The Steelers are in desperate need of a new franchise quarterback. In the weeks leading up to the 2025 college football season, we’ll be examining some of the top college quarterbacks eligible for the 2026 draft. However, we’re going to have some fun along the way. All responses from the “players” in this article are fictitious and stem from my own analysis, which is why some of the answers will offer analysis you would never hear a media-trained quarterback say. If you complain about this feature in the comments, just know that you’re a lint-licker.
If you’re looking for further explanation/context for this series, read our past entries, including:
“Welcome to the Steelers QB Dating Game! Anddddd here’s your host, Steely McBeam!”
Steely McBeam: Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen of Steelers Nation. We’ve had a lot of fun this summer, haven’t we? We’re not at the end just yet, but things are starting to crystallize in our competition. In last week’s poll, Garrett Nussmeier ran away with the competition, securing the victory and the second-most votes of the entire competition so far to become our fourth finalist. Today we introduce our final three contestants, one of whom will advance to the Final Round of Five. Let’s meet our contestants!
The Local
Our first contestant would certainly be worth the number one pick if we were judging solely off of his prototypical frame. Listed at 6’5 and 235 pounds, this passer has a rocket arm, more functional mobility than you might first assume, and is hard to bring down for a sack. On paper, there is a lot to like. He plays in one of college football's biggest and most competitive conferences. He’s led his team to the college football playoffs semifinals. Growing up in Ohio, he was given a five-star ranking by 247Sports, and was their top-ranked quarterback and third overall prospect in the 2022 recruiting class. He’s featured on several watchlists for conference and national awards. When laid out like that, it’s a pretty impressive resume… and yet this passer returned to school after receiving feedback from the NFL’s College Advisory Committee, a board that gives players a projection on whether they will be drafted in the first round, second round, or neither. Observant readers will by now realize which three passers are left to appear in this series and recognize this signal caller will be playing in the Steelers’ backyard, just under a three-hour drive away. Let’s have a round of applause for the Local!
The Marksman
Steely McBeam: This tall drink of water grew up in Miami, Florida, and has since taken his talents first out West and, now, the Midwest. He played in nine games as a freshman in 2023 before taking over as a starter last year. Because his school changed conferences between those seasons, and because he transferred this winter, this contestant will have the unique distinction of competing in three different conferences in three years, once this season kicks off. Listed at 6’5 and 225 pounds, he was only 247Sports’ 134th-ranked quarterback coming out of high school, but played his way into being the site’s fourth-ranked transfer quarterback, behind three other quarterbacks in this series: Nico Iamaleava, Carson Beck, and John Mateer. Already one of the most accurate passers in college football, he hopes a move to the quarterback-friendly offense at his new school will see his draft stock explode. Let’s hear it for the Marksman!
The Replacement
Steely McBeam: Last, but certainly not the least, our final contestant has had nothing handed to him. A four-star recruit out of Lubbock, Texas, he sat during his freshman year at Mississippi State before transferring back closer to home. He got some spot starts as a sophomore when the quarterback ahead of him was injured, but that didn’t stop his school from going all-in on bringing in another quarterback from the transfer portal for 2024. His fortunes changed quickly, however, when that transfer looked downright awful after two starts. Named the starter in Week 3, it took a while for the wins to start coming, but his play helped his team finish with a top-25 scoring offense and a bowl appearance where they lost in a shootout to an SEC power player. Listed at 6’4 and 220 pounds, let’s give one last loud welcome to the Replacement!
Steely McBeam: As always, gentlemen, tell the people the story of your 2024 season. Locals first.
2024 Passing Stats
QB
Passing yards
Passing TDs
Attempts
Comp%
INTs
QB
Passing yards
Passing TDs
Attempts
Comp%
INTs
The Local
3,327
24
394
66.50%
8
The Marksman
3,004
16
390
67.90%
6
The Replacement
3,058
28
366
61.70%
8
Stats via PFF
The Local: As you so kindly pointed out, Mr. McBeam, I led my team to the College Football Playoff semifinals and we finished 13-3 on the year. We didn’t suffer our first defeat until November, and our other two losses came in our conference championship game and in the playoffs against top-five opponents. Overall against ranked teams, we went 3-3.
Personally, I achieved career highs in completion percentage, passing yards, yards per attempt, QB rating, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns, while only falling one short of my 2023 passing touchdown total.
