Is Cade Klubnik the superstar QB Clemson has been waiting for since the days of Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence? He has shown flashes in his first two seasons starting for the Tigers, and now he gets one final shot to get Clemson back into national title contention.
Klubnik leads our ACC QB rankings, which features six returning starters and seven first-year transfers among the 18 schools (Notre Dame is included in this exercise even though the Irish are independent). The most intriguing incoming transfer is Miller Moss, who left USC to play for QB whisperer Jeff Brohm at Louisville.
Here are our rankings for the 2025 season.
MORE 2025 QB RANKINGS: Big Ten | SEC | Big 12
Ranking ACC QBs for 2025
1. Clemson
Starter: Senior Cade Klubnik (28 starts)
Backup: Sophomore Christopher Vizzina (0 starts)
Situation: Klubnik projects as one of the top QBs in the nation and top quarterbacks for next year’s NFL Draft. The former five-star made a nice jump from his first year as starter to his second, as his TDs jumped from 19 to 36 and his interceptions went from 9 to 6 as he led Clemson to the College Football Playoff berth with an ACC title. His third season could be his best yet. Vizzina is a former four-star who has yet to see significant action.
2. Georgia Tech
Starter: Senior Haynes King (31 career starts; 24 at Georgia Tech, 7 at Texas A&M)
Backup: Freshman Aaron Philo (0 starts)
Situation: King is back for his sixth season and third as the Yellow Jackets’ starter. King battled through a shoulder injury last season that limited his throwing in wins over Miami and NC State, but his signature game was an overtime loss at Georgia where he threw for 303 yards and 2 TDS and ran for 110 yards and 3 TDs. Aaron Philo stepped up big when King couldn’t throw downfield against NC State and Miami and is a quality backup Georgia Tech was thrilled to retain.
3. Miami
Starter: Senior Carson Beck (27 career starts at Georgia)
Backup: Sophomore Emory Williams (2 career starts)
Situation: Beck reportedly received $4 million in NIL money from Miami when he decided to transfer from Georgia, re-setting the QB market as the Hurricanes seek to replace No. 1 NFL Draft pick Cam Ward. Beck suffered an elbow injury in the SEC Championship game against Texas and missed spring practice, but he should be good to go in the fall. His numbers declined from 2023 to 2024, with his completion percentage dropping from 72 to 65 and his INTs jumping from 6 to 12 without NFL targets Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey. Miami’s O-line should offer good protection, but his outside weapons might not be much better than what he had last year at Georgia.
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4. SMU
Starter: Junior Kevin Jennings (13 career starts)
Backup: Tyler Van Dyke (10 career starts at Miami)
Situation: Jennings led the Mustangs to a surprising CFP berth in their first year in the ACC. He was third-team All-ACC after throwing for 245 yards per game with a 65 completion percentage. He had 23 touchdown passes, 5 rushing touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His season ended on a sour note with a three-interception game at Penn State in the CFP, but Jennings is one of the league’s top QBs. Credit to SMU for bringing in an experienced backup in Van Dyke, who served as QB2 at Wisconsin last season after starring for Miami to begin his career.
5. Louisville
Starter: Senior Miller Moss (10 career starts at USC)
Backup: Freshman Deuce Adams (0 career starts)
Situation: College football really is a rollercoaster. After picking apart LSU's defense in the season-opener, Moss was suddenly a Heisman favorite. And then, slowly, it all fell apart. Moss lost the starting job at USC late last season after a 3-interception game at Washington. Moss waited his turn for the Trojans and had decent numbers before his benching – 284 yards per game, 64 percent completion rate, 18 TDs, 9 INTs – but the Trojans were a disappointing 4-5 in his nine starts. The last three QBs to work with Louisville coach Jeff Brohm are in the NFL in Aiden O’Connell (Raiders), Jack Plummer (Panthers) and Tyler Shough (Saints), and Moss was higher rated than all of them coming out of high school. Don’t be surprised if Moss plays his way into the draft this fall.
6. Duke
Starter: Sophomore Darian Mensah (13 career starts at Tulane)
Backup: Junior Henry Belin IV (2 career starts)
Situation: Mensah earned a reported multi-million dollar NIL deal from Duke after his one season starting at Tulane. He averaged 209 yards passing with a 66 percent completion rate, 22 touchdowns and 6 interceptions with a 9-4 record. He is not a rushing threat, but his accuracy and low interception rate made him attractive in the transfer portal and he has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
7. Notre Dame
Starter: Freshman CJ Carr (0 career starts)
Backup: Sophomore Kenny Minchey (0 career starts)
Situation: In 2021 (Jack Coan), 2023 (Sam Hartman) and 2024 (Riley Leonard), Notre Dame had a one-year rental at QB from the transfer portal. This season, it is two homegrown guys after a third – Steve Angeli – left after spring practice when he did not win the starting job. CJ Carr, the grandson of longtime Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, looks to be QB1 heading into camp. He has the physical traits of a big-time QB with a mix of a strong arm and some mobility. It will be a baptism by fire, as the freshman will face perhaps Notre Dame’s two toughest opponents (Miami, Texas A&M) in the first two games.
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8. Virginia
Starter: Senior Chandler Morris (21 career starts; 12 at North Texas, 9 at TCU)
Backup: Sophomore Daniel Kaelin (0 career starts)
Situation: Morris is on his fourth school, having played at Oklahoma, TCU and North Texas. He was seventh nationally in passing yards per game at 290 and sixth in touchdown passes with 31 at North Texas last season, leading the Mean Green to a 6-6 record. He had four 400-yard outings. Morris is a big get for Tony Elliott, whose passing offense was 12th in the ACC last year.
