Shedeur Sanders led the Big 12 in passing yards in 2024.
The next 10 quarterbacks in those rankings all return this season. With those 10 starters back, it should lead to another unpredictable year in one of the most-entertaining conferences in college football.
Seven of those quarterbacks, led by Baylor's Sawyer Robertson, had at least 20 TD passes. Four QBs – led by TCU's Josh Hoover – had at least 3,000 passing yards. Four QBs – led by Kansas State's Avery Johnson – had at least 400 rushing yards.
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How hard are these quarterbacks to predict? Last year, Sporting News put Arizona State in the last spot. Sam Leavitt responded by leading the Sun Devils to the Big 12 championship and a College Football Playoff berth. Leavitt is now in the top spot in our Big 12 QB rankings.
The Big 12 might be the only conference where that is possible. Colorado's Kaidon Salter, Houston's Conner Weigman and Utah's Devon Dampier are among the high-profile transfers looking to move up those rankings this year.
Here is a closer look at our Big 12 quarterback rankings for 2025.
MORE: Big Ten QB rankings | SEC QB rankings
Ranking Big 12 QBs for 2025
1. Arizona State
Starter: Sophomore Sam Leavitt (13 career starts)
Backup: Senior Jeff Sims (26 career starts; 1 start at Arizona State, 12 starts at Nebraska, 13 starts at Georgia Tech)
Leavitt passed for 2,885 yards, 24 TDs and six interceptions, and he added 443 rushing yards and five TDs. He ranked fourth in the Big 12 with a 150.2 passer rating. If Leavitt improves his accuracy, then he could be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft because of that blend of mistake-free passing and mobility. Sims made one start last season and is in his sixth season.
MORE: SN's post-spring, post-portal Top 25
2. TCU
Starter: Sophomore Josh Hoover (19 career starts)
Backup: Senior Ken Seals (22 career starts at Vanderbilt)
Hoover showed improvement in his second season as the Horned Frogs' starter. He finished with 3,949 passing yards, 27 TDs and 11 interceptions, and TCU closed the season with four consecutive victories. Hoover improved his completion percentage (66.5%) and yards per attempt (8.4), and he will need to cut down on his interceptions in 2025. TCU did not play a ranked opponent all last season – but Hoover will see North Carolina, SMU and Arizona State in September. Seals is an experienced backup who returns in that role for a second season.
3. Iowa State
Starter: Junior Rocco Becht (25 career starts)
Backup: Freshman Connor Moberly (0 career starts)
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell has a third-year starter in Rocco Becht, who ranked fifth in the Big 12 with 3,505 passing yards and 25 TDs with just nine interceptions. Becht is consistent, and he's compiled a 17-8 record as a starter the last two seasons. He closed the season with 270 yards and three TDs in the 45-42 victory against Miami in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Becht is very much in the mold of former Cyclones star quarterback Brock Purdy heading into the 2025 season. Moberty was 5 of 10 passing for 49 yards in 2024.
4. BYU
Starter: Senior Jake Retzlaff (17 career starts)
Backup: Freshman Bear Bachmeier (0 career starts)
Retzlaff has emerged as a success story after two years of JUCO football. He led BYU to an 11-2 record with 2,947 yards, 20 TDs and 12 interceptions. He added 417 rushing yards and six TDs. Retzlaff had two TDs and five interceptions in BYU's last four games – which included losses to Kansas and Arizona State. He'll have to get better on the road and in the fourth quarter for the Cougars this season – but he's part of a strong quarterback room that includes Bear Bachmeier, who will be a true freshman after transferring from Stanford in the spring.
5. Baylor
Starter: Senior Sawyer Robertson (14 career starts)
Backup: Freshman Walker White (0 career starts)
Dave Aranda enters his sixth season with Robertson entrenched as the starter. He played in 10 games last season and ranked second in the Big 12 with a 153.1 passer rating. Robertson had 3,071 passing yards, 28 TDs and eight interceptions. Robertson closed the regular season on a six-game winning streak with an average of 230.2 passing yards, 15 TDs and four interceptions. He had 445 passing yards in the 44-31 loss to LSU in the Texas Bowl. The Bears could be an interesting Big 12 sleeper this year if Robertson produces like that for a full season.
6. Kansas State
Starter: Junior Avery Johnson (14 career starts)
Backup: Junior Jacob Knuth (0 career starts)
Transfer Will Howard led Ohio State to the College Football Playoff championship, and Avery Johnson had an up-and-down first year as Howard's replacement at KSU. He finished with 2,712 yards, 25 TDs and 10 interceptions and added 605 rushing yards and seven TDs. He has a strong arm and the ability to extend plays, but he was prone to mistakes – especially on the road. Kansas State was 2-3 in road games in Big 12 play. He ranks eighth among returning Big 12 quarterbacks in passer rating. Still, Johnson should make a jump with offensive coordinator Matt Wells, who also is back for a second season.
7. Texas Tech
Starter: Junior Behren Morton (24 career starts)
Backup: Freshman Will Hammond (1 career start)
Morton is a two-year starter with an excellent track record with coach Joey McGuire. Morton ranked third in the Big 12 with 277.9 passing yards per game, and he finished with 27 TDs and eight interceptions. Morton did have shoulder surgery in the offseason – and Hammond had 280 yards, one TD and two interceptions in the 39-26 loss to Arkansas in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. Morton has dealt with that shoulder injury each of the last two seasons, and his completion percentage dropped to 56.3% against ranked teams. There still is a lot to prove here, but the room is solid.
