It sounds absurd when said out loud: A quarterback who didn’t even start in high school is ranked ahead of Arch Manning. Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker is one of many quarterbacks with a compelling story.There’s also the talented-yet-turnover-prone transfer who will start for the defending national champions with a mission to protect the ball and play within the confines of the offense. There are the former five-star prospects still finding their way. And enigmatic quarterbacks who have flashed in the past but are hoping their new situation is the one where everything breaks right.You can find The Athletic’s ranking of the 138 projected starting quarterbacks in our annual College QB Tiers. Naturally, some are more interesting than others. Here’s a look at the most intriguing quarterback in each of our seven tiers with some thoughts from those in the industry.Coaches and personnel staffers spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer their honest opinions on the players.Tier 1: Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma StateRanking: SixthMestemaker climbed from obscurity to become one of the best quarterbacks in college football at North Texas last season (and, yes, he ranks ahead of Manning). The feedback we received from coaches and personnel staffers was nearly universal in praise of Mestemaker, who led the nation in passing yards last year and is the reason there’s a ton of optimism about a potential Oklahoma State turnaround this fall.“Mestemaker. That was nuts,” said a general manager in the American Conference. “Yes, he had really good players around him, but he made the throws, and that’s the thing that can’t be understated. We have close coverage, the guy is nowhere close to being open and he gets a step, hits him in stride and the guy goes to the house and you’re like ‘How did that happen?’”And the arm talent is undeniable. One Big 12 personnel staffer said he ranks each position group in the league and went into this offseason not wanting to put Mestemaker at the top, but had no other choice after watching the film.“There was a play at Western Michigan,” the staffer said, “and he’s backed up in the back of the end zone, and he’s basically underneath the goal post, damn near out of bounds, and he throws a f—ing dart 20-25 yards down the field outside the numbers to his right.“I’ve watched it probably 50 times. I’ve kept it on a loop. It’s so, so impressive what he can do, especially for being so young at the position.”