Greg McElroy Ranks No. 1 QB in College Football Entering 2026 Season

ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy has released his top quarterback rankings for the 2026 season, and the man sitting at the top of the list should come as little surprise to anyone who watched the Big Ten last fall.

Ohio State's Julian Sayin is McElroy's No. 1 quarterback in college football heading into 2026. It is a distinction that carries real weight coming from McElroy, who emphasized on his Always College Football podcast that his rankings are built on film study and honest evaluation rather than recruiting pedigree or NIL value.

The list itself reflects what many analysts have called one of the deepest quarterback classes in recent memory. Dante Moore, Arch Manning, Jayden Maiava and CJ Carr round out his top five, but McElroy made clear there was daylight between Sayin and the rest.

Why Julian Sayin sits atop McElroy's list

The case for Sayin starts with a number that almost defies belief. He completed 77% of his passes as a freshman starter, one of the best single-season completion rates in FBS history. McElroy pointed to that figure as the foundation of his argument.

"He finished last year with a remarkable 3,600 passing yards, 32 touchdown passes, and eight interceptions," McElroy said. "The completion percentage is one of the best in the history of the FBS. He was a Heisman Trophy finalist. He was the Big Ten freshman of the year."

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin — Quarterback Julian Sayin (10) throws during the Ohio State football spring game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ohio State went 12-0 in the regular season before dropping back-to-back games to Indiana in the Big Ten title game and Miami in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal. McElroy acknowledged Sayin was not at his best in either loss, but framed those defeats as motivation rather than cause for concern. "Those losses hurt," he said. "Those losses, however, are also fuel."

That assessment aligns with this outlet's own preseason quarterback rankings, which also placed Sayin at No. 1 entering 2026, citing his consistency, composure and the fact that he never seemed rattled against one of the most demanding schedules in the country.

Sayin's next step and what it means for Ohio State

The one dimension missing from Sayin's already historic freshman campaign was any meaningful threat as a runner. His rushing totals were negative on the season and he finished without a single rushing touchdown. McElroy noted a telling moment from the spring game that suggests that is about to change.

"You see a defensive end beat the blocker, collapse the pocket. You see Julian Sayin take off, tuck the ball, and run for a touchdown," McElroy said. "His rushing numbers from a year ago were in the negatives. He did not have a single rushing touchdown at Ohio State. But the first play he made with his legs was in the spring game."

McElroy broke it down plainly: "Now you add the threat of potentially taking off and getting you three, four, maybe five first downs in the game. Think what that means for defensive coordinators who already are going to struggle to stop him through the air, and whose only hope to slow down this passing attack is the pass rush. Well, guess what can slow down the pass rush? The threat of the quarterback run."

Sayin ↗️ Smith

Julian Sayin throws a dart to Jeremiah Smith to extend No. 1 @OhioStateFB's lead.

📺: BTN pic.twitter.com/QAYxrAblGu
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 8, 2025

Add Jeremiah Smith back at wide receiver, what McElroy called a genuinely unguardable weapon, and the recipe for opposing defenses gets even harder to stomach. "That combination, the elite accuracy, the elite weaponry, the elite program, and a super motivated quarterback with a chip on his shoulder," McElroy said, "that is an extremely dangerous recipe for college football."

In my own edition of college football's top returning quarterbacks of 2026, Sayin was slotted at No. 1, followed by Manning, Moore, Drew Mestemaker and Sam Leavitt rounds out my top five.

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