Critics will say I struggled in the big games and that my overall production is modest, but I didn’t have a ton to work with. Our offense lacked explosive playmakers on the perimeter, so much that our offense was built around a tight end — our team’s only player to eclipse a thousand receiving yards — and two running backs who each topped a thousand yards rushing. At times, it felt like I had to put the team on my back, which also saw my interception increase from two in 2023 to eight last year.
An odd stat about production: Over the past 10 drafts, 35 quarterbacks have been selected in the first round, and during their final season of college, those quarterbacks averaged 294.6 yards passing per game. Of those quarterbacks, 21 averaged over 300 passing yards per game.
My critics will point out that last year was my most productive in this stat, and I only averaged 207.9 yards passing per game.
As I alluded to earlier, there is context behind that low figure, but I’ll acknowledge I have areas in my game that I can improve on. I’ll also note that Josh Allen averaged 164.7 passing yards per game in his final season — and hope you don’t bring up that Wyoming’s recruiting power is minuscule in comparison to my school’s.
If I were to evaluate myself honestly, I’d say I excel at pushing the ball downfield — especially on deep in-breaking routes — but need to tidy up my footwork and mechanics on the easier throws. While it’s clear I’m able to make it through my progressions, sometimes I speed myself up and get sloppy with my mechanics. And while I’ve shown I can throw with anticipation, I still tend to want to see my receiver make their break before I throw it.
If I can tidy up some of those miscues, continue to increase my production, and keep turnovers down, I believe I have just as good a shot as anyone at being the first quarterback taken in the 2026 draft.
The Marksman: After a redshirt year, I took over the starting gig in the middle of the 2023 season. I played fairly well across eight starts, but it wasn’t enough to guarantee me anything the following season. My school brought in a graduate transfer to compete for the starting job, which I ultimately won.
That carried over into the start of the season. We reeled off three straight wins, including one over an SEC opponent. We were having quite a moment; we became a meme format, and we had a parody of a popular song themed after our running back. Things were looking up as we headed into the beginning of play in our new conference.
And then we lost a low-scoring game to an 0-3 opponent. That would be the first of four straight losses, all of which were close games that we lost by a combined nine points.
The team had some good players on it, but the offensive line play took a step back from the year before. Our running game struggled and then sputtered as injuries took hold. I did my best to keep the offense afloat, but we would fluctuate between low-scoring affairs and shootouts as the season wore on.
After our four-game skid, we’d score over 40 points in two straight victories before going 1-3 over our final four games. I got generally positive reviews for my performance and decided a change of scenery might be best for my draft stock.
The Replacement: If you thought the last guy had an unexpected season, I wasn’t even the starter to begin last season.
To understand my journey, you need to understand that out of high school, I committed to Mississippi State to play under Mike Leach, one of the creators and innovators of the Air Raid offense. Leach’s offenses tended to put up prolific passing numbers, and I was excited to learn and play under his leadership. Unfortunately, he tragically passed away before our bowl game during my freshman season. That offseason, I transferred back to a school in my home state to play in another Air Raid-influenced system.
I didn’t win the starting job in 2023, but after an injury to the starter, I took over and remained the starter across four starts to close the season. The school brought in another transfer quarterback in 2024, and they were initially named the starter. However, after two games, that quarterback was injured and I again took over the starting job. The coaching staff eventually said the previous start could have returned to play a few games later, but I never gave the job back.
Our season was up and down. After a 2-4 start, we rallied to win six straight to end the regular season and earned a bowl berth. We lost in a high-scoring game to an SEC opponent to finish the season 8-6.
One thing that was notable after I took over was that the offense began to operate more smoothly. We finished the season 22nd in scoring in the FBS. Compared to the rest of the quarterbacks in this field, I also finished near the top in touchdowns and average time to throw. I didn’t take a ton of sacks, and I kept my turnovers low. I didn’t have the best completion percentage or the strongest arm, but I’m component in most phases. And while I’m not a burner as a runner, I had one of the highest yards per carry in this competition in addition to four rushing touchdowns.
I may not be a household name yet, but ESPN has already quoted an AFC scout as saying I’m the quarterback everyone wishes the Local was. So that has to count for something, right? Surely Yinz aren’t just voting for the first quarterback presented each episode — right?
Steely McBeam: I ask the questions around here, sport. But perhaps it is time to keep things moving. How does each of you fare when the defense is getting after you?
