2026 CIF Southern Section Football: Top Quarterbacks to Watch

Is there a more glamorous position in all of sports than quarterback? All eyes are on the following signal callers heading into the 2026 CIF Southern Section high school football season.

From highly-touted recruits and commits to players behind center looking to make their mark, these are the top quarterbacks to watch in this fall.

BONUS: Also included in this list are a few quarterbacks from the LA City Section and San Diego Section.

TOP QUARTERBACKS TO WATCH

Huntington Beach's Brady Edmunds heads into the 2026 season among one of California's most highly-touted quarterbacks. | Jeremy Westerbeck

Brady Edmunds, Huntington Beach, Sr.

College: Ohio State

2025 Stats: Passed for 2,724 yards and 32 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Completed 68% of his passes with a QB rating of 132.4 for the season en route to an 9-3 record. Edmunds also rushed for four TDs.

Dane Weber, Chaparral, Sr.

College: California

2025 Stats: Passed for 3,645 yards and 41 TDs (nine INTs) with a 70% completion rate. He also ran for 14 TDs and 688 yards.

Koa Malau'ulu, St. John Bosco, Jr.

College: Uncommitted

2025 Stats: Passed for 2,361 yards as a sophomore with 33 touchdowns and five interceptions in 11 games. Malau'ulu completed 66% of his passes with a QB rating of 131.8 en route to a 9-2 record.

Jaden Jefferson, Corona Centennial, Sr.

College: Hawaii

2025 Stats: As a junior for Cathedral High in Los Angeles, Jefferson threw for 3,348 yards and 36 TDs with just three picks in 301 passing attempts. Completed 69% of his passes while also rushing for 640 yards and 14 TDs.

Caden Jones, Crean Lutheran, Sr.

College: Arizona

2025 Stats: Tossed for 3,044 yards and 30 TDs with just one INT in 326 passing attempts. Jones completed 75% of his passes. Crean went 10-1 last year.

Ryan Rakowski, Palos Verdes, Sr.

College: Nevada

2025 Stats: Rakowski threw for 2,043 yards and 24 touchdowns with just one interception while completing 69% of his passes (141 of 205). He alsio ran for 707 yards and eight scores.

Chase Curren of Crespi is expected to have a huge junior season in 2026. | Jace Kessler

Chase Curren, Crespi, Jr.

College: Uncommitted

2025 Stats: Curren threw for 2,148 yards and 30 touchdowns in 11 games with seven INTs. He also ran for seven scores with his feet as Crespi had a breakout season, going 10-1.

Taylor Lee, Pacifica/Oxnard, Sr.

College: Portland State

2025 Stats: Monster year for Lee. Passing for 4,059 yards and 53 TDs (14 INTs). He also ran for five TDs while completing 66% of his passes with a QB rating of 127.3. Tritons went 15-1 last fall.

DJ Mitchell, La Habra, Sr.

College: Cal Poly

2025 Stats: Mitchell probably didn't get the recognition he deserved last fall, throwing for 2,678 yards and 30 TDs (9 INTs). He also ran for 768 yards and 15 TDs. The Highlanders went 11-4.

OUT OF SECTION QUARTERBACKS IN SOCAL

Thaddeus Breaux, Hamilton (LA), So. (LA City)

College: Uncommitted

2025 Stats: Breaux is regarded as one of the top prospects in the 2029 class nationally. As a freshman, he threw for 3,230 yards and 32 TDs (7 INTs) in the City Section.

Zachary Benitez, Granite Hills, Sr. (San Diego)

College: San Jose State

2025 Stats: Threw for 4,009 yards and 42 TDs (10 INTs).

Chris Fields, Carson, Sr. (LA City)

College: Georgetown

2025 Stats: Led Carson to the Open Division City title. Tossed for 2,031 yards and 29 TDs (4 INTs). He also scampered for 958 yards and 14 TDs.

MORE QBs TO WATCH

Shawn Sanders, Paraclete, Sr.; Jaxon Carper, St. Bonaventure, Jr.; Ayden Edwards, Tustin, Jr.; Treyvone Towns, Rancho Cucamonga, Jr.; Star Thomas, Orange, Jr.; Daniel Mielke, Murrieta Valley, Sr.; Cameron Pooley, Mater Dei, Sr.; Koa Smith-Mayall, JSerra, Sr.; Koa Regalado, Colton, Sr.; Reagan Toki, Orange Lutheran, Sr.; Jack Hurst, Laguna Beach, Sr.; Ford Green, Westlake, So.; Ezrah Brown, Orange Lutheran, So.; Trevor Scott, Long Beach Poly, So.; Marcus Washington, Cajon, So.; Russell Sekona, Mater Dei, Jr.

2025 CIF-SS FOOTBALL RECAP

PALMER LEADS SANTA MARGARITA TO GLORY

When looking back at the 2025 high school football season in the CIF Southern Section, the lede is undoubtedly Santa Margarita — for a multitude of reasons.

Former NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Carson Palmer came back to his old stomping grounds and won all the big prizes in year one.

Santa Margarita shared the Trinity League title with St. John Bosco and Mater Dei before going on to win the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship and CIF State Open Division titles. The Eagles thumped Corona Centennial at the Rose Bowl 42-7 thanks to 10 catches for 292 yards and four touchdowns (two rushing) from Player of the Year Trent Mosley (who is now at USC).

Palmer would guide Santa Margarita to a rout of De La Salle two weeks later, 47-13, at Saddleback College in December to lift the CIF State crown and finish the season 11-3.

When Palmer lifted the CIF-SS Division 1 plaque at the championship podium in the Rose Bowl, it was the first time a program not named St. John Bosco or Mater Dei lifted the Southern Section's top division trophy since Corona Centennial did it in 2015.

THE ‘MONEY MAN’

One of the biggest stories in recent prep sports history broke last fall when the emergence of Brett Steigh, also known as the ‘Money Man’, who made an appearance on FATTAL FACTOR, a weekly live sports show via Youtube with hosts Tarek Fattal and Aram Tolegian.

Steigh admitted to years of CIF violations at programs like Narbonne (his alma mater), St. Bernard, and most recently, Bishop Montgomery. The biggest confession came when he admitted to paying families up to $50,000 (plus expenses) to get their sons to play high school football at a program of his choice.

The fallout from the story resulted in Bishop Montgomery cancelling its varsity football season. The head football coach Ed Hodgkiss was fired and the President of the school Pat Lee was forced to resign. Nearly 20 players were deemed ineligible and hit with Bylaw 202 for falsifying documents, which means the student-athletes can’t participate in varsity athletics for up to 24 months.

The school ended up hiring Oscar McBride this past spring in efforts to start over. McBride is a former college and NFL standout who built Murrieta Mesa High into a CIF championship-level program. Murrieta Mesa was 0-9 before McBride was hired and led the program to a Division 6 title in 2024.

2025 CIF-SS CHAMPIONS

Click HERE for a quick recap of all the CIF Southern Section football champions from 2025 from Divisions 1 through 14.

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