Next class: Ranking freshman QBs under most pressure in 2025

In the past 24 hours, four freshman have been named starting quarterbacks this season. Soon, more might join them.

Below, we rank the six by who's under the most pressure in 2025.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin

On Monday, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day confirmed Sayin, who redshirted last season, will take over for the defending national champions. If that's not enough pressure, Sayin has one of the sport's best support casts, led by Heisman candidate wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, giving the five-star recruit few excuses for a letdown. No. 3 Ohio State, which opens the season against No. 1 Texas, tasted success last season, and Sayin will be expected to keep the Buckeyes fed.

2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr

Carr has a tough opening act as Notre Dame starting quarterback after being officially landing the job on Tuesday. The Irish are coming off a College Football Playoff national championship game appearance and have a roster capable of going just as deep in 2025. 

No. 6 Notre Dame open the season at No. 10 Miami and also plays No. 19 Texas A&M and No. 25 Boise State within its first five games. If Carr doesn't start strong, the Irish could be out of the playoff picture by Halloween.

3. Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood

No. 14 Michigan hasn't announced a starter for Week 1 — it's had bigger problems to contend with in recent days — but Underwood is predicted to win the starting job over graduate transfers Mikey Keene and Jake Garcia, as well as Davis Warren, who struggled in nine games last season.

Michigan might not be as happy beating Ohio State but going 6-5 the rest of the regular season this year, especially playing its 2025 schedule. Outside of an early season trip to Norman to play No. 18 Oklahoma, Michigan's two other toughest games are (by preseason efficiency rankings) at USC and in Ann Arbor against Washington, teams that were a combined 13-13 in 2024.

4. Maryland Terrapins quarterback Malik Washington

As with Underwood, Washington has yet to officially be named Maryland starting quarterback, but he is the front runner, with CBS Sports mentioning him in its June 2025 list of impact freshman, and David Pollack discussing him during a conversation on breakout Big Ten players a month later. 

Locksley, who is 33-41 in eight seasons as Maryland head coach, is coming off a 4-8 campaign and may need a bowl appearance to keep hot seat chatter from reaching a boiling point, making it crucial for Washington, should he receive playing time, to deliver.

5. California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele

After originally planning to attend Cal, Sagapolutele, the top-ranked player from Hawaii and No. 7 quarterback in the 2025 class, committed to Oregon in December before eventually landing back at Cal, where he beat out Ohio State transfer quarterback Devin Brown for the starting job.

Cal is coming off consecutive 6-7 seasons. The Golden Bears were painfully close to being a major player in the ACC in their first season as a conference member, with five of their six conference losses last year coming by eight points or less, including their first four by nine points combined.

If Sagapolutele lives up to the hype, the Golden Bears could be one of the season's biggest surprises.

6. BYU Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier

Bachmeier made history as the first freshman to be named BYU starting quarterback for a season opener. He replaces Jake Retzlaff, who transferred to Tulane in July. With such a late change, Bachmeier should be afforded more leniency than his peers. 

And after engineering an 11-2 season, head coach Kalani Sitake should have enough job security to weather a decrease in wins. It helps Bachmeier that little is expected of the Cougars in 2025, with oddsmakers setting their over/under win total at 6.5.