Oregon Has TWO 5-Star QBs With 20+ Starts: Nobody in College Football Is Ready For That Depth
Alright, Emerald City faithful, listen up! You know how we always say you're only as good as your backup, right? Well, in college football, that saying has never been truer, or harder to live by. With all the transfer portal madness and NIL deals flying around, finding a legit No. 2 guy is like finding a Kraken fan who doesn't love Matty Beniers: practically impossible! But guess what? A few teams, including our friends down south, the Oregon Ducks, are sitting on some absolute gold mines at quarterback. And the depth they're rocking is gonna make everyone else green with envy, big time!
The Ducks Are Hoarding QBs (And It's Genius)
Seriously, think about it. Every single year, a starting QB goes down, and suddenly a contender’s season turns into a total dumpster fire. Remember Syracuse last season? Yeah, exactly. But not Oregon. The Ducks are just built different right now. They've got a ridiculously rare situation heading into 2026: two former five-star quarterbacks on the roster, and get this, both of them have at least 20 career starts under their belts! That's just wild. Dylan Raiola, who's one of those guys, transferred to Eugene knowing Dante Moore could be back as the starter. But the chance to develop in Oregon's system? Totally worth it.
Trade on Every Game with Kalshi
Click Here to sign up to Kalshi — Free $10 when you sign up using our link or use code: ONTAPSEA. The only federally regulated prediction market in the US. Trade on real sports outcomes. Available in all 50 states.
And don't sleep on Raiola's resume. Even if his time at Nebraska didn't hit the crazy expectations everyone had for him out of high school, the dude still showed out. In 22 starts, he threw for 4,819 yards and 31 touchdowns, completing 69.1% of his passes, which was a Nebraska program record! Yeah, his mobility gets questioned sometimes, he was sacked on nearly 25% of pressures faced, and he's not exactly chucking it 50 yards downfield every play, ranking 120th in air yards per attempt among 145 returning FBS QBs with at least 100 career attempts. But come on, that's a serious talent sitting on the bench. He's a legitimate starting option, and Oregon just has him as their backup. That's the kind of insurance any team would kill for.
Buckeyes and Tide: More QB Riches
It's not just Oregon flexing, though. Over in Columbus, Ohio State is chilling with a Heisman finalist in Julian Sayin as their starter, but that doesn't mean their backup situation is weak. Nope. Tavien St. Clair, a five-star prospect from the stacked 2025 quarterback class, is waiting in the wings. He's basically the next guy in line for that Buckeyes QB pipeline that's given us college legends like C.J. Stroud and Justin Fields. Sure, his college sample is tiny, just 12 snaps as a redshirt freshman with two incomplete passes, but his high school numbers at Bellefontaine, Ohio, speak volumes: over 10,000 yards and 104 touchdowns in four seasons. The kid is the real deal, no doubt.
Then you've got Alabama, where the most intense quarterback competition for 2026 is happening. It's either Keelon Russell, a former five-star and the No. 2 overall recruit in the 2025 class, or Austin Mack, the Washington transfer who followed Kalen DeBoer to Tuscaloosa. Sources are saying Russell is the slight favorite, but nothing's set in stone. Either way, the loser of that battle immediately becomes one of the best backups in the entire country. Mack already has 44 dropbacks with a 74.3% completion rate and 3 TDs, while Russell has 17 dropbacks, completing 73.3% for 2 TDs. That's some serious talent that's not even starting!
So, while we're out here watching Julio Rodriguez smash dingers and Sam Darnold sling it, it's pretty wild to see what's happening in college football. These teams are loaded, and even if these backups don't see a ton of action, just knowing they're there makes their teams a whole different beast. It’s early in the season, but these guys are already making an impact just by being on the roster. You gotta wonder which one gets called on first. Stay tuned, because this QB depth is going to be a story all season long!
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.