Ranking All Sixteen Big 12 Projected Starting Quarterbacks — Where Does DJ Lagway Rank?
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The Big 12 quarterback picture entering 2026 is messy in the best way. There are proven stat-stuffers, portal bets, former five-stars, Group of Five risers, and a few true unknowns being asked to replace program fixtures. For Baylor, DJ Lagway does not have to be the best quarterback in the conference for the Bears to climb back into bowl range. But this is the standard he is walking into: a league where several teams already know exactly what they have at the most important position on the field.
1. Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State
Mestemaker gets the top spot because production still matters. At North Texas in 2025, he completed 68.9% of his passes for 4,379 yards, 34 touchdowns and nine interceptions, ranking among the national leaders in passing yards, passing touchdowns and efficiency before following coach Eric Morris to Oklahoma State. His draft stock is still more projection than certainty because of the competition jump, but the arm, volume and coach-QB continuity make him the Big 12’s most interesting breakout-to-NFL candidate.
2. Noah Fifita, Arizona
Fifita is the safest quarterback in the league. He threw for 3,228 yards, 29 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2025, and Arizona went from 4-8 to 9-4 with him leading the offense. He may not have prototypical NFL size, but his timing, command and production put him in the “excellent college quarterback with draftable traits” conversation.
3. Devon Dampier, Utah
Dampier’s 2025 jump was real: 63.5% passing, 2,490 yards, 24 touchdowns and five interceptions, plus major value as a runner. He transferred from New Mexico before becoming Utah’s starter, then raised his efficiency rating from 121.6 to 146.8. His NFL stock will always have to fight the size conversation, but his playmaking gives Utah a weekly answer.
4. Bear Bachmeier, BYU
Bachmeier had one of the more impressive freshman seasons in the league, completing 64.9% of his passes for 3,033 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions while adding 527 rushing yards and 11 scores. The Texas Tech games exposed some limitations, but the larger picture is still strong. For NFL purposes, he is more future watch-list than immediate draft stock, but the youth, toughness and dual-threat profile are real.
5. Conner Weigman, Houston
Weigman finally found a clean runway after transferring from Texas A&M to Houston. He threw for 2,705 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2025 while helping the Cougars to a 10-3 season, and his athletic element keeps him from being just a system passer. The draft stock is complicated because he has to keep proving the passing consistency, but the former five-star label still gives scouts a reason to keep watching.
6. Avery Johnson, Kansas State
Johnson’s 2025 felt more steady than spectacular, with 2,385 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. Still, he enters 2026 tied for Kansas State’s career passing touchdowns record with 48, and new head coach Collin Klein should know exactly how to use a dual-threat quarterback. His NFL case likely needs a more explosive senior year, but the tools and experience are not in question.
7. DJ Lagway, Baylor
Lagway is the hardest quarterback in the league to rank because the ceiling and the 2025 tape are fighting each other. At Florida last season, he completed 63.2% of his passes for 2,264 yards, 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, and those interceptions are the number Baylor cannot ignore. He is a former five-star, former No. 1 quarterback recruit type of talent, but right now he is more talented than proven.
That said, this is still the kind of player who can change Baylor’s entire season if the environment is better. ESPN’s 2027 draft discussion has kept Lagway on the radar because of the recruiting pedigree and physical tools, while On3 noted that arm talent still intrigues scouts, even with durability and consistency questions attached. For Baylor, the mission is simple: get the Florida volatility down and let the arm talent breathe in Jake Spavital’s offense.
8. Jaden Craig, TCU
Craig is one of the better portal swings in the conference. At Harvard, he threw for 2,869 yards, 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2025, and SI noted his career 52-to-15 touchdown-to-interception ratio across 23 starts. The question is whether Ivy League precision travels to Big 12 speed, but Sonny Dykes’ quarterback history makes this pairing worth respecting.
9. Alonza Barnett III, UCF
Barnett comes from James Madison with real production and real juice. In 2025, he threw for 2,806 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions, and he ran for more than 1,000 yards and 22 touchdowns across his final two seasons with the Dukes. The completion percentage under 60% is the concern, but his legs give UCF a different kind of weekly stress point.
10. Jaylen Raynor, Iowa State
Raynor gives Iowa State experience after transferring from Arkansas State. He completed 66.5% of his passes for 3,361 yards in 2025, though the turnover piece was loud with 11 interceptions. He has 36 career starts and more than 9,800 combined yards, which gives the Cyclones a floor, even if the new roster around him makes the ceiling harder to project.
11. Will Hammond, Texas Tech
Hammond is talented, but Texas Tech’s quarterback situation got complicated fast after Brendan Sorsby was ruled ineligible. Hammond threw for 680 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions in 2025, but he is coming off a torn ACL and reportedly was not expected to be cleared until late August. The draft conversation is premature, but the program context makes him one of the league’s biggest swing players.
12. Cutter Boley, Arizona State
Boley arrives from Kentucky after completing 65.8% of his passes for 2,160 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2025. The arm talent is obvious, but the turnover profile is why he is not higher. Arizona State is a better offensive environment than last year’s Kentucky situation, but replacing Sam Leavitt is still a grown-man assignment.
13. JC French IV, Cincinnati
French is a clean, sensible portal addition from Georgia Southern. He threw for 2,929 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2025, and also added 315 rushing yards and six scores. He has real starting experience, but the Power Four jump and 29 sacks taken last season make this more of a prove-it year than a draft-stock year.
14. Julian Lewis, Colorado
Lewis is probably more talented than this ranking, but he has not played enough to be higher. He threw for 589 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions in limited action as a true freshman, and Colorado allowed 38 sacks last season, the most in the Big 12. The former five-star recruit has long-term NFL intrigue, but 2026 is about survival, protection and proof.
15. Michael Hawkins Jr., West Virginia
Hawkins transferred from Oklahoma after throwing just 27 passes in 2025, completing 15 for 167 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His running ability gives him a way to matter quickly, but he still has to beat out Scotty Fox Jr. and show he can consistently run an offense. Right now, he is more tools bet than established Big 12 starter.
16. Cole Ballard, Kansas
Kansas is the least settled room on the board, but Ballard gets the placeholder nod because SI projected him as the possible inside-track option after spring. His 2025 sample was tiny, just 10-for-22 for 108 yards, one touchdown and one interception, with Isaiah Marshall and Rice transfer Chase Jenkins also in the mix. Whoever wins the job is replacing Jalon Daniels, which means Kansas has the league’s clearest quarterback reset.
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Josh began covering Baylor athletics in July 2025. Before this, he previously wrote for Syracuse men's basketball and football at SI from 2022-24. As a former Division I defensive lineman at Prairie View, Josh is passionate about storytelling from a former athlete's perspective. When he's not covering Baylor, he enjoys traveling, listening to podcasts and music, and loves cooking a good meal.
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