5 Backup QBs Every College Football Fan Should Know Before 2026

As the 2026 college football season approaches, all eyes are on starting quarterbacks like Dante Moore and Arch Manning, but these five backup QBs could end up stealing the spotlight.

Oct 11, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) walks the sidelines during the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

With the 2026 college football season right around the corner, there are a few quarterbacks on everybody's mind.

Can Trinidad Chambliss take Ole Miss on another run? Can Dante Moore lead Oregon to the promised land? Will Arch Manning finally live up to the hype?

Darian Mensah at Miami. CJ Carr at Notre Dame. Julian Sayin at Ohio State. There are so many big names to watch this year; everybody's eyes are on the starters.

But it's the backups you should really be paying attention to, at least in a few situations. Injuries happen, eligibility fights happen, and sometimes the guy waiting in the wings is a former five-star who's one snap away from a breakout.

Here are five backup QBs every college football fan should know heading into the 2026 season.

Fighting Ducks quarterback Dylan Raiola warms up during the Oregon Ducks annual spring game on April 25, 2026 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

1. Dylan Raiola, Oregon 

Raiola arrives in Eugene as one of the most talked-about backups in the country. A former five-star recruit, he started 23 games over two years at Nebraska, throwing for 2,000 yards on a sharp 72.4% completion rate with 18 touchdowns against just six picks as a sophomore before a broken fibula ended his season early.

He hit the portal this offseason and committed to Oregon, only for starter Dante Moore to turn down the NFL draft and return, bumping Raiola to QB2. Don't let the depth chart fool you, though. Raiola's a blue-chip arm with real starting experience, and Oregon's plan is for him to take over in 2027.

Quarterback Tavien St. Clair (9) throws during the Ohio State football spring game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on April 18, 2026. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

2. Tavien St. Clair, Ohio State

St. Clair was the No. 3 quarterback in the 2025 class and a four-year Bellefontaine, Ohio, high school legend who threw for 10,694 yards and 104 touchdowns, including a school-record 3,983-yard junior season.

He redshirted behind Heisman finalist Julian Sayin in 2025, attempting just two passes all year. But spring ball changed the conversation. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound St. Clair flashed a big arm and real touch, including a 40-yard touchdown strike in the spring game.

Head coach Ryan Day has made clear that St. Clair is QB2 and needs to be ready at a moment's notice behind a Heisman-caliber starter. If Sayin stays healthy, St. Clair waits his turn. If not, Buckeye Nation gets a crash course on a former five-star in a hurry.

Nov 29, 2025; Auburn, Alabama, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Deuce Knight (9) warms up before the game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Jordan-Hare Stadium. | John Reed-Imagn Images

3. Deuce Knight, Ole Miss

Knight's path to Oxford was wild. A five-star out of Mississippi and the No. 5 quarterback in the 2025 class, he started just once at Auburn. But in his lone start against Mercer, he accounted for six total touchdowns and 162 rushing yards, highlighted by four rushing touchdowns, the most rushing scores by an Auburn QB debut in 50 years.

When Hugh Freeze got fired, Knight hit the portal and landed at Ole Miss, reportedly believing the starting job was his after Trinidad Chambliss' eligibility waiver was denied. Then a Mississippi court intervened, Chambliss got his injunction, and Knight was the backup again.

He even reportedly scrubbed Ole Miss off his Instagram in frustration before settling in as Chambliss' explosive, dual-threat insurance policy.

April 11, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell rolls out and throws a touchdown pass at Bryant-Denny Stadium during the Alabama A Day scrimmage. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

4. Austin Mack OR Keelon Russell, Alabama 

With Ty Simpson off to the NFL, Alabama's backup conversation is the starting competition to watch. Mack, a 6-foot-6 four-star who followed Kalen DeBoer from Washington, has the experience edge, completing 74.3% of his passes in mop-up duty and leading Alabama's lone scoring drive after Simpson's Rose Bowl injury.

Russell, a former five-star and the No. 2 overall recruit in the 2025 class behind only Bryce Underwood, has the higher ceiling. Crimson Tide coaches have already compared his vision to Michael Penix Jr.'s.

Spring buzz suggests Russell has closed the gap and might even be the slight favorite. Either way, the loser of this battle is a former blue-chip arm worth watching all season.

April 11, 2026; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama quarterback Austin Mack prepares to take a snap at Bryant-Denny Stadium during the Alabama A Day scrimmage. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

5. Keisean Henderson, Houston

Henderson is the lone true freshman on this list, and that's exactly why he belongs here. The No. 1 quarterback in the 2026 recruiting class, Henderson threw for 3,821 yards and 45 touchdowns as a senior at Legacy School of Sport Sciences in Spring, Texas, while also rushing for 591 yards and 10 scores, and he was MVP of the Navy All-American Bowl.

He'll back up A&M transfer Conner Weigman this fall, but scouts already compare his game to Jayden Daniels for his blend of arm talent and athleticism. Houston has a track record of producing big-time quarterbacks, from Andre Ware to Case Keenum, and Henderson is widely viewed as the heir apparent the moment Weigman moves on.