9. Virginia Tech
Starter: Senior Kyron Drones (20 career starts)
Backup: Sophomore William Watson III (2 career starts)
Situation: Drones is back for his third year as starter and regressed a bit from 2023 to 2024. His touchdowns dropped from 17 to 10 and his rushing yards per game went from 74 to 37. He also doubled his interception total from 3 to 6 despite playing in four fewer games. Virginia Tech did not take a step forward last year that some expected and finished 6-7, and Drones was part of the reason why.
10. Boston College
Starter: Grayson James (17 career starts, 5 at BC, 12 at Florida International)
Backup: Sophomore Dylan Lonegran (0 career starts)
Situation: James won the job from Thomas Castellanos last year in Bill O’Brien’s first year at BC. He led BC to a 3-2 record as a starter, plus led the Eagles to a come-from-behind win over Syracuse off the bench. He averaged 230 yards passing in five starts with 5 TDs and 2 INTs, including a 301 yard performance in the Pinstripe Bowl vs. Nebraska. Lonegran transferred in from Alabama and could get a shot if James struggles this season.
11. Florida State
Starter: Senior Thomas Castellanos (20 career starts at Boston College)
Backup: Sophomore Brock Glenn (7 career starts)
Situation: Castellanos reunites with new FSU offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who signed him out of high school at UCF. Castellanos is a dual-threat QB who saw his rushing attempts plummet under Bill O’Brien at BC. He eventually lost his job and left the team before the season ended. Castellanos will get a chance to revive an FSU passing attack that was the worst in the league last season at 180 yards per game.
12. North Carolina State
Starter: Sophomore CJ Bailey (9 career starts)
Backup: Sophomore Lex Thomas (0 career starts)
Situation: Bailey replaced an injured Grayson McCall early last season as a true freshman and had a solid debut with the Wolfpack. He completed 65 percent of his passes and threw for 2,413 yards. He had 17 TD passes, 5 rushing TDs and 10 interceptions in a season he was expected to be QB2. Expect him to take a step forward this year.
13. North Carolina
Starter: Junior Max Johnson (23 career starts; 1 at UNC, 8 at Texas A&M, 14 at LSU)
Backup: Sophomore Gio Lopez (11 career starts at South Alabama)
Situation: Neither QB took part in Bill Belichick's first spring practice in Chapel Hill. Johnson suffered a broken leg in UNC’s opener last season and is making progress toward recovery. He released a video in April of himself working out in the UNC indoor practice facility in full pads throwing passes to a receiver. The Tar Heels brought in Lopez after the spring, and the two figure to battle it out. Johnson’s best season was in 2021 at LSU, when he had 27 touchdowns and 6 interceptions with a 60 percent completion percentage. Lopez threw for 2,559 yards and 18 touchdowns last season for South Alabama.
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14. Pittsburgh
Starter: Sophomore Eli Holstein (10 career starts)
Backup: Freshman Julian Dugger (0 career starts)
Situation: Holstein had Pitt off to a tremendous start last season in his first year after transferring from Alabama. Holstein had 17 touchdowns and 5 interceptions as Pitt started 7-0, but Holstein struggled in his next three games (all losses) before suffering a leg injury against Louisville that ended his season. Holstein had a healthy spring and has room to take a step forward in his second season as starter.
15. Syracuse
Starter: Sophomore Rickie Collins (0 career starts)
Backup: Junior Steve Angeli (1 career start)
Situation: Collins arrives after two seasons as a backup at LSU to take over for record-setting Kyle McCord. Collins saw only mop-up duty with the Tigers, but was a four-star recruit coming out of Woodlawn High School in Baton Rouge. Collins was the clear No. 1 after spring ball despite missing the spring game with a hand injury, but that was before Steve Angeli joined the Orange from Notre Dame. It could be an interesting fall battle for QB1, as Angeli saw action in 15 games at Notre Dame over two years and led a key drive in its Orange Bowl win against Penn State.
16. Cal
Starter: Junior Devin Brown (1 career start)
Backup: Jeron-Keawe Sagapolutele (0 career starts)
Situation: Brown was a backup for three seasons at Ohio State, getting a start against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. Brown hurt his ankle in the second quarter and only threw six passes that night. Brown came out of spring ball as QB1 and will have big shoes to fill after Fernando Mendoza was third in the ACC at 273 passing yards per game last year before transferring to Indiana in the offseason.
17. Wake Forest
Starter: Senior Robby Ashford (11 career starts; 1 at South Carolina, 10 at Auburn)
Backup: Deshawn Purdie (6 career starts at Charlotte)
Situation: Ashford is in his sixth year of college football, after not seeing the field in his two years at Oregon. The dual-threat QB transferred to Auburn for two years, where he was the primary starter for one season, then was a backup at South Carolina last year. In his one season as a full-time starter, he completed just 49 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions. He ran for 710 yards and seven touchdowns as Auburn went 3-7 in his 10 starts.
18. Stanford
Starter: Freshman Elijah Brown (1 career start)
Backup: Sophomore Dylan Rizsk (4 career starts at UCF)
Situation: Interim coach Frank Reich played things close to the vest publicly during spring ball, so the assumption is he will not officially name a QB1 until fall camp. Brown was pulled in his one start last season and finished the year 28 for 48 for 274 yards with two TDs and three INTs spread over three appearances. Four-star freshman Bear Bachmeier transferred to BYU after spring practice, but Dylan Rizsk replaced him after two years at UCF. He was 1-3 for the Knights last year and had a 294-yard, 3-TD performance in a win over Arizona.