As we learn every year, and more so in this era of player movement, the path to becoming a starting quarterback in college football is rarely linear.

Some patiently wait their turn to play. Some sit for a season or two, then look for another opportunity. Some break through at smaller schools and then make the move to a brand-name program. Some have jumped into the spotlight almost immediately.

When looking at the teams in the preseason AP Top 25, 17 of the 25 starting quarterbacks (68 percent) are original signees with their respective schools. This is a slightly higher percentage than what we see nationally, with all 136 FBS teams. Not all jobs are settled, but the number of home-grown starters in Week 1 will be somewhere in he mid-80s (roughly 63 percent).

In terms of their high school rankings, eight of the 25 were former five-star prospects, including starters at the top four and six of the top eight teams. Eleven are former four-star prospects, four were three-stars, one was a two-star (Fernando Mendoza) and one was unranked (Joey Aguilar).

These QBs span the entire spectrum when it comes to experience. There is one in his first year of college (Bryce Underwood) and one in his seventh (Aguilar). In between, there are three in their second season, seven in their third, nine in their fourth, three in their fifth and one in their sixth.

So with the 2025 season starting in full this weekend, let’s take a look at the path for each starting quarterback in the preseason AP Top 25.

Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.

1. Arch Manning, redshirt sophomore, Texas

How he landed there: The good ol’ fashioned recruiting process. Manning, the No. 1 overall prospect in the Class of 2023, committed to Texas in June 2022, waited two seasons behind veteran starter Quinn Ewers and will now take over the starting role full-time. Expectations are extremely high despite the small sample size.

2. Drew Allar, senior, Penn State

How he landed there: Allar was a five-star recruit in the 2022 cycle and backed up Sean Clifford for one season before taking over the starting role in 2023. The Nittany Lions have national championship aspirations this fall after reaching the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2024.

3. Julian Sayin, redshirt freshman, Ohio State

How he landed there: Sayin signed with Alabama during the 2024 recruiting cycle, but Nick Saban retired the day the former five-star prospect began taking classes in Tuscaloosa. Sayin entered the portal shortly after and landed at Ohio State, where he was a reserve last season. He beat out Lincoln Kienholz for the starting role and will face off against Manning in a titanic Week 1 matchup on Saturday.

4. Cade Klubnik, senior, Clemson

How he landed there: The Tigers went into Texas to sign the five-star prospect in the Class of 2022. He served as the backup to DJ Uiagalelei before taking over early in the ACC Championship Game during the 2022 season. Klubnik took a real step forward in 2024 and is viewed as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. He’ll lead a Clemson squad looking for its first national title since 2018.

5. Gunner Stockton, redshirt junior, Georgia

How he landed there: Stockton, a one-time South Carolina commitment, was a five-star prospect at one point but eventually landed at No. 124 in the Class of 2022. He’s waited behind a pair of veterans (Stetson Bennett and Carson Beck) and has now assumed the starting position. The experience of starting in place of an injured Beck in the Sugar Bowl should help Stockton as he transitions into his new role.

6. CJ Carr, redshirt freshman, Notre Dame

How he landed there: Carr signed with Notre Dame during the 2024 recruiting cycle and redshirted last season as the Fighting Irish reached the national championship game. He recently won a surprisingly extended quarterback competition against Kenny Minchey and will face a big test in the season opener on the road against Miami. Carr, the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, has yet to throw a college pass.

7. Dante Moore, redshirt sophomore, Oregon

How he landed there: Moore, a former five-star prospect from Detroit, committed to the Ducks during the 2023 recruiting cycle but flipped late in the process and signed with UCLA. He was thrust into the starting lineup early as a freshman in 2023 but was benched midway through the year. He transferred to Oregon with the understanding that he’d back up Dillon Gabriel in 2024. With Gabriel now in the NFL, Moore is slated to take over.

8. Ty Simpson, redshirt junior, Alabama

How he landed there: Simpson, another former five-star, signed with Alabama in the 2022 recruiting cycle and spent the past two years backing up Jalen Milroe. He was named Alabama’s starter in mid-August and will play under new Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who reunited with coach Kalen DeBoer this offseason.

Ty Simpson was the No. 3 quarterback in the Class of 2022. (Gary Cosby Jr. / Imagn Images)

9. Garrett Nussmeier, redshirt senior, LSU

How he landed there: Nussmeier, whose dad Doug is the offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints, took over the starting role for the Tigers last year. He was a top-100 prospect in the 2021 cycle and spent two years as Jayden Daniels’ backup. LSU has hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time under Brian Kelly.

10. Carson Beck, sixth-year senior, Miami

How he landed there: Beck spent the past two seasons as Georgia’s starter and five years total with the Bulldogs. The one-time four-star prospect injured his elbow in the SEC Championship Game this past December, which forced him to miss the Sugar Bowl, and he declared for the NFL Draft later that month. He then changed his mind and entered the transfer portal after Georgia had decided to move on at quarterback. Beck, who underwent elbow surgery in December, landed at Miami after a short time in the portal.

11. Sam Leavitt, redshirt sophomore, Arizona State

How he landed there: Leavitt signed with Michigan State in the 2023 recruiting cycle, but the former blue-chipper transferred after the Spartans hired Jonathan Smith that November and landed at Arizona State with Kenny Dillingham. There’s a lot of excitement about Leavitt, who will have more responsibility this season with the departure of running back Cam Skattebo, after he guided the Sun Devils to the CFP last season.

