Quarterback competitions traditionally have been the focal point of spring football practice when a team has lost its starter from the previous season. Look no further than the Big Ten to see how those battles are becoming a thing of the past.
There will be eight new starters in the conference this fall, and six will be experienced transfers who arrived at their new schools with the job all but locked up. After all, coaches want a sure thing when millions are being spent on revenue sharing and name, image and likeness compensation.
No quarterback will be watched more than Josh Hoover, who takes over for Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza at defending national champion Indiana. Hoover threw for 9,600 yards and 71 touchdowns in three years at TCU but had an issue with turnovers. He lost nine fumbles and threw 33 interceptions in 36 games, including at least two picks in 11 games.
TCU coach Sonny Dykes publicly needled Hoover about the turnovers after he left, and it didn’t go unnoticed by Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, who noted two areas where the Horned Frogs struggled during Hoover’s time in Fort Worth.
“We’ve got to clean up some of the turnovers, obviously, which Coach Dykes made light of,” Cignetti said. “But when Josh got here, he met his two new best friends — great defense and a really good run game — and he was never the same after that.”
Other teams breaking in transfer quarterbacks are Illinois (Katin Houser, East Carolina), Nebraska (Anthony Colandrea, UNLV), Northwestern (Aidan Chiles, Michigan State), Penn State (Rocco Becht, Iowa State) and Wisconsin (Colton Joseph, Old Dominion).
Two QB battles could continue into fall camp. Jeremy Hecklinski and Hank Brown, both backups a year ago, are competing at Iowa. Dylan Lonergan, who started 10 games at Boston College, and holdover backup AJ Surace are contending for the job at Rutgers.
Coaching carousel
There are four new head coaches, and of the 16 new coordinators, four already have made their names as head coaches.
Kyle Whittingham takes over at Michigan, Pat Fitzgerald at Michigan State, Matt Campbell at Penn State and Bob Chesney at UCLA.
Whittingham stepped down after 21 seasons at Utah on Dec. 12 and was hired by Michigan two weeks later. Fitzgerald, who coached 17 seasons at Northwestern, is back in the college game three years after his messy breakup with the Wildcats. Campbell (Iowa State) and Chesney (James Madison) are making big moves up in the coaching hierarchy.
Chip Kelly will try to bring some spark to Northwestern’s long-struggling offense as coordinator. The former head coach at Oregon and UCLA, as well as for two NFL teams, headed to Evanston after OC gigs at Ohio State in 2024 and with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.
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Gary Patterson, the all-time wins leader at TCU and a member of the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame class, came out of retirement to become USC’s defensive coordinator with the charge to develop a playoff-worthy defense for Lincoln Riley.
Bobby Hauck was hired as Illinois’ defensive coordinator a few days after he announced his retirement as head coach at FCS power Montana. Arthur Smith, the Atlanta Falcons head coach before two seasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, is Ohio State’s new OC after Brian Hartline took the South Florida head coaching job.
Portal prizes
Ohio State has the No. 1-ranked group of transfers in the Big Ten, according to 247Sports. The Buckeyes focused on restocking a defense that lost eight starters from the unit that led the nation in total and scoring defense for the second straight year. Top incoming transfers are defensive tackle James Smith (Alabama), defensive end Qua Russaw (Alabama) and safety Earl Little (Florida State).
The most high-profile in-conference transfer is safety Koi Perich, who goes from Minnesota to Oregon.
Other notable transfers: QB Dylan Raiola (Nebraska) to Oregon, WR JJ Buchanan (Utah) to Michigan, WR Nick Marsh (Michigan State) to Indiana, DE Tobi Osunsanmi (Kansas State) to Indiana, WR Terrell Anderson (North Carolina State) to USC, TE Ben Brahmer (Iowa State) to Penn State.
Season openers
- Aug. 29: San Jose State at USC.
- Sept. 3: Eastern Illinois at Minnesota; UMass at Rutgers.
- Sept. 5: UAB at Illinois; North Texas at Indiana; Northern Illinois at Iowa; Hampton at Maryland; Western Michigan at Michigan; Toledo at Michigan State; Ohio at Nebraska; South Dakota State at Northwestern; Ball State at Ohio State; Boise State at Oregon; Marshall at Penn State; Indiana State at Purdue; UCLA at California; Washington State at Washington.
- Sept. 6: Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin in Green Bay.
18 players to watch
A look at Big Ten football players this spring who are poised to have breakout seasons this fall.
Illinois
Tight end Kaden Feagin is changing positions after spending his first three years at running back. Depth at that spot has allowed the 6-foot-3, 260-pounder to move to what may be his more natural position. He has shown good hands catching balls out of the backfield, so this move makes sense for a team that lost its top two tight ends.
Indiana
Safety Byron Baldwin Jr. missed the first two months of his freshman season because of injury and will be counted on to help fill the void left by departed safeties Louis Moore and Devan Boykin. Baldwin was a four-star prospect and top-20 national safety prospect coming out of Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore. He mostly played special teams when he did get on the field the second half of last season. His role should grow significantly.
Iowa
Wide receiver Tony Diaz was one of the top receivers in the FCS at Texas-Rio Grande Valley, and he turned down an offer from Alabama, among others, to sign with the Hawkeyes. Diaz flashed in spring practice, a promising sign for a receiving corps in desperate need of a playmaker. Diaz could be that guy after catching 68 balls for 875 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Vaqueros.
