College football recruiting reset: Taking stock of blue-chip quarterbacks in Class of 2026
With the final five-star quarterback off the board — Ryder Lyons committed to BYU — it's a good time to take stock of where things stand with the blue-chip QBs in the 2026 cycle.
Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.
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1. Jared Curtis, Nashville (Tenn.) Christian School
Ranking: No. 1 QB, No. 4 overall
Status: Committed to Georgia
2. Faizon Brandon, Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley
Ranking: No. 2 QB, No. 6 overall
Status: Committed to Tennessee
3. Dia Bell, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage
Ranking: No. 3 QB, No. 13 overall
Status: Committed to Texas
4. Keisean Henderson, Spring (Texas) Legacy the School of Sport Sciences
Ranking: No. 4 QB, No. 18 overall
Status: Committed to Houston
5. Ryder Lyons, Folsom (Calif.) High
Ranking: No. 5 QB, No. 19 overall
Status: Committed to BYU
Notes: Lyons was the last player in this group to pick a school, announcing last week his commitment to BYU. He plans on serving a one-year mission, so even though he's in the 2026 class, he's essentially a 2027 prospect.
The Cougars beat out Oregon for Lyons. The Ducks responded by taking a pledge from Bryson Beaver, a three-star prospect from Southern California who generated quite a bit of buzz after a strong showing at the Elite 11 Finals in June.
The other notable news from this group over the past month is that Henderson has shut down his recruitment. He originally had an official visit to Florida State scheduled but canceled that trip.
Curtis committed to Georgia over Oregon in early May. There's been no drama with Brandon's recruitment. Bell was named MVP of the Elite 11 Finals.
6. Landon Duckworth, Jackson (Ala.) High
Ranking: No. 6 QB, No. 51 overall
Status: Uncommitted
7. Jake Fette, El Paso (Texas) Del Valle
Ranking: No. 7 QB, No. 76 overall
Status: Committed to Arizona State
Blessed to announce my commitment to Arizona State University!! Excited to continue to pursue my dream as a Sun devil #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/7iLPFiEIxG
— Jake Fette (@jake_fette1) September 23, 2024
8. Brady Smigiel, Newbury Park (Calif.) High
Ranking: No. 8 QB, No. 83 overall
Status: Committed to Michigan
9. Jonas Williams, Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln-Way East
Ranking: No. 9 QB, No. 92 overall
Status: Committed to USC
10. Bowe Bentley, Celina (Texas) High
Ranking: No. 10 QB, No. 94 overall
Status: Committed to Oklahoma
Notes: Duckworth committed to South Carolina in August 2023 but reopened his recruitment in June. It would not be a surprise if he committed to the Gamecocks again. His finalists are South Carolina and Auburn, but the Tigers flipped four-star Peyton Falzone from Penn State last week.
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Fette seems solid with Arizona State. Same with Williams and USC. Smigiel committed to Michigan in April.
Bentley committed to Oklahoma over LSU on June 20. Four-star prospect Jaden O'Neal had been committed to Oklahoma — and left his high school in Southern California and transferred to Mustang High in Oklahoma — but he backed off that pledge on June 19. The next day, Bentley committed. The two events were no doubt related.
11. Noah Grubbs, No. 174 overall, Notre Dame commit
12. Oscar Rios, No. 184 overall, Arizona commit
Arizona scored a significant recruiting win against UCLA when it received Rios' pledge on Friday. He is a Southern California native, so UCLA was viewed by some as the favorite. But Wildcats offensive coordinator Seth Doege continues to be one of the more under-the-radar quarterback recruiters in the country and helped Arizona notch a much-needed win. Meanwhile, the Bruins still don't have a quarterback in their 2026 class.
13. Dereon Coleman, No. 203 overall, Miami Commit
14. Jaden O'Neal, No. 205 overall, Florida State commit
O'Neal visited Florida State in April and June, so the Seminoles made sense when he was looking for a new landing spot.
15. Will Griffin, No. 216 overall, Florida commit
16. Jett Thomalla, No. 232 overall, Alabama commit
Thomalla committed to Iowa State in mid-April, but that marriage was short-lived. Alabama offered on May 15, and he flipped to the Crimson Tide on June 17.
17. Helaman Casuga, No. 235 overall, Texas A&M commit
18. Peyton Falzone, No. 246 overall, Auburn commit
Falzone, a Pennsylvania native, committed to Penn State in April but surprisingly flipped to Auburn last week. This was an important addition for the Tigers, who have only seven commitments as of the end of June. The Nittany Lions lost a blue-chip QB commit but already have four-star Troy Huhn committed in this class, so they should be OK at the position.
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19. Kayd Coffman, No. 259 overall, Michigan State commit
20. Troy Huhn, No. 270 overall, Penn State commit
21. Matt Ponatoski, No. 280 overall, uncommitted
Kentucky seems to be the favorite for Ponatoski. He also visited Oregon recently, but the Ducks landed Beaver. The Wildcats, assuming Ponatoski commits, will also have to hold off Major League Baseball. He was the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year in both football and baseball and is expected to be drafted later this month.
22. Tait Reynolds, No. 283 overall, Clemson commit
23. Briggs Cherry, No. 334 overall, Louisville commit
24. Luke Fahey, No. 356 overall, uncommitted
For a bit, Indiana and Stanford were viewed as the main contenders for Fahey, but Ohio State offered on June 22. He is set to announce his commitment on Thursday, and the Buckeyes seemingly have the momentum here. The Hoosiers also took a commitment from three-star QB Cash Herrera a week ago, so the writing might be on the wall.
25. Tayden Kaawa, No. 368 overall, uncommitted
Alabama offered a few weeks ago and seems to be the leader for Kaawa.
26. Gavin Sidwar, No. 383 overall, Missouri commit
27, Derek Zammit, No. 415 overall, Washington commit
(Photo of Bowe Bentley: Naomi Skinner / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
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