Predicting College Value for 2026 QBs

Speculative and fun. That's the theme of this article. Listen, I like to think I have a good handle on where players could get recruited. Every year, I have some major hits and some major whiffs, but every year, I get better with these sorts of things. Does my opinion matter? Well, I can't offer anyone, but I do my best to send my rankings spreadsheet to any college that wants to listen. As a matter of fact, I sent out my spreadsheet to all GLIAC and MIAA schools this morning, and all of these QBs are included.   Anyways, let's get into that speculative fun!   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Quarterbacks</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='909904' first='Jake' last='Morrow'] | Grand Blanc   6'0" 175   My heart says MAC, but my brain says GLIAC. I want to be clear: I think Jake is a low MAC talent. I love what he's put on tape, and he's shown a lot of improvement over the past few years. Kent State just offered, and I want to think that other MACs will at least take a good look now, but it's rare for D1s to offer seniors. Love Jake as a prospect, and if any QB is going to earn late D1 offers, it's him.   [player_tooltip player_id='566987' first='Ryland' last='Watters'] | Rochester Adams   6'2" 220   GLIAC, GLIAC, GLIAC. I'm pretty passionate about this one. If I'm a coach in the GLIAC, I've got Ryland circled. I've said it a lot, but I think that the Adams' scheme hurts his recruitment- there are just fewer passing opportunities, and honestly, most Veer QBs are pretty raw. Ryland is the best passing Veer QB I've ever scouted. Plus, I've been blown away by his year-by-year improvement. Ryland is an unrecognizable player compared to two years ago. Most importantly, he's a good passer. I understand that offseason workouts are only a part of the picture, but I've seen Ryland throw next to some great QB talent, and he's right there. He's got the mechanics, he's got the throw power, and he's got the accuracy. I could see Ryland fitting extremely well with schools like Davenport and Michigan Tech.   Andrew Knight | Detroit MLK   6'0" 160   This is a tough one. Duece earned D1 attention after his freshman season, but not a whole lot since. I also haven't seen Andrew throw in quite a while, so I'm going off old information. My gut says GLIAC. As I've said a lot in the past, D1s seldom offer prospects heading into their senior season.   [player_tooltip player_id='1608135' first='Peyton' last='Babbitt'] | Orchard View   6'2" 195   GLIAC. Peyton reminds me a lot of Trinidad Chambliss, a 2021 Forest Hills Northern graduate, and Ferris State's National Championship-winning QB. I love Peyton's athletic ability, love the way the ball shoots out of his hand, and I love his tape. However, his accuracy is consistently slightly off. Peyton is another guy who I could see a MAC take a chance on- absolutely in the picture. Though, my current opinion is that he's a very high GLIAC prosepct. Every D2 should go after Peyton.   [player_tooltip player_id='1529404' first='Sam' last='Stowe'] | Notre Dame Prep   6'5" 200   Sam is a guy that I wish I had a little more information on, but I'll still give this a shot. He's a low D2 guy on my rankings spreadsheet, and I do expect him to get some GLIAC attention. Coaches keep raving about Sam, and what he did last year was incredibly impressive. Go out to GLIAC camps and perform well and he's got it. That size could be too good to pass up. There's also a chance that he's a high GLIAC guy, and there's also a chance he's more of a D3 prospect. Very much looking forward to seeing how Sam is viewed this offseason.   [player_tooltip player_id='566978' first='Brady' last='Thomas'] | Brother Rice   6'0" 180   So many bright moments from Brady over the years. A lot of impressive highlights from last season, and he faces elite competition. My gut says that he fits best in the MIAA, but I could also see him earn GLIAC interest. We'll see!   [player_tooltip player_id='1298758' first='Brady' last='Van Leacke'] | Hudsonville   5'11" 175   Brady is an interesting one. I absolutely think he's good enough to earn D3 offers in the coming months, but I feel GLIACs will probably hesitate to pull the trigger until he gets more Varsity tape. He'll be QB1 for Hudsonville this Fall, and colleges will have their eye on him. Right now, I think D3s will love Brady. Eventually, I do expect Brady to earn a GLIAC offer as long as he performs well for Hudsonville next season.   [player_tooltip player_id='1225836' first='Cooper' last='Derkach'] | Northville   5'10" 170   D3 all day. It pains me to say, but if Cooper was a few inches taller, he'd be an easy D2 guy. It's just tough. I know that schools have a height cutoff for a lot of positions, and Cooper probably won't meet the requirements for most schools. I would absolutely love if Cooper earned D2 offers because I feel he's put in the work to earn it. My gut says D3, though.   [player_tooltip player_id='1225800' first='Nikkos' last='Davis'] | Dakota (University Ligget transfer)   6'0" 170   I've seen so many coaches and players rave about Nikkos. He's a dang talented passer, and he could earn D2 offers. Am I confident in that prediction? Absolutely not. The honest reason that I'm not confident is that I don't have a great evaluation for Nikkos. I really like his tape, and I've seen him before in person, but didn't watch him long enough for a good eval. But now, Nikkos is at Dakota. Ball out in the MAC Red, and I feel there's a high likelihood he earns those GLIAC offers. Really, really exciting player, seems like a hard worker, and I think the ladder half of 2025 is going to be extremely fun for Nikkos.

Speculative and fun. That's the theme of this article. Listen, I like to think I have a good handle on where players could get recruited. Every year, I have some major hits and some major whiffs, but every year, I get better with these sorts of things. Does my opinion matter? Well, I can't offer anyone, but I do my best to send my rankings spreadsheet to any college that wants to listen. As a matter of fact, I sent out my spreadsheet to all GLIAC and MIAA schools this morning, and all of these QBs are included.