Early Predictions for CFB's Most Intriguing 2024 Starting Quarterback Roles

The 2023 college football season is over after Michigan defeated Washington 34-13 in the CFP National Championship. As another season comes to a close, it's never too early to start looking ahead to next year.

Even though we are months away from fall camp, a number of teams across the country will have intriguing quarterback battles. Let's take a look at some of the more exciting ones and try to give some early predictions for how they may shake out.

Oregon Ducks

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Head coach Dan Lanning of the Oregon Ducks

Oregon will need to replace star quarterback Bo Nix under center after two exceptional seasons in Eugene. Thanks to how well head coach Dan Lanning has utilized the transfer portal, the quarterback battle looks like a great one.

The Ducks first landed longtime starter for UCF and Oklahoma Dillon Gabriel last month. Gabriel, who will be playing his sixth season in 2024, is coming off the most productive season of his career in Oklahoma. He finished with 3,660 yards passing and 30 touchdowns with six interceptions. He rushed for a career-high 373 yards and 12 touchdowns, too.

Former UCLA quarterback Dante Moore also transferred to Oregon after his true freshman season with the Bruins. Despite suffering some injuries late in the season, Moore threw for 1,610 yards passing with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in nine games.

Moore, the No. 3 overall quarterback prospect from the class of 2023, was originally committed to Oregon before flipping to the Bruins last year. He has a big arm with an impressive ability to move up in the pocket, averaging 7.6 yards per attempt last season.

Gabriel obviously has the edge experience-wise in this battle. But Moore is talented enough to compete for the No. 1 job right away, so I could see the Ducks having a two-quarterback system early in the season.

Ohio State Buckeyes

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Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Will Howard transferred to Ohio State.

The Buckeyes will once again have a quarterback battle this offseason, as 2023 starter Kyle McCord has since transferred to Syracuse. For the 2024 season, OSU head coach Ryan Day will have several options to choose from, both with guys he had on his roster, transfer portal additions and true freshman signees.

We'll start with the portal, as Day landed Kansas State transfer Will Howard. Howard, who has been at Kansas State the last four years, threw for 2,643 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2023. He also rushed for 351 yards and a career-high nine touchdowns.

McCord's backup, Devin Brown, is also still on OSU's roster. In the Buckeyes' 14-3 loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl, Brown completed just four passes for 20 yards. It sounds like he isn't worried about having to compete against a guy like Howard:

"I've always been worried about me," Brown said before the Cotton Bowl via the Columbus Dispatch. "And that's never going to change. I never cared who was in the room coming into this place. I was excited to have people in the room and go against them. That's always been my deal."

Also in the mix for the job is 4-star quarterback signee Air Noland and rising sophomore Lincoln Kienholz, who completed six passes for 86 yards passing vs. Missouri.

"I think that competition is very, very healthy," Day said last month of OSU's quarterback situation. "I think Lincoln's really been coming on, excited to see Air get going here this spring. I'm fired up to see the way Devin's been practicing the last few weeks. But also, Lincoln and Air, these guys are talented young men who want to get on the field."

Howard looks like the obvious choice to win the job, but the younger signal-callers will compete for the job as well.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

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New Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola

Nebraska's 2024 quarterback competition looks fascinating, and it'll likely dictate how head coach Matt Rhule's second year goes in Lincoln.

The buzz surrounding the competition largely stems from the Cornhuskers' late flip of 5-star QB Dylan Raiola. The nation's No. 2 overall quarterback prospect from the class of 2024, per the 247Sports' composite, was a longtime Georgia commit before signing with the Huskers. Per MaxPreps, Raiola threw for 8,442 yards passing with 88 touchdowns and just 11 interceptions over three high school seasons.

Raiola has some strong family ties in Lincoln—his father, Dominic Raiola, was a star Nebraska offensive lineman from 1998 to 2000. His uncle, Donovan, is Nebraska's current offensive line coach, too.

