7 College Football Quarterbacks Who Should Stay in School Ahead of 2027 NFL Draft

The 2027 NFL Draft quarterback class was billed as one of the deepest in years, but midseason tape now shows several high-profile college passers who would gain more from another season on campus than from entering the draft.

Texas’ Arch Manning has dropped out of the first round of CBS Sports analyst Ryan Wilson’s mock draft, LSU’s Sam Leavitt leads the FBS in interceptions and ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.’s top quarterback, Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker, has just 20 career starts. Some should consider a transfer, too.

Sam Leavitt, LSU

The Ringer’s Todd McShay opened the season suggesting Leavitt could become the best quarterback in the 2027 class. Six games into his LSU career, the Arizona State transfer has thrown eight interceptions, the most in the FBS, and he’s the only quarterback in the country with a pick in every game. He threw six in 13 games during his 2024 breakout in Tempe.

His latest interception, along with a fumble, came in LSU’s 35-34 overtime loss at Kentucky on Oct. 10. Leavitt has pointed to bad luck on some of those turnovers, and he’s completed 75% of his passes over his last three games while playing without injured tight end Trey’Dez Green.

Still, the scouting concerns center on routine plays: ball placement on throws that should be easy, a tendency to abandon structure to improvise and footwork that doesn’t always match route timing. A second year in coach Lane Kiffin’s offense would let the West Linn, Oregon, native work on those details inside a system he already knows. Leavitt already makes the difficult throws, so returning would give him a season of clean, on-schedule football to show NFL teams he can protect the ball.

Nico Iamaleava, UCLA

7 College Football Quarterbacks Who Should Stay in School Ahead of 2027 NFL Draft — UCLA Bruins quarterback Nico Iamaleava (9) makes a pass during the first quarter against the Oregon Ducks | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Iamaleava injured his knee on a second-quarter scramble in UCLA’s 17-15 upset at Oregon on Oct. 10, and CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported he’s expected to miss the rest of the season. UCLA coach Bob Chesney said there is “some serious concern at the moment” while the team waits on a final medical evaluation.

Before the injury, the former Tennessee starter had completed 62.1% of his passes for 982 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions during UCLA’s 5-0 start. His evaluations already pointed to the middle rounds. ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid said in late September, “If he does end up coming out this year, I think he comfortably goes in the third round, somewhere in that range.”

Iamaleava has one year of eligibility left for 2027. Using it would let him prove he’s healthy, finish a full season in Chesney’s offense and give scouts the decision-making tape this fall was supposed to provide. Entering the draft off a knee injury and an even touchdown-to-interception ratio would push teams to treat the former five-star recruit as a long-term project.

LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina

Sellers delivered his best game of the season at Florida on Oct. 10, completing 23 of 35 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns and running for another score in a 38-19 win. South Carolina coach Shane Beamer, who had challenged his quarterback two weeks earlier, said afterward, “He was a freaking dude today.”

That performance lifted him to 61.5% passing, 1,338 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions through six games. Underneath, the profile stays uneven. PFF graded him at 76.6 under pressure through Week 5 but only 57.7 from a clean pocket, the reverse of what NFL teams want from a starter. McShay ranked Sellers as his No. 2 quarterback in the class over the summer, yet he’s absent from the top five quarterbacks on Kiper’s new board.

South Carolina’s offensive line play has improved, but it hasn't given Sellers much help as a draft prospect. A transfer to an offense with steadier protection would give scouts a cleaner read on whether the clean-pocket issues belong to him or to his surroundings. Either way, another season gives him time to pair his playmaking with consistent accuracy on ordinary downs.

Arch Manning, Texas

Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning — Texas quarterback Arch Manning (16) looks on before the game against the Oklahoma Sooners | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Can a college football article about quarterbacks and the draft not include Manning? Apparently not. But he's really the archetype here, even though there are so many clear deficiencies in his game.

