Nussmeier leads 2026 QB draft prospect rankings entering Week 5

We finally made it to the conference schedule portion of the 2025 college football season. It’s now time for teams to make statements against similar competition on a weekly basis.

Week 4 featured the first conference slate of games this year. It offered up plenty for NFL draft evaluators to analyze ahead of the 2026 draft class, which features many more quarterbacks worthy of first-round consideration.

It’s still early on, though. This time a year ago eventual No. 1 pick Cam Ward wasn’t on anyone’s radar for the first round, let alone the top pick.

This year’s class is more top-heavy with established names to follow. Many of them had their first proper test of the year in Week 4 and responded in varying ways.

Heading into Week 5, the top four quarterbacks remain entrenched in their order from a week prior. All four have their biggest tests of the season coming up on Saturday so we’ll know much more 72 hours from now. Until then, here’s how things stand in our top eight quarterback prospects entering Week 5 of the college football season:

2026 NFL Draft QB prospect rankings

1. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU (last week: 1)

• Week 4 vs. Southeastern Lousiana: 25-31 (80.6%) passing, 273 yards, three touchdowns; three carries, 30 yards, one touchdown

Nussmeier bounced back from a so-so week against Florida to post his best stat line of the season so far. Granted it was against what will likely be the easiest opponent on the Tigers’ schedule but Nussmeier posted his first four-touchdown performance of the year.

He continued his weekly standard of extending plays in the pocket to find open receivers including a third-and-goal strike to Zavion Thomas with time running out in the second quarter. He found his footing (literally) earlier than in other games with his footwork in a good spot before halftime.

Coach Brian Kelly said Nussmeier’s recovering well from a torso injury sustained in the offseason which will lead to better results for both the quarterback and offense overall.

Nussmeier and the Tigers have a tough test ahead of them in Ole Miss in Week 5. He and Trinidad Chambliss could make for a scoring spree in their SEC tilt.

2. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina (last week: 2)

• Week 4 at Missouri: 18-28 (64.3%) passing, 302 yards, two touchdowns; five carries, 18 yards

Sellers bounced back from his injury in Week 3 against Vanderbilt to have his best game as a passer this season.

He passed the 300-yard mark for just the third time of his career. He had multiple passing touchdowns for the first time this year and boasted the highest average depth of target (ADOT) he’s had all season at 15.7 yards, per Pro Football Focus (PFF).

The Gamecocks used a lot of quick game early on to get Sellers some easy completions and get his rhythm. But his decision-making was more touch and go than you’d want to see. He got lucky twice in the first half with turnover-worthy throws. A few passes over the course of the game should’ve been interceptions, including multiple in South Carolina territory. He also passed up check downs or throw aways and instead took sacks multiple times.

Sellers and the Gamecocks take on a rested Kentucky team this week. He’ll need to cut down on those decisions to move past Nussmeier on this list.

3. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana (last week: 3)

• Week 4 vs. Illinois: 21-23 (91.3%) passing, 267 yards, five touchdowns; five carries, 18 yards

Mendoza and Indiana continued their march on offense with a lopsided win over visiting Illinois. His 14 touchdowns are the most in the counry through four weeks.

Illinois decided to pressure Medonza and the Indiana offense responded by leaning even more into their run-pass option (RPO) sets. This didn’t allow a ton for evaluation on Mendoza. Instead, it was more of a good look at his physical profile. Mendoza stands as one of the bigger bodies at the position in this class at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds. But that doesn’t mean he has a rocket arm; he has good mobility and is a dual-threat quarterback but he’s not a weapon in the mold of Josh Allen.

The stat line jumps out but it’s important to know his ADOT was 6.4, the lowest of the season. A lot of his production came from short passes that took advantage of Illinois’ gameplan on defense.

He’ll likely have his biggest test of the season in Week 5 against Iowa and their stout pass defense.

4. Drew Allar, Penn State (last week: 4)

• Week 4: BYE

Penn State had Week 4 off ahead of their biggest game of the year so far. Week 5’s tilt against Oregon is one of the best games of the weekend. Allar will have to operate against a defense with first-round talent at edge rusher (Matayo Uiagalelei) and safety (Dillon Thieneman).