2024 Under Pressure Stats
QB
Total Pressures
Pressure %
Sacks
Pressure To Sack %
Avg. Time To Throw (TTT)
TTT Under Pressure
Comp%
Yards
Yards Per Attmempt
TD
INT
Turnover Worthy Plays (TWP)
TWP %
QB
Total Pressures
Pressure %
Sacks
Pressure To Sack %
Avg. Time To Throw (TTT)
TTT Under Pressure
Comp%
Yards
Yards Per Attmempt
TD
INT
Turnover Worthy Plays (TWP)
TWP %
The Local
143
31.20%
21
14.70%
2.89 sec
3.89 sec
46.90%
678
7.1
2
2
1
0.70%
The Marksman
156
33.90%
40
25.60%
2.59 sec
3.23 sec
48.50%
577
5.8
5
2
7
4.10%
The Replacement
96
23.50%
16
16.70%
2.57 sec
3.47 sec
40.60%
490
7.1
4
3
7
6.50%
Stats via PFF
The Marksman: Only three contestants on this show had more pressures faced in 2024 than me. While it’s true not all pressures are the fault of the offensive line, a good portion of ours were. My quick decision-making and even quicker release were greatly needed for our offense to function. While I took a ton of sacks, I was the most accurate passer in this series regardless of situation, and the third-most accurate under pressure. Only two passers in this series had a quicker average time to throw than me, and no one averaged a quicker throwing time against pressure than I did.
The Local: I was no slouch against pressure myself. Among my peers in this series, I stacked up well in pressure-to-sack rate (3rd), completion percentage (4th), yards (6th), yards per attempt (6th), and turnover-worthy-play rate (1st). I’d like to see my yardage and touchdowns go up when facing pressure in this upcoming season. I can get happy feet in the pocket and sometimes catch myself drifting when I throw, like on the season-ending interception I threw in the semifinals. If I can tidy those flaws up, it could really unlock my game to the next level.
The Replacement: I finished right behind the Local in pressure-to-sack rate (4th), matched him in yards per attempt, got rid of the ball quicker, and tossed two more touchdowns than he did to boot. Accuracy was again my Achilles heel, as I finished with one of the lower completion rates under pressure. I am capable of making some spectacular throws on the run and off-platform, but consistently doing so has been the issue. Another season of experience will hopefully see me improve in this area.
Steely McBeam: The modern quarterback needs to have some mobility in their game. How were you on the ground?
2024 Rushing Stats
QB
Attempts
Yards
YPA
Touchdowns
Fumbles
Yards After Contact
Scrambles
Scramble Yards
Missed Tackles Forced
10+ Yard Runs
Designed Runs of 15+ Yards
Elusiveness Rating
QB
Attempts
Yards
YPA
Touchdowns
Fumbles
Yards After Contact
Scrambles
Scramble Yards
Missed Tackles Forced
10+ Yard Runs
Designed Runs of 15+ Yards
Elusiveness Rating
The Local
81
419
5.2
6
5
252
43
321
21
17
0
28.3
The Marksman
52
334
6.4
2
3
156
28
244
8
12
2
0
The Replacement
51
335
6.6
4
2
194
23
196
9
10
2
79.6
Stats via PFF
The Replacement: I didn’t run a ton, and I don’t possess field-tilting speed, but I was one of the most efficient runners, with only John Mateer and Arch Manning averaging more yards per carry than me (6.6). I’m a passer who will always look to make plays with my arm first, but there may be more to my game that could be unlocked with a few more designed runs.
The Local: I’m not strictly a pocket passer, but my size lends to a more lumbering running style. I’m not the same type of runner as Josh Allen, even if we have similar body types. Still, I finished with more rushing yards than eight other signal callers in this series. If I can improve my instincts on when to run in 2024, that’ll just be another piece of the puzzle that moves me up the draft board.
The Marksman: Like the Replacement, I don’t run a ton, but I’m efficient when doing so, finishing just behind them in yards per carry (6.4). I’m more likely to create time to throw the ball downfield, but I did have a 60-yard rush to my name last season. Some would compare my mobility style to the current Steelers quarterback in his heyday.
Steely McBeam: Thank you, gentlemen, for making your cases. This episode is arguably the tightest contest between three candidates in this whole series. I’m eager to see who the fans choose to advance. You guys may step out from behind the curtain now.
The Local — Drew Allar, Penn State
Photo by CFP/Getty Images
The Marksman — Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images
The Replacement — Sawyer Robertson, Baylor
Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images
Steely McBeam: And now the time has come for Yinz’ voices to be heard! Cast your vote below to decide who will be the final contestant to qualify for our Final Round of Five!
What are your thoughts on these prospects? Let us know in the comments! And keep an eye out for final episode and series wrap in the coming weeks.
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