Maryland
Edge rusher Zion Elee is the Terrapins’ highest-ranked recruit ever, according to 247Sports, and ESPN listed the Baltimore native as the No. 2 high school prospect in the country. Naturally, high expectations follow him into his freshman season. The Terps have seasoned pass rushers in Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis, but don’t dismiss the possibility of Elee being on the field at the same time with both.
Michigan
Wide receiver JJ Buchanan will have a chance to make an instant impact after following coach Kyle Whittingham to Ann Arbor from Utah, where he had a promising freshman season at tight end. Buchanan was the fifth-ranked receiver in the transfer portal after he had 26 receptions for 427 yards and five touchdowns. He’s poised to become a go-to receiver for Bryce Underwood.
Michigan State
Quarterback Alessio Milivojevic hopes to build off the opportunity he got late last season when he took over for the benched Aidan Chiles. Milivojevic first must beat out sixth-year player Cam Fancher, who has been a starter at three schools. Milivojevic started the last four games and threw for 1,267 yards and 10 touchdowns in nine games overall.
Minnesota
Defensive end TJ Bush Jr. had 11½ tackles for a loss and 5½ sacks for California last season and gives the Gophers a complement to AP second-team All-Big Ten end Anthony Smith. Bush, who played his first two seasons at Liberty before his stop at Cal, strengthens a defense that led the conference with 3.0 sacks per game and was second in TFLs with 7.1.
Nebraska
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Running back Jamal Rule blossomed in the spring and could be a major contributor at a position that lost 1,500-yard rusher Emmett Johnson. The coaching staff was panned by fans for not pursuing a running back in the portal. The staff has been high on Rule all along. The 2026 signee who enrolled in January piled up 136 yards from scrimmage on 11 touches in the spring game, including a 75-yard touchdown run.
Northwestern
Linebacker Kobie McKinzie is a seasoned Oklahoma transfer expected to help fill a big hole left from the departure of Mac Uihlein, who accounted for 185 tackles the last two seasons. McKinzie was hitting his stride as a starter for the Sooners when a groin injury in late October caused him to miss a game, and he returned in a reserve role the rest of the season.
Ohio State
Wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. showed during the final week of spring practice why he was the nation’s top-ranked receiver in this year’s recruiting class. Henry shed his black stripe three days before the spring game, signifying he had proved to the coaching staff he understood the expectations of the program. During the spring game, he displayed his ability to be a vertical threat with a 40-yard touchdown. Henry mostly saw time with the second team but should compete for playing time in a receiving group led by Jeremiah Smith.
Oregon
Offensive lineman Fox Crader is first in line to take over for Isaiah World at left tackle. The four-star recruit got limited snaps in his second season with the Ducks, except when he played 55 as the starter against USC when World was out with an injury. As protector of Dante Moore’s blind side, Crader will be a crucial piece to a line replacing three starters.
Penn State
Defensive end Max Granville had a promising freshman year in 2024 and was set to be a major contributor before an injury caused him to miss last season. With Dani Dennis-Sutton gone and Chaz Coleman having transferred to Tennessee, this is Granville’s time. The son of former NFL linebacker Billy Granville has drawn praise from new coach Matt Campbell this spring and is in line to be in the rotation at his position, if not a starter.
Purdue
Defensive end Jeremy Lewis has been a disruptive force throughout the spring and could be the guy to take over for edge rusher CJ Nunnally IV. Lewis had nine sacks and 15½ tackles for a loss at Iowa Western CC last season and saved his best performance for last, recording 2½ sacks and forcing and recovering fumbles in the Division I junior college national championship game.
Rutgers
Cornerback Kevin Levy has the opportunity to play a major role at a spot with no returning starters. He was a four-star prospect out of West Palm Beach, Fla., two years ago, so the talent is there. Coach Greg Schiano has a reputation for developing top defensive backs, and he said Levy has done everything right to position himself for play significant snaps.
USC
Defensive end Jahkeem Stewart is a 6-foot-5 pass rusher who had a solid freshman season despite playing with a stress fracture in his foot, so the Trojans haven’t seen everything he can do. The coaching staff has repeatedly mentioned Stewart’s offseason progress. Stewart and fellow 6-5 end Kameryn Crawford are the foundation of what defensive coordinator Gary Patterson says could be the biggest and best defensive line of his coaching career.
UCLA
Defensive end Aiden Gobaira followed coach Bob Chesney from James Madison and will be counted on to improve a pass rush that recorded just 10 sacks, fewest in the nation. Gobaira never played a snap in two-plus seasons at Notre Dame but came on to record four sacks and 7½ tackles for a loss in his one year at JMU.
Washington
Wide receiver Dezmen Roebuck logged the second-most receiving yards on the team as a freshman, hauling in 42 passes for 560 yards and dropping just one pass. Roebuck, who lined up wide 70% of the time last season, is moving to the slot and should be Demond Williams Jr.’s favorite target with Denzel Boston, last season’s leading receiver, off to the NFL.
Wisconsin
Quarterback Colton Joseph threw for 2,624 yards and 24 touchdowns and ran for 1,007 yards and 13 more scores while helping Old Dominion go 9-3. He didn’t play in the Cure Bowl. The Badgers need him to stay healthy. QB injuries have decimated Wisconsin throughout Luke Fickell’s coaching tenure. Wisconsin’s intended season-opening starter has been available for the entirety of only 11 of the Badgers’ 37 games the last three years.
AP’s Greg Beacham, Dave Campbell, Andrew Destin, Larry Lage, Steve Megargee and Andrew Seligman and AP freelancer John Bohnenkamp contributed.