The Big Ten is experiencing a massive changing of the guard at the quarterback position this year. There are only three starting quarterbacks returning to their team for 2023. That’s it.
Not only is C.J. Stroud off to the NFL, multiple other longtime starters are now off to the next level. Both Sean Clifford and Tanner Morgan are off to the NFL after starting seemingly forever for Penn State and Minnesota. Aidan O’Connell also graduated after a strong two years starting at Purdue.
The Big Ten didn’t just deal with graduation either. Multiple programs saw their starting quarterbacks head out the door in the transfer portal. Connor Bazelak left Indiana for Bowling Green. Casey Thompson only spent a year in Nebraska before departing to FAU. Somehow Graham Mertz actually somewhat upgraded and is looking like he could start at Florida of all places this year.
The effect of the transfer portal was really felt by a Big Ten conference experiencing massive change. Few positions reflect that better than quarterback. Here is every starting quarterback for the 2023 season ranked.