Spring practice has already kicked off for many programs around the country, and you know all the clichés already. Your favorite team’s linebacker is in the best shape of his life. The offensive line might have struggled last year but these guys have really come together in the weight room and the chemistry is off the charts. Your rival will never be able to recover from the crushing loss of their second string tight end. Your team’s new coordinator is a schematic genius who knows how to motivate his guys; your rival’s new coordinator is an overrated blowhard who can’t control his locker room.

But the truest rite of spring is the quarterback battle. Whether it’s a flashy young recruit pushing a veteran, or a dual-threat battling the pocket passer, or the new transfer trying to unseat the program veteran, college football fates will be swung based on performance in spring ball. We have compiled 17 critical battles to prepare you to follow these crucial storylines as practice unfolds across the national landscape. 

Some of these battles won’t be decided until fall camp or even Week 1, and others might be affected by the second portal period in May. But for now, these are the key quarterback competitions to know, helpfully batched together for their similarity.

Batch 1: Playoff Contender Needs a New Starter

Alabama: Ty Simpson vs. Jalen Milroe

Georgia: Gunner Stockton vs. Carson Beck vs. Brock Vandagriff

Ohio State: Kyle McCord vs. Devin Brown

These perennial powerhouses are searching for signal-callers to replace program legends. Milroe, Beck, and McCord will each have the upper hand, thanks to recent playing time as backups. These three position battles will dominate college football airwaves from now until Labor Day – and possibly later, if the anointed ones do not perform adequately. The winners here should go on to Heisman and All-Conference caliber careers, while the runner-ups could become prized transfer portal targets.

Batch 2: Can the Kid Play?

Arizona State: Jaden Rashada challenging Drew Pyne/Trenton Borguet

Tennessee: Nico Iamaleava challenging Joe Milton

Texas: Arch Manning challenging Quinn Ewers

UCLA: Dante Moore challenging Collin Schlee

A quartet of ballyhooed blue chippers will take on veterans at Power Five programs. At Texas, Arch Manning arrives with one of the best recruiting pedigrees in history, perhaps since his competition, the now-mulletless Ewers. Expectations are sky-high as Steve Sarkisian’s recruiting efforts bolster the defense and the trenches; we could be in for a long year of quarterback controversy in Austin. In Knoxville, Joe Milton will earn the chance to win back his starting job that Hendon Hooker usurped, but expect Nico to make a push. And out west, a pair of prodigies will battle incoming transfers for the chance to start as true freshmen. These programs have quality veteran options at the position, but these precocious talents might force the hands of the coaches to turn to the future now. 

Batch 3: Two-Man Battle

Auburn: TJ Finley vs. Robby Ashford

Florida: Graham Mertz vs. Jack Miller

James Madison: Jordan McCloud vs. Brett Griffis

Nebraska: Casey Thompson vs. Jeff Sims

Texas Tech: Tyler Shough vs. Behren Morton

Virginia Tech: Grant Wells vs. Kyron Drones

Ah, the classic one-on-one competition. At Virginia Tech, Florida, and Nebraska, a transfer arrives from another Power Five school but finds an incumbent who won’t go down without a fight.  Texas Tech has a pair of returning quarterbacks who both played; Shough was the starter last year when healthy, but the staff is rightly enamored with Morton’s potential. Likewise at Auburn, both Finley and Ashford played while the infrastructure and culture crumbled around them. This competition should extend into fall camp, maybe alongside a May transfer. The eventual winner will get to operate Hugh Freeze’s quarterback-friendly system, much like the winner of the JMU competition. Curt Cignetti put his stamp on the Sun Belt last year with a magical season from journeyman Todd Centeio. McCloud is favored to kickstart his career at his third stop like Centeio, although Wake Forest transfer Griffis could give him a run for his money. 

Batch 4: Three-Way Competition

Cincinnati: Evan Prater vs. Emory Jones vs. Ben Bryant

Liberty: Kaidon Salter vs. Trey Lowe vs. Johnathan Bennett

Missouri: Brady Cook vs. Sam Horn vs. Jake Garcia

Ole Miss: Spencer Sanders vs. Jaxson Dart vs. Walker Howard

Lastly, we have a group of programs with a battle royale on their hands. The Liberty battle will be interesting; the Flames will be early favorites to win the new C-USA and Jamey Chadwell’s triple-option scheme can make a Group of Five star out of whoever takes the reins. Cincinnati will be looking for elevated quarterback play in its new chapter as a Power Five school, bringing in Emory Jones, late of Arizona State and Florida, to be the rising tide that lifts all boats. At Missouri, Eli Drinkwitz’s reputation as an offensive genius is on the rocks as he has not produced quality quarterback play in his three years in Columbia. Former blue-chip recruits Horn and Garcia will look to break that ceiling; incumbent Cook will be fully healthy after shoulder surgery and also figure into the mix. And lastly we have Lane Kiffin, the patron saint of college football chaos, taking in two starting-caliber transfers to pair with his returning starters. This situation will be amazing to watch unfold all spring, summer, and fall: expect flashy stats, physical running from the position, snarky tweets, and plenty of eye black. Oxford will again be the scene for one of college football’s best soap operas.