Manning has spent four years at Texas but made only 20 career starts, and Wilson estimated another season would push that total toward 40. He still rushes his footwork in clean pockets, skips reads and loses track of the field when his first option is covered.

The Red River loss showed both sides. Manning threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns against Oklahoma, but two fourth-quarter interceptions, one returned 42 yards for a touchdown by Peyton Bowen and another with 19 seconds left, set up a 27-24 Sooners win and knocked Texas from No. 1. Reid now grades him as a Day 2 prospect, and Kiper dropped him to sixth among quarterbacks, writing that Manning “doesn’t see the field as well as other quarterbacks on this list.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said in June he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Manning came back for a fifth season. McShay went further on X this week, writing, “Return. Explore a transfer?” Manning turns 23 in the spring, and a fifth season in Austin or elsewhere would give him 12 to 15 more starts to make his best throws routine.

Drake Lindsey, Minnesota

Golden Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey — Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey (5) makes a pass against the Mississippi State Bulldogs | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Fayetteville, Arkansas, native has completed 64.8% of his passes for 1,335 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Reid wrote over the summer that Lindsey has “the downfield arm strength that makes you sit up in your chair,” and he ranked the Gophers starter 11th on his Oct. 9 quarterback Hot Board.

The production hasn’t caught up to the tools. Against Michigan on Oct. 3, Lindsey threw two first-half interceptions, including one returned 79 yards for a touchdown, before hitting Darius Taylor for the go-ahead score in a 20-14 win. He finished with 136 passing yards.

Minnesota’s offense rarely asks Lindsey to push the ball downfield. He has two years of eligibility left after this season, and McShay included him in his updated top 10 quarterbacks this week, so the interest exists. If Minnesota’s approach doesn’t change, a transfer to a more vertical offense would let him show NFL teams the arm talent they’re projecting and could make him one of the most sought-after quarterbacks in the portal.

Julian Sayin, Ohio State

Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin — Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (10) motions during the college football game against the Maryland Terrapins | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Sayin is the most debatable name here because he’s playing at a high level. He completed 77.0% of his passes for 3,610 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions as a Heisman finalist in 2025, and his 92.5 PFF passing grade ranked second in the country through Week 5 this fall.

The split inside that number drives the case for a return. Sayin led the nation with a 94.0 grade from a clean pocket, but it fell to 65.5 when pressured. At 6-foot-1 and 214 pounds, he still has to prove he can consistently fit tight windows. Throwing to Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith also makes it hard to separate the quarterback’s work from the receiver’s. CBS Sports’ Mike Renner placed Sayin No. 76 on his midseason big board.

Ohio State visits an Indiana team riding a 22-game win streak on Saturday, which will test him against a quality defense. Sayin still holds the No. 1 spot in our Big Ten quarterback rankings, so returning would strengthen an NFL projection rather than repair a college résumé.

Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Drew Mestemaker — OSU quarterback Drew Mestemaker (17) warms up before a college football game against the UCF Knights | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Mestemaker carries the strongest counterargument on this list because he's receiving a lot of praise. For example, Kiper ranks him No. 2 overall and first among quarterbacks. He completed 67.5% of his passes for 1,575 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions through five games, and his 30 completions of 20-plus yards ranked third in the FBS.

His experience is still thin. Mestemaker didn’t start at quarterback in high school, walked on at North Texas in 2024 and led the FBS in passing yards in 2025 before following coach Eric Morris to Stillwater. Kiper noted he “doesn’t turn 21 years old until January, and he has just 20 career starts to his name.” His mechanics remain unorthodox, he tends to hunt big plays and PFF’s charting through Week 5 showed his grades dropping sharply under pressure.

Wilson’s latest mock draft assumes Mestemaker returns to college for 2027. A second season with Morris would add a full year of starts against Power Four defenses and time to clean up his mechanics, but it would also mean passing on a draft position few quarterbacks with his experience ever see.

More potential returning QBs: Washington's Demond Williams, Missouri's Austin Simmons

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