Raiola will compete with rising junior Heinrich Haarberg, who made eight starts last season, and fellow signal-caller signee Daniel Kaelin for the starting job. Haarberg is Nebraska's most experienced signal-caller in Lincoln thanks to the departures of both Chubba Purdy and Jeff Sims.

Rhule and this Nebraska staff did not pursue a quarterback from the transfer portal this cycle, so it will be Raiola vs. Haarberg for the starting job. I like Raiola to win out and hopefully give Nebraska fans some consistency at the quarterback position for a few years.

Texas Longhorns

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Texas QB Quinn Ewers

Starting quarterback Quinn Ewers is reportedly likely returning to Texas for the 2024 season. After a breakout season during which he had 3,479 yards passing with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions, Ewers could feasibly decide to enter the 2024 NFL draft.

But if Ewers returns, it is likely that a quarterback battle will be brewing. Longhorns fans have been clamoring to see former 5-star QB prospect Arch Manning suit up since he arrived in Austin last spring. This photo of Texas beat reporters swarming Manning at media availability ahead of the Sugar Bowl—while leaving Ewers sitting alone—unsurprisingly went viral:

Sure, this was Manning's first-ever media availability session since he got to Texas, but the photo is still pretty remarkable.

Manning finished the 2023 season with just two completions for 30 yards in two games. But with Texas backup quarterback Maalik Murphy entering the transfer portal, it'll be more of a clear-cut battle between Ewers and Manning for the QB No. 1 job.

Ewers had no problems winning the job before, and we'll see if a year of sitting behind him helps Manning make it more of a competition. Ewers shouldn't have an issue repeating what he did last season, but it's fascinating to consider the possibility of Manning making a run at the job.

Miami Hurricanes

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Albany transfer QB Reese Poffenbarger joined the Canes earlier this month.

Miami will have a new face at quarterback this season, as three-year starter Tyler Van Dyke has since transferred to Wisconsin. Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal will have a few options to choose from for his replacement.

On Jan. 8, Miami added Albany transfer Reese Poffenbarger to its 2024 recruiting class. Poffenbarger threw for 3,604 yards and 36 touchdowns—which led the entire FCS—along with 13 interceptions. He had five touchdowns on the ground, too.

"Who has the roster and people in place to make a push to win every game that they play," Poffenbarger told ESPN of Miami. "Miami's roster is flooded with guys who can play in the NFL and make elite plays at this level. They have elite talent at wide receiver and tailback and a defense that can choke people out."

Poffenbarger will compete with current Miami quarterbacks Jacurri Brown and Emory Williams for the starting job. Brown and Williams combined for 651 yards passing with four touchdowns and two interceptions last season. Brown added 57 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, too.

There is also the possibility of the Canes adding longtime Maryland starting quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa to their roster. The younger brother of current Miami Dolphins starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa reportedly has Miami at the top of his list, but it is not known whether the NCAA will grant him a sixth year of eligibility.

UCLA Bruins

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UCLA head coach Chip Kelly

We mentioned signal-caller Dante Moore leaving the Bruins for Oregon. So that means head coach Chip Kelly has to decide on a new quarterback to lead his offense in 2024.

The good news is that Bruins QB Ethan Garbers, who is the most experienced signal-caller on UCLA's roster, is returning. He played in 11 games last season, accounting for 1,136 yards passing, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions.

The Bruins also signed two signal-callers to their 2024 recruiting class. The class, which is ranked 65th nationally overall by 247Sports, includes 3-star QB Karson Gordon as well as 3-star signal-caller Henry Hasselbeck.

"It's probably the one position—if you look at the amount of transfers, it's how many kids transfer at that position because only one kid plays," Kelly said of the quarterback position via On3Sports last month. "You never want to be caught short-handed in the scramble and looking for a kid in June, when you pass on a good kid up in December."

Garbers has the most experience, but Kelly doesn't mind using true freshman quarterbacks early, as he did with Moore. If Garbers doesn't impress enough for the job, Gordon or Hasselbeck can certainly end up starting by Week 1.