From the Couch Sports

Sometimes a college quarterback is a hyped up recruit and is expected to perform, other times there are guys that have come from out of no where and ended up becoming star. Here’s a look at some of those under the radar quarterbacks that have excelled so far this season in 2025.

Drew Mestemaker QB, North Texas

Let’s start with Redshirt Freshman QB Drew Mestemaker. Here is a classic example of a rags to riches player. Mestemaker attended Vandergrift HS in Austin, Texas. At 6’4 210 pounds he certainly had the prototype size of a typical college quarterback. However, he was never the starting quarterback in high school. He sat behind QB Deuce Adams, who was in his same class. Adams was a 3-star recruit who committed to Louisville.

Mestemaker played sparingly his senior season at QB, attempting 17 passes with 146 yards and 2 passing touchdowns in his senior year. He saw the more often as a safety and punter, recording 9 solo tackles and punting the ball 15 times. Mestemaker was a 0-star recruit and decided to walk-on at North Texas.

It’s a tall task to make a Division 1 football team as a walk-on but he made the team and served as the primary back-up for the 2024 season behind starter Chandler Morris. Mestemaker made his first collegiate start in the 2025 First Responder Bowl, throwing for 393 yards, running for 55 yards, and adding three total touchdowns. For a guy who didn’t start a varsity game in high school, he did a formidable job in his first collegiate start.

He would be named the starter in 2025 for the North Texas Mean Green, winning the job over Miami transfer Reese Poffenbarger. Mestemaker lead the Mean Green to a 5-0 start, throwing for 1,280 yards 11 touchdowns and 0 interceptions during that stretch. The Mean Green lost to USF in a game where Mestemaker struggled but he bounced back the following game against UTSA, throwing for 277 yards and 4 touhdowns, with only three incompletions. Then on October 24 he made national headlines when he threw for a school and conference record 608 yards in a win at Charlotte.

There is no doubt Mestemaker could be the quarterback of the future for North Texas. He has been by far one of the best freshmen quarterbacks in the nation and is one of the nation’s leading passers. He could also threaten to break the school’s single-season passing yardage record in 2025.

Joe Fagnano QB, UConn

Hailing from Williamsport, PA, Joe Fagnano was a decorated high school quarterback for Williamsport Area High School. He was a 0-star recruit but was offered a scholarship to play at Bucknell University. He chose to walk-on at Maine University for the 2019 season. He made the team and was named the backup in 2019. From 2019-2021 he made 14 starts and in 2022 was the named the full-time starter but transferred to UConn after the season. In 2023, he injured his shoulder after two games and was medically redshirted.

2024 he would start 6 games going 4-1 as a starter. He threw for 20 TD’s against just 4 INT’s. This season, 2025, he has started every game for the Huskies, going 9-3. He’s thrown for 3,441 yards, 28 touchdowns, just 1 INT, and has ran for two scores. UConn is just a one win away from their first 10-win season in school history and Fagnano is on pace to set the UConn single-season passing record. There’s a great chance he could end up being a late-round pick in the NFL Draft.

Trinidad Chambliss QB, Ole Miss

Ole Miss was coming off back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2024 for the first time since 1959-1960. After three years of NFL first round pick Jaxson Dart at the QB position the Rebels seemed ready to hand off the reigns to their two-year backup Austin Simmons.

In April, it was announced that former Division II Ferris State QB would be transferring to Ole Miss. This wasn’t just your average run of the mill Division II player. Chambliss started every game of the 2024 season for the Bulldogs, going 14-1 as a starter and leading them to a DII National Title. He threw for 2,935 yards with 26 passing TDs and ran for 1,019 yards with 25 rushing TDs. This earned him the GLIAC Conference player of the year.

Chambliss came to Oxford to compete for the starting job but ultimately it was given to Simmons. Simmons would start the first two games of the season, a win against Georgia State and a win against Kentucky. However, in that Kentucky game Simmons would injure his ankle and Chambliss would get his first start the following week against Arkansas in just his third game in Division I. Chambliss out-dueled Arkansas QB Taylen Green, throwing for 353 and running for 62 while totaling three TDs as the Rebels won in thrilling fashion. The next few weeks, while Simmons was still nursing the ankle injury, Chambliss would lead the Rebels to wins over Tulane, LSU, and Washington State. He had proven himself capable of not only being a Division I QB but a capable SEC QB.

There was no question that he was the starter, not only from the Simmons injury but also his performance on the field. Him and the Rebels would be tested in their seventh game of the season at Georgia. He played alright at Georgia with three total TDs, but the Dawgs would be too much and Ole Miss dropped their first game of the season. He would bounce back the following game throwing for 315 leading the Rebels to a win at Oklahoma.

After the Oklahoma game, Ole Miss beat South Carolina and FCS Citadel. He has the Rebels on the verge of an SEC title appearance and more importantly a coveted spot in the College Football. Coming from DII to one of college football’s toughest conferences is no joke. He ranks 6th in the SEC in passing yards and 3rd in the SEC in rushing yards among QBs. Truly a breakout star that no one expected when the season began, so much so that he wasn’t even on the initial roster for the July release of EA College Football 26, he was added to the game in late October.

Honorable Mention

Mason Heintschel, QB Pitt

2025 3-star QB Mason Heintschel has been a godsend for the Pitt Panthers this year. They were coming into the year with an established starter Eli Holstein, a former Alabama transfer. Holstein went 7-3 in 2024 as a starter, throwing for over 2,000 yards and 17 TD’s. However, Holstein struggled a bit early in 2025, throwing 5 INT’s in the teams first 4 games. The QB job was given to the freshman Heintschel and he took advantage of his opportunity, throwing for 323 yards and 4 TD’s in his first career start against Boston College. He would then follow it up with another 300-yard performance against Florida St. in a win at Doak Campbell Stadium. A few weeks later he threw for a career-high 423 yards and 3 TDs against NC State. He definitely meets the credentials for a QB who has come out of nowhere. Heinstchel is 6-1 as Pitt’s starter.

Alonza Barnett III, QB James Madison

Barnett was the starter for the Dukes in 2024, in the first year post-Curt Cignetti. JMU went 9-4 and won the Boca Raton Bowl. Barnett III was an underrated Group of 5 QB in 2024 eclipsing 3,000 total yards and 33 adding 33 total touchdowns. His breakout in 2025 has to do with the fact that he has the JMU Dukes in plyoff contention, JMU is 10-1 on the year with their only loss, a close one to Louisville. So far in 2025, he has over 2,500 total yards and 26 TD’s.

Byrum Brown, QB USF

Another Group of 5 QB who has been making headlines this season is South Florida’s QB Byrum Brown. Brown was the full-time starter for the Bulls in 2023, leading them to a Boca Raton Bowl victory. He had over 4,100 total yards and 37 TD’s. 2024 wasn’t so kind to the Bulls QB1, he was injured in late-September and ruled out for the year after just 5 games. The injury spoiled USF’s season but instead of hitting the portal he decided to stick around for the 2025 season. Sure there were question marks about his health, but the season he had in 2023 was hard to look past.

In the 2025 season opener, he made sure everyone in the college football world would notice the USF Bulls. He wowed the national TV audience with his dual-threat abilities when the Bulls upset the 25th ranked Boise St. Broncos. He then lead the Bulls to a win in The Swamp against the Gators in Week 2. All season he has been consistent and electric, with nearly over 2,800 yards passing and more than 900 yards on the ground. He has solidified himself as one of the best dual-threat QBs in USF history, only the second USF QB to have over 20 passing touchdowns and 15 rushing touchdowns in a single season.