It’s not easy to rank the 138 FBS starting quarterbacks. We had plenty of conversations with coaches and personnel staffers — and with each other — over the past few months, and naturally, there was a wide range of opinions. Two people who work in college football can watch the same player and come to wildly different conclusions.We reached a consensus, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some spicy dialogue along the way. So here’s a look at the thought process behind our biggest debates when it came to ranking the projected 138 FBS starting quarterbacks for our 2026 College QB Tiers.Coaches and personnel spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer their honest opinions on the players.Who’s No. 3?We were comfortable with Trinidad Chambliss and Dante Moore as the top two quarterbacks. It was a bit more complicated once we went beyond those two.Sam Khan Jr.: It felt like so many could have been third. Julian Sayin (Ohio State) — who some coaches liked as No. 2. Darian Mensah (Miami) was in the mix. Even Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State) and Sam Leavitt (LSU) are guys who many we spoke with are super high on. Ultimately we landed on Notre Dame’s CJ Carr. It felt like he was the one who coaches and staffers had the fewest questions and most optimism about going into 2026. There’s a real feeling that, not only is he a stud at the college level, but that he’s a future high NFL Draft pick. For Notre Dame fans banking on a potential national title run, that’s good news.Antonio Morales: There was almost no negative feedback about Chambliss and Moore, so that made it pretty easy to place them at the top. For me, Mensah and Mestemaker were the other contenders for third, but there was a ton of confidence in Carr from the people we spoke to. And when you watch the film, it’s easy to see the tools. He still has to be more consistent — two of the games I watched were against USC and Boise State, and he didn’t play great — and he’ll have to carry more of the load this year after losing great running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price to the NFL. But he has the talent and now the experience. Plus, Notre Dame has a sound infrastructure around him. He should have a big year.Where should Julian Sayin rank?Khan: The fact that a Heisman Trophy finalist had as polarizing opinions as Sayin (rank: No. 5) was an eye-opener. As a college quarterback, he checked a lot of boxes: won a lot of games, was extremely accurate and did what Ohio State asked him to do. But coaches had real questions about what he could do outside of the offensive structure and what he’d look like without an elite receiving corps. The term “game manager” was thrown around a lot. One general manager said he was high on Sayin “until the Indiana game.” But Sayin had a lot of production, and several coaches still thought he was a top-two, top-three quarterback in the country.Morales: When I had conversations with people, their assessments were so extreme. Coaches and staffers either loved him or viewed him as a caretaker who didn’t have to do too much because he was surrounded by tremendous pieces. Ohio State wasn’t tested much last season, and Sayin didn’t do much in the three games the Buckeyes were actually pushed (Texas, Indiana and Miami). So, yes, he was a Heisman finalist, but there is a legitimate reason to have some questions about him, especially with how much talent he’s surrounded by. But ultimately, there were coaches who know a lot more about quarterbacks than I do who were really, really high on Sayin, and he was always going to have a spot high on this list because of that.What was a rational ranking for Drew Mestemaker?Khan: In both years we’ve done College QB Tiers, it feels like there’s one guy who coaches and staffers universally love who ends up ranking higher than we anticipated when we started. Last year, Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer was that guy (and he ranked fourth in the 2025 edition). This year, Mestemaker (rank: No. 6) was the fan favorite. To hear one Big 12 coach call Mestemaker “the face of the Big 12 from a quarterback standpoint” — even with Arizona’s Noah Fifita back — spoke to how high the expectations are for him in 2026. I anticipated him being a Tier 2 guy coming in, but the feedback we got pushed him to Tier 1, ahead of Arch Manning and Leavitt. Is it too high? We’ll see.Morales: Look, I came into this exercise as a skeptic. Then I watched the throws. They were incredible. Now, I’m a believer and would’ve had no issue with him being ranked higher than sixth. Mestemaker led the nation in passing yards last season, and there will be those that say, “Well, he did it at North Texas.” Yeah, it was at North Texas. I understand the Mean Green were really good last year, but they were still probably the fourth-most talented team in the American at best (behind South Florida, Memphis and Tulane). It’s not like Mestemaker had wide-open passing windows. He threw his receivers open. That’s why, even though he’s moving up from the Group of 6 to the Power 4, I’m confident he will still be successful.How much do experience and surrounding cast affect the rankings?Khan: That’s always one of the toughest tasks — comparing quarterbacks at different points in their careers with varying resumes. Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele seems destined for stardom after a fantastic freshman year at Cal, and most coaches agreed with that. It wouldn’t shock me if, at this time next year, he’s top five in the country. It’s just that he’s had only one season of tape, and he’s still so young. But, as one staffer told us, “unless you’re asking him to run, he can play in any offense and excel.”Morales: Surroundings have to be taken into account. I prefer LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina) over Marcel Reed (Texas A&M) or Mateer, but I think those two will have better seasons than Sellers and are in much more advantageous positions when it comes to who is set up to succeed. And like with Keawe-Sagapolutele, there are younger players I really believe in, but they still have to go out and show a little more this season before their rankings match the optimism I have for them.Name a player outside of the top 25 who could have a big year.Khan: Almost too many to name. I think Conner Weigman (Houston) is being slept on. A lot of folks we talked to weren’t in love with his traits, but this was a guy getting draft buzz before injuries derailed his Texas A&M career. When healthy, he produces, and he wins, and it wouldn’t shock me if he gets Houston into the Big 12 title game this year.I love Brad Jackson at Texas State and was surprised the Bobcats were able to keep him from going to the Power 4. Maybe he’s a candidate to follow GJ Kinne to a P4 if they have a big year and Kinne lands a big job. And there are a few guys who just don’t have a deep enough resume yet who I think are going to shoot way up this list over the course of 2026: Alabama’s Keelon Russell, Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor and Kentucky’s Kenny Minchey. They’re all tremendous talents who should thrive as full-time starters.Morales: This is not going out on too much of a limb because he is No. 30, but BYU’s Bear Bachmeier would get some consideration from me. I know the schedule wasn’t super daunting last year and he was set up for success, but he outplayed Rocco Becht in Ames, Iowa, and made some crucial plays to win tough games against Devon Dampier (Utah) and Fifita. BYU will be in the mix for the Big 12 title again this season, and Bachmeier should take a step forward.Beyond that, it’s tough to say who should be in the top 25, but I think TCU QB Jaden Craig (rank: 38th) is someone under the radar who could potentially play his way into that mix. The Harvard transfer was an appealing addition for the Horned Frogs. New TCU offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis oversaw a very good offense at UConn last year — another reason to be optimistic about Craig.