12. Luke Altmyer, redshirt senior, Illinois

How he landed there: Altmyer began his career at Ole Miss in 2021 and stayed in Oxford as a backup for two seasons before transferring to Illinois. The former four-star and Mississippi native has developed into one of the better quarterbacks in the Big Ten over the past two years and will lead a team that is a trendy preseason Playoff pick.

13. LaNorris Sellers, redshirt sophomore, South Carolina

How he landed there: Sellers, a South Carolina native, was previously committed to Virginia and Syracuse but eventually signed with South Carolina during the 2023 recruiting cycle. He redshirted in 2023 and burst onto the scene last fall when the Gamecocks emerged as one of the hottest teams in the country during the second half of the season. He will be one of the most exciting players to watch in 2025.

14. Bryce Underwood, freshman, Michigan

How he landed there: Underwood was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 recruiting cycle. He was committed to LSU for 10 months last year but flipped to Michigan in November, receiving a significant NIL deal in the process. He was named Michigan’s starter this week and will be the face of the program for the foreseeable future.

15. DJ Lagway, sophomore, Florida

How he landed there: Lagway was the five-star centerpiece of the Gators’ 2024 recruiting class. He ascended into the starting role after an injury to Graham Mertz last season and will be one of the most promising young quarterbacks in the country this fall, his first season as the full-time starter.

16. Kevin Jennings, redshirt junior, SMU

How he landed there: Jennings signed with the Mustangs during the 2022 recruiting cycle. He was a three-star recruit who wasn’t ranked among the top 1,000 prospects nationally. After redshirting his first year and backing up Preston Stone in 2023, Jennings unseated Stone early last season and led SMU to the ACC title game and at-large berth in the CFP. Jennings is the clear-cut starter headed into this season.

17. Avery Johnson, junior, Kansas State

How he landed there: Johnson was a highly touted signee for the Wildcats during the 2023 cycle, a four-star, fringe top-100 recruit nationally who elected to remain in-state. Johnson started a few games as a true freshman, was elevated to the starting role as a sophomore and remains QB1 for a program with Big 12 title hopes.

18. John Mateer, redshirt junior, Oklahoma

How he landed there: Mateer was a little-known recruit (ranked No. 1,766 nationally) from Little Elm, Texas, when he signed with Washington State during the 2022 recruiting cycle. He sat and watched Cam Ward for two seasons before becoming the starter last year and breaking out with 44 total touchdowns, 3,139 passing yards and 826 rushing yards. He was highly coveted in the transfer portal this offseason and has the potential to be one of the best QBs in the SEC.

19. Marcel Reed, redshirt sophomore, Texas A&M

How he landed there: A one-time Ole Miss commit, Reed flipped late to Texas A&M late in the 2023 recruiting cycle. He redshirted as a true freshman and claimed the job from Conner Weigman last season. He’ll enter this season as the undisputed starter and should have better weapons at wide receiver this season.

20. Fernando Mendoza, redshirt junior, Indiana

How he landed there: Mendoza was a two-star recruit — ranked the No. 140 QB nationally — from South Florida during the 2022 recruiting cycle who signed with Cal. He emerged as the Golden Bears’ starter midway through 2023 and played well over the past two seasons, even though he flew relatively under the radar. Georgia pursued him after he entered the transfer portal this offseason, but Mendoza ultimately picked Indiana, where he will play with his younger brother, Alberto (also a QB).

21. Austin Simmons, redshirt sophomore, Ole Miss

How he landed there: Simmons was originally committed to Florida but jumped up two recruiting classes, from 2025 to 2023, and signed with Ole Miss. He takes over the starting job this season after sitting behind Jaxson Dart for two years.

22. Rocco Becht, redshirt junior, Iowa State

How he landed there: JJ Kohl, a former top-150 prospect, was believed by many to be the future at quarterback for the Cyclones. But it ended up being Becht, a former three-star from Florida in the Class of 2022, who seized control of the position. Becht, who led Iowa State to a win over Kansas State last weekend, is now in his third season as a full-time starter and will try to deliver a Big 12 championship to Iowa State.

23. Behren Morton, redshirt senior, Texas Tech

How he landed there: Morton, a former top-150 prospect, signed at Texas Tech when Matt Wells was head coach during the 2021 recruiting cycle. He remained with the program when Joey McGuire took over and is now a third-year starter for a program that was the talk of the offseason for its transfer additions.

24. Joey Aguilar, seventh-year senior, Tennessee

How he landed there: It’s been a wild journey for Aguilar, who spent time at two junior colleges in California before transferring to Appalachian State, where he started for two seasons and was named Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year in 2023. He transferred to UCLA this past offseason, but bolted after a few months following the Bruins’ decision to bring in Tennessee transfer Nico Iamaleava. With an opening at Tennessee, Aguilar headed east and will now start in Week 1 for the Volunteers.

25. Maddux Madsen, redshirt junior, Boise State

How he landed there: There have been more high-profile quarterbacks at Boise State the past few years — such as Taylen Green (now at Arkansas) and former five-star Malachi Nelson (now at UTEP) — but it’s Madsen, a three-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting cycle, who led the Broncos to the College Football Playoff in 2024. Madsen is the established veteran leader and is set to begin his second season as the starter.

(Top photo of Dante Moore: Soobum Im / Getty Images)