5. John Mateer, Oklahoma (last week: 6)

• Week 4 vs. Auburn: 25-37 (67.6%) passing, 268 yards, one touchdown; 11 carries, 45 yards, one touchdown, one fumble

Unfortunately, Mateer will miss time after surgery to his hand which was injured against Auburn. That is a shame after how well he was playing in Week 4.

Auburn boasts one of the top edge rushers in the 2026 draft class in Keldrick Faulk but you wouldn’t know it from how Mateer played. He was pressured a season-high 17 times but took just one sack. His average time to throw was 2.66 seconds – his second-highest of the season. This was not a performance like Mendoza’s that took advantage with quick, short passes against an aggressive defense.

His lone touchdown pass went to wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III, who had easily 10 yards of space from the nearest Tigers defender, early in the second quarter. He later hit Sategna III for a chunk gain in the second quarter but did set him up for contact over the middle. Ball security was an issue in this one as well as Auburn scored a touchdown after recovering his lone fumble on the night.

Hopefully Mateer will be back soon because he’s earned his way into the top five prospects.

6. Arch Manning, Texas (last week: 5)

• Week 4 vs. Sam Houston State: 18-21 (85.7%) passing, 309 yards, three touchdowns; four carries, 12 yards, two touchdowns

Manning put together his best game of the season in Week 4. Still, it came against Sam Houston State – arguably the worst team on the Longhorns’ schedule this season.

Even his early completions weren’t very inspiring. Manning found DeAndre Moore Jr. for his first completion of the day but it was too low for Moore to do anything after the catch despite ample room to run. Things improved from there with a heavy dose of passes to out-breaking receivers and a couple of good runs, including a five-yard score.

Moore was back in the lineup after missing Week 3 and Manning went to him often. That connection provided him with more confidence throughout the game.

He’s still not moving up these rankings because of the competition level. He’ll have a bigger test against future NFL talent in Week 5 against Florida. A good game there could have him back in the top five.

7. Dante Moore, Oregon (last week: 7)

• Week 4 vs. Oregon State: 21-31 (67.7%) passing, 305 yards, four touchdowns; six carries, 62 yards

Moore keeps his spot on this list thanks to a prolific game against Oregon State at home. It took until well into the second quarter for Moore to find his rhythm after a few misses against Oregon State’s stout coverage.

He made more plays with his feet in Week 4 than in previous games, though. A season-high 62 rushing yards stands out; Moore’s strong suit entering the season was his deep passing prowess. His quick release was on full display as well as the Ducks offense ground down the Beavers defense.

All of this is building to a massive showdown in Week 5 against Penn State. If Moore can hold up on the road against a top College Football Playoff (CFP) contender, that’ll go a very long way in his draft outlook.

8. Sam Leavitt, Arizona State (last week: NR)

• Week 4 at Baylor: 22-32 (68.8%) passing, 221 yards, one touchdowns; 15 carries, 64 yards, one touchdown

Leavitt reutrns to these rankings after a standout performance through the air and on the ground against Baylor.

The Sun Devils’ passer set a season-high in completion percentage against the Bears without sacrificing aggression (8.2 yard ADOT, per PFF). He’s not higher because Arizona State did provide a pretty clean pocket for him (six pressures on 36 dropbacks).

The final stat line was good but did leave a little to be desired. One of his best throws of the night – a third-and-13 deep shot to Derek Eusebio that traveled 49 yards in the air – was slightly underthrown. Eusebio had to slow down to corral the ball and could’ve gained more after the catch. It’s a small nit to pick but notable when evaluating him for the next level.

Two minutes of game time later, Leavitt found top wideout Jordyn Tyson for a go-ahead score that shows promise for both at the NFL level.

Arizona State continues its Big 12 slate against TCU in Week 5 and Leavitt could continue building his case with another dual-threat performance against the Horned Frogs.

Next two up: Jayden Maiava, USC: Carson Beck, Miami