Last recruiting cycle was the year of quarterback decommitments.
Bryce Underwood flipped from LSU to Michigan. Julian Lewis went from USC to Colorado. Keelon Russell was once committed to SMU before heading to Alabama.
Deuce Knight flipped from Notre Dame to Auburn. Tramell Jones went from Florida State to Florida. When Lewis flipped to Colorado, Husan Longstreet flipped from Texas A&M to USC. Brady Hart reclassified from 2026 to 2025 and flipped from Michigan to Texas A&M. Ty Hawkins went from TCU to SMU.
Jaron Sagapolutele went from Cal to Oregon back to Cal.
There was not as much high drama in the 2024 recruiting class but five-star Dylan Raiola was once committed to Georgia before flipping to Nebraska as he was a double legacy in Lincoln and started as a freshman.
Five-star Julian Sayin signed with Alabama and was there for a couple weeks before former coach Nick Saban unexpectedly retired and Sayin decided to transfer to Ohio State, where he’s expected to be the starter this season.
This is the point: There is going to be a ton of quarterback movement in the 2026 class and there are already very interesting storylines shaping up.
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Five-star Faizon Brandon has been committed to Tennessee since August and he’s saying all the right things about the Volunteers but Alabama and LSU are not giving up.
The Crimson Tide are reaching out to a bunch of elite 2026 quarterbacks including Brandon, Texas commit Dia Bell and others in search of someone. After getting burned by Underwood late, LSU coach Brian Kelly implored donors to pony up more NIL money and that seemed to take hold as the Tigers are in a better position there to make a run at a top 2026 QB.
Ryder Lyons’ situation continues to be very interesting. He said over the weekend at OT7 that USC, Oregon and BYU are his top three but I’ve been told USC is sliding after taking former Oregon commit Jonas Williams and the Ducks would slide if five-star Jared Curtis commits there (Georgia is his other finalist).
But if Curtis re-commits to Georgia then Oregon would be sitting very pretty for Lyons, who has religious and family connections at BYU. I wouldn’t sleep on Michigan for him because the Wolverines are definitely making a play there along with Ole Miss, Ohio State and others.
Curtis, from Nashville (Tenn.) Christian, spent the last week or so visiting his two front-runners – Oregon and Georgia – and could be much closer to a decision now. Once he comes off the board either to the Ducks or the Bulldogs, more dominoes could fall especially as the loser in that recruitment doesn’t want to be left high and dry without an elite QB in this class.
Five-star Keisean Henderson has been committed to Houston (which averaged just 14 points per game last season) since May and this is another interesting situation. There is significant pull to stay close to home for the Spring (Texas) Legacy standout but one wonders if there are second thoughts with another bad season – or a massive NIL situation somewhere else. This one will be watched closely until the end.
Five-star Brady Smigiel has already backed off a pledge to Florida State and now Washington, UCLA, Michigan and South Carolina are his four finalists. Michigan burned Smigiel before when the Wolverines took Hart as Smigiel was traveling to Ann Arbor but that relationship could be mended. However, Washington very much feels like the front-runner now in his recruitment.
Former South Carolina QB commit Landon Duckworth backed off his pledge in June and now Ole Miss has shot to the top of his list with Alabama, Florida State and others involved. The Crimson Tide are shooting their shot with a lot of top quarterbacks and the Jackson, Ala., standout is definitely one of them.
In the top 10, Oklahoma commit Jaden O’Neal is another to watch. He’s now transferred from California to Mustang, Okla., just 30 minutes from campus, but Georgia (if Curtis goes to Oregon) is making a run along with Florida State, Arizona and others. The word has been if the Sooners take a second quarterback in the class (they’re involved with four-star Bowe Bentley) then O’Neal might be less than thrilled.
If the 2025 quarterback class has shown anything, it’s that the game has changed.
Michigan desperately needed a quarterback so Oracle billionaire founder Larry Ellison came up with the dough to flip Underwood. Lewis had heavy NIL demands and Colorado flipped him from USC. Both five-star dual-threat quarterbacks – Russell and Knight – flipped and Knight nearly flipped again to Ole Miss but the Tigers held on.
Buckle up. Because if anyone thinks the 2026 quarterback class is going quietly into that good night, think again. Recent history has proven otherwise and many of the top QBs in this group might still have some wild days ahead.
Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on Rivals.com, the leader in college football and basketball recruiting coverage. Be the first to know and follow your teams by signing up here.
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