8. Utah
Starter: Devon Dampier (13 career starts at New Mexico)
Backup: Sophomore Isaac Wilson (7 career starts)
Cam Rising, who played six seasons at Utah, is gone. Dampier is an exciting quarterback prospect as a replacement. He passed for 2,768 yards, 12 TDs and 12 interceptions, but he also had 1,166 rushing yards and 19 TDs. He can refine that passing talent with offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who also made the move from New Mexico to Utah. The Utes are coming off a 5-7 season, so it might look a lot different with Dampier. Isaac Wilson entered the portal but returned to Utah, and Oklahoma transfer Brendan Zurbrugg will fight for the backup job.
9. Kansas
Starter: Senior Jalon Daniels (33 career starts)
Backup: Sophomore Cole Ballard (0 career starts)
Daniels is back for a sixth season under coach Lance Leipold, and the last three seasons have been a mixed bag. Daniels had a breakout season in 2022, dealt with injuries in 2023 and struggled with inconsistency last season. He's 14-19 as a starter, but the talent is there. He had 2,454 passing yards, 14 TDs and 12 interceptions with 439 rushing yards and six TDs in 2024 as Kansas slipped to 5-7. He's the most experienced quarterback in the conference, and Kansas did beat Iowa State, BYU and Colorado last November. Will Daniels mesh with Jim Zebrowski, who was promoted to offensive coordinator?
10. Colorado
Starter: Senior Kaidon Salter (24 career starts at Liberty)
Backup: Freshman Julian Lewis (0 career starts)
Shedeur Sanders passed for 7,364 passing yards, 64 TDs and 13 interceptions the last two seasons under coach Deion Sanders, and the Buffaloes went 13-12. Salter – who was 20-4 as a starter at Liberty – had 59 TDs and 13 interceptions for the Flames. He also adds an extra dimension in the running game – where he had 1,697 rushing yards and 15 TDs. Lewis is a four-star freshman from Carrollton (Ga.) High School who might be mixed in. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur is back for his third season, too. It's a talented room heading into Coach Prime's third season with the program.
11. Arizona
Starter: Junior Noah Fifita (21 career starts)
Backup: Junior Bradeyn Locke (12 career starts at Wisconsin)
Fifita had a breakout season in 2023, but he struggled with turnovers last season. Fifita finished with 2,958 yards, 18 TDs and 12 interceptions. He also will have to adjust to life without receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who was the No. 8 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Second-year coach Brent Brennan replaced offensive coordinator Dino Babers with Seth Doege, a former Texas quarterback, as the new offensive coordinator. How will Fifita respond to his third coordinator in three seasons? Braedyn Locke had 18 TDs and 11 interceptions with a 53.6% completion percentage the last two seasons at Wisconsin. He's a suitable backup option.
12. Cincinnati
Starter: Junior Brendan Sorsby (19 career starts; 12 at Cincinnati, 7 at Indiana )
Backup: Senior Brady Lichtenberg
Sorsby will be in his second season as the Bearcats' starter. He ranked seventh in the Big 12 with 2,813 passing yards, and that came with 18 TDs and seven interceptions. Sorsby had a 426-yard, four-TD performance in a 44-41 loss to Texas Tech on Sept. 28. Cincinnati lost its last five games, however, including three games by seven points. Sorsby is 6-13 as a starter. This is a pivotal year for third-year coach Scott Satterfield and offensive coordinator Brad Glenn.
13. Houston
Starter: Junior Conner Weigman (13 career starts at Texas A&M)
Backup: Junior Zeonn Chriss (13 career starts, 7 starts at Houston, 6 starts at Louisiana)
Perhaps a change of scenery will make the difference for Weigman, a five-star quarterback from Bridgeland (Cypress, Texas) High School. Weigman has not played more than six games in a single season the last three years at Texas A&M, where had a 60% completion percentage, 19 TDs and seven interceptions. Still, it's an intriguing fit with second-year coach Willie Fritz. Houston quarterbacks combined for nine TDs and 17 interceptions last season, so Weigman would appear to be an upgrade if he fits with new offensive coordinator Slade Nagle, who was hired from LSU. Weigman does have bounce-back appeal in the Big 12.
14. UCF
Starter: Senior Cam Fancher (26 career starts; 17 at Marshall; 9 at FAU) or junior Tayven Jackson (6 career stats at Indiana)
Scott Frost is back at UCF, and new coordinator Scott Cooper and quarterbacks coach McKenzie Milton have a quarterback derby to sort out. Jacurri Brown and Dillan Rizk were with the program last season, but the battle likely comes down to transfers in Fancher and Jackson. Fancher has more experience between Marshall and FAU, but Jackson played at two Power 4 programs in Tennessee and Indiana. Fancher did compile 1,104 rushing yards and eight TDs the last three seasons, and the mobility could come into play in Frost's first season. It's still an unsettled situation.
15. West Virginia
Starter: Junior Nicco Marchiol (3 career starts) or senior Jaylen Henderson (4 career starts at Texas A&M)
Rich Rodriguez has a three-way quarterback entering fall camp. Marchiol has the advantage of being in the program for the last three seasons behind Garrett Greene. Marchiol started in two games last season. Henderson played at Fresno State and Texas A&M, but he also has little starting experience. Max Brown also could make a push in fall camp, but our guess is it's either Marchiol or Henderson, and there will be bumps in Rich Rod's return to Morgantown.
16. Oklahoma State
Starter: Freshman Hauss Hejny (0 career starts)
Backup: Sophomore Zane Flores (0 career starts)
This quarterback room has the least playing experience in the Big 12. Garrett Rangel entered the transfer portal in the spring, which means Mike Gundy will either go with Flores or Hejny after a 3-9 season. Gundy has a new coordinator in Doug Meacham, who was TCU's receivers coach the last three seasons. Flores is coming off a medical redshirt season. That's a tell that Hejny, who transferred from TCU and was a role player with 15 carries for 65 yards last season, will likely get the first shot at starting for the Cowboys.