MisterGopher
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Tier 6

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6483745/2025/07/16/college-football-quarterback-tiers-rankings/
For this exercise, we surveyed more than 40 coaches and staffers from across college football, soliciting their opinions on the quarterbacks they faced, how the QBs in their conference stack up and who the best in the country are. We relied heavily on this feedback to form the list. There was no formal point system or vote tally. We simply leaned on coaches for their expertise. All coaches were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor while discussing other teams’ quarterbacks.
The rankings and tiers are based on a combination of coaches’ perspectives, the players’ physical abilities and traits, career accomplishments to date and a projection of what 2025 may hold for them. We ranked the quarterbacks based on how they stack up at the college level, not what their NFL Draft projection will be (though draft analysis is included for some 2026-eligible prospects, courtesy of Dane Brugler and Nick Baumgardner).

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6483745/2025/07/16/college-football-quarterback-tiers-rankings/
For this exercise, we surveyed more than 40 coaches and staffers from across college football, soliciting their opinions on the quarterbacks they faced, how the QBs in their conference stack up and who the best in the country are. We relied heavily on this feedback to form the list. There was no formal point system or vote tally. We simply leaned on coaches for their expertise. All coaches were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor while discussing other teams’ quarterbacks.
The rankings and tiers are based on a combination of coaches’ perspectives, the players’ physical abilities and traits, career accomplishments to date and a projection of what 2025 may hold for them. We ranked the quarterbacks based on how they stack up at the college level, not what their NFL Draft projection will be (though draft analysis is included for some 2026-eligible prospects, courtesy of Dane Brugler and Nick Baumgardner).
Tier 1 | The most talented QBs in the country, with the highest ceilings. They can carry their team and are often the biggest keys to victory. Many in this tier find themselves in the Heisman Trophy conversation. |
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Tier 2 | Winners who have proven their mettle. They can carry the team but may have limitations when it comes to certain traits or question marks about their consistency. |
Tier 3 | Most teams would be happy with a quarterback of this caliber. Great ability and a solid body of work, but they have some flaws. On their best days, they can be great, but there can be an underwhelming moment or two. |
Tier 4 | Some are young, unproven starters with high potential; others are veterans who have flashed great talent but hit performance or injury speed bumps somewhere along the way. |
Tier 5 | You’ve probably seen these QBs before. Many have played well in college but haven’t put it all together consistently yet and bring some “what-ifs” into 2025. There’s some lower-end Power 4 guys here, but if you’re a Group of 5 fan, there are some really good ones here. |
Tier 6 | These QBs have a lot of question marks, but there’s talent or a trait there that someone is betting on. |
Tier 7 | A largely unproven group, with some decent G5 returning starters but also QBs who haven’t played much at all or have made multiple stops in their college careers in hopes of finally putting it all together. |