Quarterback competitions traditionally have been the focal point of spring football when a team has lost its starter from the previous season. Look no further than the Big Ten to see how those battles are becoming a thing of the past.
There will be eight new starters in the conference this fall, and six will be experienced transfers who arrived at their new schools with the job all but locked up. After all, coaches want a sure thing when millions are being spent on revenue sharing and name, image and likeness compensation.
No QB will be watched more than Josh Hoover, who takes over for Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza at defending national champion Indiana. Hoover threw for 9,600 yards and 71 touchdowns in three years at TCU but had an issue with turnovers. He lost nine fumbles and threw 33 interceptions in 36 games, including at least two picks in 11 games.
TCU coach Sonny Dykes publicly needled Hoover about the turnovers after he left, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who noted two areas where the Horned Frogs struggled during Hoover’s time in Fort Worth.
“We’ve got to clean up some of the turnovers, obviously, which coach Dykes made light of,” Cignetti said. “But when Josh got here, he met his two new best friends: Great defense and a really good run game, and he was never the same after that.”
Other teams breaking in transfer QBs are Illinois (Katin Houser, East Carolina), Nebraska (Anthony Colandrea, UNLV), Northwestern (Aidan Chiles, Michigan State), Penn State (Rocco Becht, Iowa State) and Wisconsin (Colton Joseph, Old Dominion).
There are two QB battles that could continue into fall camp. Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown, both backups a year ago, are competing at Iowa. Dylan Lonergan, who started 10 games at Boston College, and holdover backup AJ Surace are contending for the job at Rutgers.
Coaching carousel
There are four new head coaches, and of the 16 new coordinators, four already have made their names as head coaches.
Kyle Whittingham takes over at Michigan, Pat Fitzgerald at Michigan State, Matt Campbell at Penn State and Bob Chesney at UCLA.
Whittingham stepped down after 21 seasons at Utah on Dec. 12 and was hired by Michigan two weeks later. Fitzgerald, who coached 17 seasons at Northwestern, is back in the college game three years after his messy breakup with the Wildcats. Campbell (Iowa State) and Chesney (James Madison) are making big moves up in the coaching hierarchy.
Chip Kelly will try to bring some spark to Northwestern’s long-struggling offense as coordinator. The former head coach at Oregon and UCLA, as well as with two NFL teams, headed to Evanston after OC gigs at Ohio State in 2024 and with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.
Gary Patterson, the all-time wins leader at TCU and a member of the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame class, came out of retirement to become Southern California’s DC with the charge to develop a playoff-worthy defense for Lincoln Riley.
Bobby Hauck was hired as Illinois’ defensive coordinator a few days after he announced his retirement as head coach at FCS power Montana. Arthur Smith, the Atlanta Falcons head coach before two seasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator, is Ohio State’s new OC after Brian Hartline took the South Florida head coaching job.
Portal prizes
Ohio State has the No. 1-ranked group of transfers in the Big Ten, according to 247Sports. The Buckeyes focused on restocking a defense that lost eight starters from the unit that led the nation in total and scoring defense for the second straight year. Top incoming transfers are DL James Smith (Alabama), DE Qua Russaw (Alabama) and S Earl Little (Florida State).
The most high-profile in-conference transfer is Koi Perich, who goes from Minnesota to Oregon.
Other notable transfers: QB Dylan Raiola (Nebraska) to Oregon, WR JJ Buchanan (Utah) to Michigan, WR Nick Marsh (Michigan State) to Indiana, QB Rocco Becht (Iowa State) to Penn State, DE Tobi Osunsanmi (Kansas State) to Indiana, WR Terrell Anderson (North Carolina State) to USC, TE Ben Brahmer (Iowa State) to Penn State, QB Josh Hoover (TCU) to Indiana.
Season openers
Aug. 29: San Jose State at Southern California.
Sept. 3: Eastern Illinois at Minnesota; UMass at Rutgers.
Sept. 5: UAB at Illinois; North Texas at Indiana; Northern Illinois at Iowa; Hampton at Maryland; Western Michigan at Michigan; Toledo at Michigan State; Ohio at Nebraska; South Dakota State at Northwestern; Ball State at Ohio State; Boise State at Oregon; Marshall at Penn State; Indiana State at Purdue; UCLA at California; Washington State at Washington.
Sept. 6: Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin, at Green Bay, Wisconsin.