The game of football will always be revolved around the big name quarterbacks. Who’s already a star and who has the name next in line for stardom.
Some guys come out of nowhere and are unexpected in their rise up the ranks. This happens every college football season as it’s not always the 5 stars that everyone knows about who are the games biggest key players. Here’s a few names that can shock the CFB world in this upcoming 2025 season.
1. John Mateer (Oklahoma)
First name to mention is a true fan favorite for myself and that’s John Mateer. I truly don’t understand how and why he is not receiving more attention. He led a Washington St team last year to 8 wins and gave them some sort of life despite their conference (PAC 12) falling apart feeling like they didn’t have much to play for.
I would understand if he was still at WAZZU and not many people know about him but he took his talent to a prestigious Oklahoma University with a lot of QB lineage to live up to. Last year he had 3,139 yards on 64.6% Completion percentage 29 TD’s to only 7 INT’s.
Tack on his mobility with 820 rushing yards and 15 more TD’s on the ground which goes unnoticed. He might’ve had one of the most least talked about seasons out of anyone still currently in college football. Now with him on a new Oklahoma team and in the SEC watch out because people will know about him soon enough.
2. Fernando Mendoza (Indiana)
Next guy to discuss is another transfer in Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza played for Cal his last 2 years before transferring to Indiana to play for coach Cignetti this past offseason. Analysts are not talking about this potential fit enough with how much talent Mendoza offers for his new team. He’s a cerebral type of player that has a big body/arm and brings sneaky athleticism for the quarterback position.
Last year he threw for just over 3,000 yards on 68.7% completion percentage and had 16 TD’s to only 6 INT’s. That was for a Cal team that did not have the best supporting cast around him and a team that wasn’t a headliner to contend for any championships last year. Fast forward to now, he has a better coaching staff and overall better players around him to get the most out of his development to hopefully lead Indiana to a BIG10 championship berth.
3. Josh Hoover (TCU)
Another player to discuss is Josh Hoover for TCU. Unlike the other two on this list, he was not a transfer and has been at TCU his whole career thus far. Great player that not enough people are buzzing about. Quietly had a great year last year posting numbers of 3,949 passing yards and 27 TDs.
He led TCU to 8 wins during the regular season and capped it off with a nice bowl victory as well to get TCU back on the map after the disappointing blowout to Georgia in the CFP playoff a few years ago. Unlike Mendoza, he had a better supporting cast around him with Jack Bech and Savion Williams at receiver for him. He will be taking a step back in this department losing these two key guys to the NFL so proving he can do more with less will be his biggest hurdle to overcome.
4. Sawyer Robertson (Baylor)
Lastly we will bring up a player from Baylor in Sawyer Robertson. This was a big surprise last year when he ended up getting some starts due to injury from the expected starter Dequan Finn. He got thrusted into the starting lineup and never seemed flustered by the big lights.
They lost three games in a row early on in the season to Colorado, BYU, and Iowa State but after that went on a six game win streak. He ended up being a consistent piece for a team that desperately needed it with coach Aranda on the hot seat. He ended up throwing for 28 TD’s and 3,071 yards. He also took good care of the football especially not having that much experience starting only throwing for 8 INT’s. Despite the bowl loss to LSU, they ended the year strong and have high hopes this year looking to take the next step.
There was more guys to talk about it with so much potential breakouts this year but these are the guys that stood out above the rest who can really become stars. Excited to see what these guys can do for encores after just scratching the surface of their potential from last year's season.