Next season, the Kansas Jayhawks are going to have to field a team without Jalon Daniels for the first time since 2020. That is going to be an odd thing for KU fans to get over. With so much debate over who is the right guy to start in his shoes, it can be easy to get caught up in all of the Jayhawks’ worries.Â
Yet, what about their competition? The Big 12 has historically had an air-raid, first-to-50 reputation. While the conference has certainly matured a lot since then, there is still elite talent under center and today’s task is to evaluate the top names the Jayhawks will face during next season.Â
No. 5 Alonza Barnett III (UCF)
The margins between Barnett and Jaden Craig of TCU were razor-thin. Ultimately, while Craig may produce a cleaner TD-to-INT ratio, Barnett has experienced FBS football (even if it is in the Sun Belt), while also being a much more dominant force on the ground.Â
Barnett comes to UCF with 49 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over the last two years, along with 5,433 passing yards. His 59.2% completion rate could certainly improve, but the 22 rushing touchdowns he brings with him from the last two seasons are enough to cause any defensive coordinator headaches.Â
No. 4 Bear Bachmeier (BYU)
Just to be clear, you could put No. 4, No. 3, and No. 2 in any order and they would all be understandable. It really comes down to what you prefer. Bachmeier showed very easily he is BYU’s quarterback of the future last season thanks to his stellar 3,033 passing yards, 64.5% completion rate and 26 total touchdowns. The biggest knock on Bachmeier is that he holds less experience than the other names on this list, which isn’t really a fair barometer, but it's where we had to land.
No. 3 Avery Johnson (Kansas State)
The more we think, the more Johnson at third feels right. He brings a steady head that has seen 33 games and he brings a really good 48 TD to 16 INT ratio. Johnson’s 22 rushing touchdowns are not forgotten either. He can win a lot of games for a lot of teams in the country. Maybe it's recency bias, but Johnson isn’t higher because his 2025 was worse than No. 2 and No. 1 on this list
No. 2 Devon Dampier (Utah)
Dampier took like a duck to water in his first season at Utah. He totaled 2,490 passing yards to go with 24 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. His 7.2% touchdown rate and 1.5% interception rate are phenomenal. Beyond that, he also added 10 touchdowns on the ground for around 70 rushing yards per game last season.Â
No. 1 Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State)Â
It feels hard not to put the guy who led the nation in passing yards last season (4,379) No. 1 on this list. Mestemaker’s laser-like 68.9% completion rate is nothing to look over either. Of course, he is one of only two quarterbacks on this list without a snap in the Big 12, but while he may not repeat the same numbers as last season, he feels like a safe bet to not make this list look foolish.
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