College football QB battles: Surprising development at Notre Dame leads camp intel on top competitions

While starting quarterbacks have been named this week by teams such as Alabama and Stanford, there are still a number of notable quarterback competitions that remain unsettled around the country.

High-profile teams in both the SEC and Big Ten have ongoing battles with Week 1 of the college football season two weeks away. Notre Dame, Ohio State and Tennessee -- College Football Playoff teams from a year ago -- hope that whichever quarterback secures the starting role can deliver similar team success in 2025.

The quarterback competitions at Michigan and Colorado present the possibility of two true freshmen beginning the year at QB1, if they can outlast their veteran teammates as fall camp hits the back stretch.

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Here are updates via sources regarding several of the country's top ongoing competitions.

Notre Dame

Frontunner: Too close to call

Once Steve Angeli entered the transfer portal in mid-April, many around the college football landscape viewed it as even more of an inevitability that Class of 2024 top-50 overall recruit CJ Carr would become Notre Dame's new starting quarterback.

However, four months later, that's far from a certainty -- as we detailed Monday in the debut of the College Football Insiders. In fact, it's starting to look more and more like another quarterback -- redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey -- could end up winning the job.

At the very least, Minchey -- a Class of 2023 four-star recruit with dual-threat ability -- has emerged as a legitimate factor in this competition. Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman is expected to decide on a starter coming out of Notre Dame's scrimmage this weekend.

Ohio State

Frontrunner: Julian Sayin

Based on what I've heard throughout fall camp, it seems like Julian Sayin continues to trend toward winning this job.

The feedback was good on the Class of 2024 five-star recruit coming out of the spring and it sounds like he's been the better of the two quarterbacks during fall camp compared to the other QB that's part of this competition, junior Lincoln Kienholz.

Both quarterbacks have worked with the first team throughout fall camp, but a source told CBS Sports this week that they think Ohio State coach Ryan Day will likely make a decision on a starter after the Buckeyes' scrimmage this weekend. That source would be surprised at this point if Sayin isn't the choice.

Michigan

Frontrunner: Bryce Underwood

While Sherrone Moore doesn't plan on publicly naming a starter for another two weeks, five-star freshman Bryce Underwood remains the clear favorite in this competition.

Redshirt freshman and former Class of 2024 top-115 overall recruit Jadyn Davis has gotten opportunities with the first-team offense during fall camp as well, but it would be a shock at this point if it's anyone other than Underwood -- the No. 1 ranked overall player in the 2025 recruiting class -- that starts when the Wolverines open their season against New Mexico on Aug. 30.

Colorado

Frontrunner: Kaidon Salter

As one source put it, Colorado's scrimmage this weekend could go a long way in helping Deion Sanders make a final decision regarding this battle between former Liberty star Kaidon Salter and highly-ranked true freshman Julian Lewis.

Nevertheless, Salter, a fifth-year senior with 77 career touchdowns, seems to currently be the more likely of the two to win the job. However, it is worth noting that the Colorado staff is extremely high on Lewis too and views him as someone with the ability to be an NFL player down the road.

Tennessee

Frontrunner: Joey Aguilar

This remains a competition between UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar and redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger. Those two split reps with the first-team offense during the Vols' scrimmage last weekend. However, it does seem like Aguilar may have a slight edge in this battle at the moment.

Aguilar, who was the starter at Appalachian State the last two seasons before transferring to UCLA and then eventually Tennessee following the Nico Iamaleava saga, threw for 6,760 yards and 56 touchdowns the last two years at App State.

Four-star true freshman George MacIntyre has stood out at times during camp as well, but he doesn't seem to be a real factor in the competition at this point.

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