Projected Big Ten starting quarterback power rankings

The college football off-season has been eventful around the Big Ten, particularly surrounding the quarterback position. Heading into 2023, only four teams are slated to start quarterbacks with starting experience last season at their respective schools, Michigan, Maryland, Rutgers, and Minnesota. The rest of the conference will trot out new signal callers in September.

NFL Draft picks CJ Stroud, Aidan O'Connell, and Sean Clifford, transfer portal defectors Graham Mertz and Payton Thorne, along with graduating seniors Tanner Morgan and Tommy Devito, have all left the Big Ten. Their departures provide an opportunity for nearly a dozen signal callers to make their mark in 2023.

Boiler Upload ranks the projected starting quarterbacks for each team heading into the fall.

1. JJ McCarthy: Michigan

After a quarterback competition that lasted for months, it took JJ McCarthy just one week to unseat Cade McNamara as Michigan's starter last season. The junior signal caller now enters 2023 as the leader of Jim Harbaugh's offense. He will lean on the star-studded running back duo of Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, but McCarthy's year two performance could be the deciding factor for Michigan getting back to the Big Ten title game.

McCarthy had a successful campaign during his first year as a starter, throwing for 2,719 yards with 22 touchdowns and five interceptions while leading the Wolverines to the College Football Playoff. His success last season and a projected leap in year three earn him the top spot on the list.

2. Taulia Tagovailoa: Maryland

Taulia Tagovailoa is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the conference heading into next season, having started all but a handful of games for the Terrapins since the start of 2020. He is Maryland's all-time leader in passing yards, completion percentage and passing touchdowns, along with several other categories.

Despite a downtick in overall numbers last season, Tagovailoa earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. As CJ Stroud leaves for the NFL, it gives Tagovailoa the opportunity to assert himself as one of the top signal callers in the conference in 2023. He will battle JJ McCarthy for that title, with the Michigan gunslinger having the edge heading into the season.

3. Kyle McCord: Ohio State

The next two signal callers on this list enter 2023, taking over for multi-year starters. That starts with Ohio State's Kyle McCord. McCord sat behind CJ Stroud for two years in Columbus and is considered the top candidate to replace him with the Buckeyes.

Since taking over for Urban Meyer in 2018, Ryan Day has had massive success with his signal callers. All three of the starters during his tenure as head coach, Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields and CJ Stroud, have turned into first round NFL Draft picks. That trend should continue with McCord, especially with one of the top wide receiver corps in the nation surrounding him, headlined by Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and Julian Fleming.

4. Drew Allar: Penn State

Many Penn State fans called for true freshman Drew Allar to start in place of a struggling Sean Clifford at various times last season, and now their wishes have come true. James Franklin will give the keys to the offense to Allar in 2023 after four years of Clifford at the helm.

Allar showed flashes in reserve duty last season, throwing for 344 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions on 60 pass attempts. The Nittany Lions' starter may have the highest ceiling of any player on this list, which gives him a top-four spot heading into the highly-anticipated Allar Era in Happy Valley.

5. Hudson Card: Purdue

Following Aidan O'Connell's departure, new head coach Ryan Walters and Purdue had a massive void at the quarterback position. That need was quickly met as former Texas signal caller Hudson Card made his way to West Lafayette. Card saw limited action during his career with the Longhorns but threw for 1,523 yards and 11 touchdowns with just two interceptions on nearly 200 pass attempts.

Card now comes to Purdue, where he is the undisputed leader of Graham Harrell's offense. All indications coming out of the Boilermakers' spring practice were that Card looked like he could be one of the top signal callers in the Big Ten. Running the Air Raid offense, Purdue's new quarterback will have plenty of opportunities to put up eye-popping numbers during his first full year as a starter at the college level.

6. Tanner Mordecai: Wisconsin:

For years, Wisconsin has been known for its elite ground attack. Could that trend change in 2023? It would appear so. The Badgers and new head coach Luke Fickell brought in Air Raid adopter Phil Longo to call the offense after his standout tenure at North Carolina. Leading that charge will be SMU transfer, Tanner Mordecai.

Mordecai threw for over 3,500 yards and 33 touchdowns in each of the last two seasons for the Mustangs and now brings his talents to Madison. He was turnover prone, throwing 21 interceptions during that stretch, which bumps him down this list.

7. Cade McNamara: Iowa

One of the most intriguing off-season transfers came from former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara making the move to Iowa. McNamara was benched in favor of JJ McCarthy after helping guide the Wolverines to the College Football Playoff.

