College football transfer portal: CBS Sports names seven underrated QBs that could shape season

The 2026 college football season is just under four months away. With that, CBS Sports has named seven underrated transfer quarterbacks that could shape the season.

The 2025 season was dominated by transfer quarterbacks, such as Indiana‘s Fernando Mendoza, Duke‘s Darian Mensah, Ole Miss‘ Trinidad Chambliss, and Miami‘s Carson Beck. With a new crop of transfers incoming this season, more and more names will evolve from unknown players to household superstars.

Without further ado, here are CBS’ seven most underrated transfer quarterbacks. The list kicks off in the Big Ten.

Katin Houser, QB, Illinois

East Carolina transfer Katin Houser has big shoes to fill this season at Illinois. Luke Altmyer made his mark as one of the best quarterbacks in program history across his stint in Champaign, passing for 7,607 yards (fifth-most in program history) and 57 touchdowns (second-most in program history). Altmyer is gone, however, leading the way for Houser to get his big opportunity for Bret Bielema‘s Fighting Illini.

The 2026 college football season will mark Houser’s fifth, with his third different program. The Anaheim native began his career at Michigan State (2022-2023) before transferring to East Carolina for the past two seasons. While leading the Pirates, Houser passed for 5,306 yards and 37 touchdowns with 17 interceptions. Houser being serviceable for the Illini will be extremely important, as they look to break into the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.

Aaron Philo, QB, Florida

Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo is poised to be the first starting quarterback of the Jon Sumrall era at Florida. It is certainly a risky decision for the Gators to go all in on Philo, as his first two collegiate seasons were spent backing up Haynes King. In that span, Philo appeared in just eight games and passed for 938 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He is one of two quarterbacks on Florida‘s depth chart (Tramell Jones Jr.), but he seems poised to open the season as the starter.

Heading into the first season of the Jon Sumrall era, Florida is desperately seeking a return to relevance. It has not won 10-plus games in a season since 2019, and has also failed to qualify for a bowl game in two of the past three seasons. The program is coming off a miserable 4-8 season, which marked its worst record since 2013.

Lincoln Kienholz, QB, Louisville

After spending his entire collegiate career buried in Ohio State‘s depth chart, Lincoln Kienholz will finally get his chance to shine for Louisville this season. He looks to become just the latest quarterback to thrive under Jeff Brohm at Louisville, joining the likes of Jack Plummer, Tyler Shough, and Miller Moss. In 12 career games, the Pierre, SD native boasts just 250 career passing yards and one touchdown.

Kienholz, however, was a highly coveted four-star prospect coming out of high school. This has given Louisville fans confidence in their guy, who is now getting a shot to shine in the wide-open ACC. Under Brohm, Louisville is seeking its fourth consecutive nine-plus win season.

Jaden Craig, QB, TCU

It’s safe to say that TCU quarterback Jaden Craig, who transferred in from Harvard, is the most ‘unknown’ name on this list. However, he very well could be the most experienced guy on the list. Across three seasons at Harvard, the First Team All-Ivy League selection passed for 6,074 yards and 52 touchdowns with just 12 interceptions.

He has some big shoes to fill in for former quarterback Josh Hoover, who transferred to Indiana this offseason. With Craig leading the way and head coach Sonny Dykes enjoying a contract extension, the Horned Frogs are looking to storm their way back into College Football Playoff contention this season.

Cutter Boley, QB, Arizona State

Former Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley was highly coveted when he hit the Transfer Portal this offseason. After much speculation, Boley committed to Arizona State and Kenny Dillingham. The Sun Devils were in desperate need of making a splash, as former Second Team All-Big 12 selection Sam Leavitt transferred to LSU to play for Lane Kiffin this season.

Across two seasons in Lexington, Boley established himself as a rising star. He was named to the 2025 All-SEC Freshman Team and compiled 2,498 passing yards and 17 touchdowns with 16 interceptions across his freshman and redshirt freshman campaigns. He now looks to make the next step in his career, playing in the Big 12 Conference.

Ashton Daniels, QB, Florida State

Although former Auburn quarterback Ashton Daniels played in just four games last season, Mike Norvell and Florida State went all in on making him their franchise quarterback this offseason. The Seminoles are coming off a disastrous season, in which they opened the season with a 3-0 record (and a win over No. 8 Alabama) before finishing just 5-7.

In four games for the Tigers in 2025, Daniels passed for 797 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. Auburn was 1-3 in the games he played in. Prior to enrolling at Auburn, however, Daniels compiled 3,986 yards and 21 touchdowns with 20 interceptions across three seasons at Stanford.

Alberto Mendoza, QB, Georgia Tech

The brother of the reigning Heisman Trophy winner rounds out CBS’ list. Alberto Mendoza appeared in 10 games across his two-season stint at Indiana, in which he passed for 292 yards and five touchdowns with one interception. Most of those numbers came in garbage minutes, as the Hoosiers dominated many opponents last season en route to the first College Football Playoff National Championship in program history.

Mendoza is the clear-cut favorite to be Tech’s starter, as Haynes King is off to the NFL and the aforementioned Aaron Philo transferred to Florida. Under head coach Brent Key, the Yellow Jackets are looking to build on last season’s 9-4 record. It marked Tech’s first nine-win season since 2016.