As the 2025 regular season approaches, expectations are high for a bevy of college quarterbacks. While some will rise to meet those expectations, others will struggle. The flip side of high expectations are the need to produce at a high level.
With that issue in mind, here are five likely starters who could hit some bumps in the road for their 2025 season.
5 Starting QBs Who Could Fail to Meet Expectations in 2025
Julian Sayin, Ohio State
Julian Sayin has been around Alabama and Ohio State and is expected to be the next superstar. But it’s not a finished deal. Sayin has thrown 12 collegiate passes and is now the starting QB at Ohio State. For a team that has had Will Howard and CJ Stroud under center in recent years, Sayin might not be quite as ready to star.
Given a schedule opening with Texas, Sayin lacks the leash he would have if OSU was opening with, say, Akron, as they did in 2024. He’ll have to be ready from the first snap. And here’s the rub– he might well be ready. But if he’s not, things will get interesting very quickly.
Jackson Arnold, Auburn
It’s not a great sign that leading up to Week 1, coach Hugh Freeze is discussing playing three different Auburn quarterbacks. A highly regarded prospect, Arnold never quite got comfortable in his two seasons with Oklahoma. He came to Auburn with the idea that he would be the leader in a Tiger renaissance.
But the closer Auburn gets to SEC competition, the more likely it is that things might not go swimmingly for Arnold and the Tigers. QB competition is certainly not a good sign for his stability as Auburn’s QB1. Maybe Arnold can jump-start Auburn. But Freeze can’t afford to be too patient in trying to find out.
Dante Moore, Oregon
Moore came over from UCLA and has the pedigree to be a top QB. But his playing time with the Bruins didn’t go terribly well and he didn’t get a chance to show much with only eight pass attempts in 2024. Yes, Moore will be well coached in Dan Lanning’s offense. He’ll have plenty of talent around him. But he’s still an unknown quality.
Of the five players in this list, Moore and Sayin are the two who have the most obvious upsides. Both have many, many factors in their favor. But neither is a sure thing, which is enough to land here.
Nico Iamaleava, UCLA
Iamaleava’s transfer from Tennessee was one of the biggest stories of the spring. With the transfer apparently based on NIL issues that Iamaleava had with the Vols, his subsequent decision to move to UCLA looks pretty substantial. But how much difference can Iamaleava make to a struggling UCLA team?
In the last decade, UCLA has six losing seasons and no 10-win seasons. There are many who believe that Iamaleava’s production at Tennessee was due to Josh Heupel’s offense and Dylan Sampson at running back. He won’t have either of those advantages with the Bruins and things could get tricky in a hurry.
Kaidon Salter, Colorado
Salter steps into a difficult position as the heir apparent to Shedeur Sanders, who certainly left a high standard to reach. He also struggled in 2024. Salter was a star in 2023, passing for 2,876 yards and 32 scores. But the following season, not only did his team drop back, but Salter dropped in completion percentage, yardage, yards per pass, touchdowns, and saw his rushing figure drop nearly in half.
Colorado is primed (no pun intended) to take a step back in 2025. The other big issue here is five-star QB Julian Lewis who will be behind Salter. But if Salter struggles, the cries for Lewis will grow louder immediately.
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