.
Wake Forest: Gio Lopez
2025 Stats (North Carolina): 65.1% completion rate, 1,747 yards, 10 touchdowns, five interceptions, 130.2 efficiency rating
Confidence Level: Medium
A stint in Belichick’s tumultuous opening year in Chapel Hill didn’t seem to agree with Lopez, who got off to a horrendous start against TCU and never quite found his footing. But the production is there from his time at South Alabama, when he was one of the best quarterbacks in the Sun Belt and consistently gave defenses a handful to think about with his mobility. Heading to Wake Forest gives Lopez a chance to reunite with former South Alabama OC Rob Ezell, which should mean the Demon Deacons will get the best version of the redshirt junior.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Projecting Every ACC Starting Quarterback Ahead of the 2026 College Football Season.
