The Big Ten Quarterback Picture For 2023

Nine teams within the Big Ten conference are replacing their starter from the 2022 season.

The Big Ten quarterback picture has a lot of question marks heading into 2023. Only two programs - Michigan and Maryland - return solidified starters from the 2022 season, while nine programs within the conference will be replacing their starter from last year. 

While some schools will rely on guys who have been with their respective programs to step up and fill the void, others have looked to the transfer portal to try and upgrade at the position. 

Here's a look at the full quarterback picture around the Big Ten conference heading into 2023:  

Returning Starters from 2022

1. Michigan: JJ McCarthy

The Michigan Wolverines return one of the top quarterbacks in all of college football with JJ McCarthy. The junior signal caller is coming off of an incredible season, leading the Wolverines to a 13-1 overall record - including a second-consecutive win over Ohio State, Big Ten Championship, and appearance in the College Football Playoff. 

McCarthy finished his sophomore campaign completing 208 of 322 attempts (64.6 percent) for 2,719 yards and 22 touchdowns through the air. The dual-threat quarterback also added 306 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns on the ground.  

2. Maryland: Taulia Tagovailoa

Taulia Tagovailoa returns for his fourth season at Maryland, and is the most experienced returning starting quarterback in the Big Ten conference. The talented redshirt senior essentially owns the record books at Maryland when it comes to the quarterback position, ranking first all-time in 11 different categories:

• Career Passing Yards (7,879)
• Single Season Passing Yards (3,860 in 2021)
• Career Completions (665)
• Single Season Completions (328 in 2021)
• Career Completion Percentage (67.4%)
• Single Season Completion Percentage (69.2% in 2021)
• Career Passing Touchdowns (51)
• Single Season Touchdowns (26 in 2021, Tied with Scott Milanovich (1993))
• Career 300-Yard Passing Games (12)
• Single Season 300-Yard Passing Games (7 in 2021)
• Career Total Offense (8,067)

3. Minnesota: Athan Kaliakmanis

After 41 career starts and a program record 33 career wins as a starter, veteran quarterback Tanner Morgan recently signed as a UDFA with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Taking his place will be redshirt sophomore Athan Kaliakmanis, who gain valuable experience in 2022 after replacing an injured Morgan in week seven. 

In 2022, Kaliakmanis started five of the eleven games he competed in and finished the season completing 60-of-111 attempts for 946 yards and three touchdowns. 

4. Rutgers: Gavin Wimsatt and Evan Simon 

Rutgers is returning two quarterbacks who took starting reps in 2022. Junior QB Evan Simon played in nine games with two starts, and led the Scarlet Knights in passing yards at 777 yards, a 57.7 percent completion rate and four touchdowns. The other Junior QB, Gavin Wimsatt, played in eight games with six starts, completing 65 passes for 757 yards and five touchdowns. 

5. Northwestern - Brendan Sullivan, Ryan Hilsinki, and Ben Bryant  

Northwestern returns two quarterbacks with starting experiencing from 2022 - Brenden Sullivan and Ryan Hilsinki. To make things even more interesting, the Wildcats recently added Ben Bryant, a quarterback transfer from Cincinnati, into the mix. 

Neither Sullivan or Hilsinki managed to solidify themselves as a true QB1 in 2022, and the addition of Bryant proves that the Wildcats are still searching for someone to fill that role in 2023. 

Replacing Starters from 2022

1. Iowa: Replacing Spencer Petras  

Iowa is replacing its starting quarterback from 2022, but most people believe the Hawkeyes are making a significant upgrade with Michigan transfer Cade McNamara. The former Wolverine appeared in 21 games with 16 starts during his time at Michigan, finishing his U-M career with a 13-3 record as a starter. 

2. Ohio State: Replacing CJ Stroud

Ohio State will need to replace a two-time Heisman finalist in CJ Stroud, who was taken as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. For now, it appears that Stroud's successor will be junior Kyle McCord, who's played in 12 total games and made one start during his first two years at Ohio State. 