McNamara joins fellow portal additions Kaleb Brown, Seth Anderson, and Erick All to form a new-look Hawkeye offense in 2023. A year after scoring 17.7 points per game with Spencer Petras under center, Kirk Ferentz is looking to upgrade the offense this fall. Iowa likely won't be the top offense in the conference but are in line to see an increase in offensive output with the introduction of McNamara leading to his departure.

8. Ben Bryant: Northwestern

Another transfer signal caller with past success headed for the Big Ten West is Ben Bryant, who made the move from Cincinnati to Northwestern in early May. Pat Fitzgerald had some tough luck at the quarterback position last season, which led to the Wildcats being the lowest-scoring offense in the conference.

Bryant's addition gives some hope for the Northwestern offense in 2023. He threw for 2,732 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season for the Bearcats. The question for Bryant and Northwestern will be the supporting cast of weapons or lack thereof; he has at his disposal. However, Bryant will be a massive upgrade for the Wildcats at the quarterback position.

9. Jeff Sims: Nebraska

Nebraska has undergone arguably the biggest change of anyone in the Big Ten this off-season. Matt Rhule takes over after the failed Scott Frost era with the Huskers, and he brings a new signal caller to town. Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims is expected to be Nebraska's starting quarterback heading into 2023.

Sims wasn't able to find consistent success in the ACC, throwing 23 interceptions compared to 30 touchdowns over the last three seasons. He did rush for 1,152 yards and 11 touchdowns over that same time. The lack of consistency drops Sims on this list, but a change of scenery could bring the Huskers' quarterback some new-found success this fall.

10. Luke Altmyer: Illinois

The final Big Ten West transfer on this list came to Illinois from Ole Miss for an opportunity. Luke Altmyer found himself stuck behind Matt Corral and Jaxson Dart during his career with the Rebels but will now have the chance to become a full-time starter for the first time in his career.

Altmyer provides a lot of intrigue for the Illini heading into 2023 despite only starting one game during his time at Ole Miss. Illinois' new signal-caller will have Isaiah Williams to lean on as his primary target this fall. Altmyer is a dark horse to rise on this list if he takes advantage of the new opportunity.

11. Athan Kaliakmanis: Minnesota

The next signal caller was one of the more difficult players to place on this list. After what felt like a decade of Tanner Morgan starting for the Gophers, Athan Kaliakmanis will take the reins of the Minnesota offense. Kaliakmanis did start five games for PJ Fleck last season and had 946 passing yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions on the year.

The redshirt sophomore showed flashes in 2022, most notably earning B1G Freshman of the Week after a 319-yard, two-touchdown performance against Wisconsin. Fleck's offense limits Kaliakmanis' ceiling, as they threw the ball just over 30% of the time last season, which topped only the service academies. Unless that changes, the Gophers' new quarterback will remain near the bottom of this list.

12. Gavin Wimsatt: Rutgers

One of the four projected starters to have started a Big Ten game last season for his respective team is Rutgers' Gavin Wimsatt. The dual-threat signal caller struggled mightily in six games as a starter. He completed less than 50% of his passes and threw seven interceptions to just five touchdowns.

The Scarlett Knights will need Wimsatt to improve drastically to have a successful 2023 campaign. Rutgers did add Western Illinois transfer wide receiver Naseim Brantley to the equation to give Wimsatt a reliable target. Wimsatt's lack of consistency will keep him near the bottom of the Big Ten quarterbacks.

13. Tavyen Jackson: Indiana

Indiana has been in a tricky situation surrounding the quarterback position over the last few years. Michael Penix dealt with injury troubles after his breakout 2020 campaign and transferred to Washington. There has been a revolving door of signal callers since then. It is a trend the Hoosiers hope transfer Tayven Jackson can halt this season.

The younger brother of now former Indiana basketball standout Trayce Jackson-Davis transferred in after spending one season at Tennessee. Indiana has not identified a starter yet, but the former four-star recruit seems to be leading early on. There could be some growing pains for Jackson during his first year under center, which puts him near the bottom of this list.

14. Noah Kim: Michigan State

Payton Thorne would have been near the top of this list during spring practice in April. Now that Thorne has taken his talents to the SEC, Michigan State sits at the bottom of the Big Ten in the quarterback category.

Noah Kim is now the quarterback for Mel Tucker, but his surrounding cast could make for a long season in East Lansing. Along with Thorne, leading receivers Keon Coleman transferred, and Jayden Reed headed to the NFL. The lack of experience and weapons put Kim at the bottom of this list.