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With the additions of Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington, the Big Ten Conference has expanded to 18 schools for the 2024 college football season, and more than half of the teams in the Big Ten could have a first-year transfer as their starting quarterback.
The quarterback talent in the Big Ten is immense, and some schools don’t even have their quarterback situations figured out yet, including a school with a quarterback on this list. This is the top 5 Big Ten quarterback rankings for 2024.
No. 1: Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
Gabriel should ball out in offensive coordinator Will Stein's offense in 2024. Last season, Gabriel completed 69.3 percent of his passes, 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns and had just 6 interceptions, as he earned first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors last season at Oklahoma.
Gabriel's career numbers are prolific and he's the perfect quarterback to execute Oregon's up-tempo offense, so barring injury, he will be in the thick of the Heisman Trophy race.
No.2: Will Rogers, Washington
Will Rodgers is one of the most underrated quarterbacks from the transfer portal, and he will lead the charge of a new-look Washington Huskies offense under new coach Jedd Fisch.
Thanks to the late Mike Leach’s "Air Raid" system, Rogers broke nearly every school passing record, including career completions, yards and touchdowns in his 40 starts at Mississippi State. Rogers saw a dip in production last season largely because he missed four games due to injury, but at Washington, he will still put up productive numbers in 2024.
No.3: Will Howard, Ohio State
Ohio State's quarterback room is one of the best in the country. Coach Ryan Day has not announced a starter yet, but Kansas State transfer Howard is the likely pick. Five-star freshman transfer Julian Sayin will be in the mix, but the chances he would be picked as the guy to lead a top-2 team in August is slim. Howard has a ton of talent around him and with considerable experience previously, should be able to produce.
Howard spent the past four seasons at K-State, and although he led the Big 12 in interceptions as a true freshman, he has come a long way, including leading the Wildcats to a Big 12 title. The former three-star prospect finished second in the conference with 24 touchdown passes last season, earning him second-team All-Big 12 honors. With the abundance of talent all around him, Howard should be able to produce for an Ohio State team expected to compete for a national title.
No.4: Drew Allar, Penn State
Despite leading the Big Ten in touchdown passes a year ago, Allar still has notable inconsistencies in his game that keep him from being mentioned as one of the elite quarterbacks in the country. Penn State finished 10-3, but all three of their losses were in the biggest games of their season against Ohio State, Michigan and Ole Miss.
In those games, the passing attack did not generate enough explosive plays, which is what new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, the mastermind behind the Kansas Jayhawks' success in recent years on that side of the football, will focus on the most. Allar has all the tools to be one of college football's best quarterbacks and a first-round draft pick in the NFL, but he must become a more consistent passer for a Nittany Lions team in the thick of the national title race.
No.5: Dylan Raiola, Nebraska
The feeling around Nebraska’s football program of former five-star recruit Raiola is anticipation and excitement. That's what happens when you're maybe the most heralded recruit in program history. Raiola is the Huskers’ highest-ranked recruit since Marlon Lucky from Bill Callahan’s 2005 class.
Throughout his high school career, Raiola threw for 8,442 yards and 88 touchdowns. He was electric in Nebraska’s spring game with 239 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. Nebraska fans expect Raiola to improve an offense that finished 13th in the Big Ten, and 126th in the nation in passing yards per game last season.
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