3. Penn State: Replacing Sean Clifford

It's the end of an era in Happy Valley, as veteran quarterback Sean Clifford is off to the NFL after six years at Penn State. Clifford finishes his colligate career as Penn State's all-time leader in career wins as a starting quarterback (32), completion percentage (.614), completions (833), passing yards (10,661), total yards (11,734), passing touchdowns (86) and pass attempts (1,356).

Next up, it's sophomore Drew Allar - a 6-5, 240-pound quarterback who was a five-star prospect coming out of high school. While the Nittany Lions will certainly miss the veteran leadership from Clifford, most believe that the ceiling for Allar is much, much higher. As a freshman, he appeared in 10 games - completing 35-of-60 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns.

4. Purdue: Replacing Aidan O'Connell 

Much like Penn State, Purdue is also replacing a six-year veteran in Aidan O'Connell. After beginning his colligate career as a walk-on back in 2017, O'Connell would eventually become Purdue's all-time leader in completion percentage (66.7%), passing efficiency (141.8) and 500-yard passing games (2). He appeared in 33 games with 26 starts during his time at Purdue.

In his place, it looks like it will be Texas transfer Hudson Card. As a redshirt sophomore at Texas in 2022, Card appeared in 12 games and made three starts due to an injury to starting QB Quinn Ewers. 

5. Michigan State: Replacing Payton Thorne

After finishing with a record of 5-7 and missing the bowl season in 2022, one of the bright spots for the Spartans heading into 2023 was the fact that they were returning a veteran quarterback in Payton Thorne. That is no longer the case. Earlier this month, Thorne announced that he had entered the transfer portal and has since committed to Auburn. 

Mel Tucker will now look to two unproven quarterbacks with limited experience to replace Thorne: redshirt freshman Katin Houser and redshirt junior Noah Kim. 

6. Nebraska: Replacing Casey Thompson

It looked like the Cornhuskers would be returning their starter from 2022, until Casey Thompson announced he was entering the transfer portal back in April. Thompson started 10-of-12 games for Nebraska in 2022, finishing the year tied for 11th in the nation in passing yards per attempt (8.8). His 2,407 yards passing ranks seventh in Nebraska history for a single season.

The starting job now appears to belong to Jeff Sims, a junior quarterback transfer from Georgia Tech. During his three seasons with the Yellow Jackets, Sims started 23 games and accounted for over 5,500 yards of total offense. 

7. Indiana: Replacing Connor Bazelak 

Connor Bazelak joined the Indiana football program in 2022 as a transfer from the University of Missouri .He ended up starting in 9 of his 10 games at Indiana, but opted to enter the transfer portal once again following the 2022 season. Since that time, Bazelak has committed to play at Bowling Green - leaving the Hoosiers with a three-man QB battle heading into 2023. 

Dexter Williams II is entering his fourth year with Indiana, but he's also rehabbing from a significant knee injury last season. Brendan Sorsby is a redshirt freshman who appeared in just one game during the 2022 season, and Tayven Jackson (brother of IU basketball standout Trayce Jackson-Davis) is a redshirt freshman who transferred in from Tennessee.  

8. Illinois: Replacing Tommy Devito (NFL)

Illinois got the most out of Tommy Devito when he committed to the Fighting Illini after transferring from Syracuse. The veteran QB started all 13 games for Illinois in 2022, and finished the last year of his collegiate career completing 279-of-369 attempts, with 2,650 yards and 15 touchdowns. He led the Big Ten in completion percentage (69.6), setting an Illinois single-season record.

Head coach Brett Bielema will now look to replicate that success with Ole Miss transfer quarterback, Luke Altmyer. As a sophomore in 2022, Altmyer appeared in four games and made one start for the Rebels - completing 8-of-17 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns.

9. Wisconsin: Replacing Graham Mertz

After four seasons with Wisconsin, Graham Mertz entered the transfer portal and committed to Florida with two years of eligibility remaining. 

The Badgers now turn to Tanner Mordecai, a veteran QB who transferred in from SMU. Mordecai started 24 games during his two seasons at SMU and was a Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist in 2022. He finished his two-year SMU career completing 596-of-897 attempts for 7,152 yards and 72 touchdowns.