David Hale ranked all 138 FBS quarterback situations into tiers ahead of the 2026 season, grouping teams by how strong, proven and trustworthy their quarterback rooms look entering the year. Miami landed in the highest group on the board, "Tier 1a: Room at the top," alongside Notre Dame, Ole Miss and Texas.
Miami's new quarterback is in elite company
"Tier 1a: Room at the top," includes Miami with Darian Mensah, Notre Dame with CJ Carr, Ole Miss with Trinidad Chambliss and Texas with Arch Manning.
"Tier 1b: Great but also has Jeremiah Smith" includes only Ohio State with Julian Sayin.
"Tier 2: Are you not entertained?" is the next group down. It includes LSU with Sam Leavitt, Oregon with Dante Moore and USC with Jayden Maiava.
"Tier 3: The Sean Clifford Zone" includes Georgia with Gunner Stockton, Indiana with Josh Hoover, Oklahoma with John Mateer, Penn State with Rocco Becht, Texas A&M with Marcel Reed and Utah with Devon Dampier.
ESPN split all 138 FBS quarterback situations into 25 tiers.
ESPN QB tier breakdown's for teams on Miami's schedule
- Stanford is in tier 18 with Davis Warren, Dylan Rizk and Michael Mitchell Jr.
- Florida A&M is not included because it is not an FBS team
- Wake Forest is in tier 13 with Gio Lopez
- Central Michigan is in tier 23 with Angel Flores and Marcus Beamon
- Clemson is in tier 12 with Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds
- Florida State is in tier 14 with Ashton Daniels
- Pittsburgh is in tier 8 with Mason Heintschel
- North Carolina is in tier 12 with Billy Edwards Jr. and Travis Burgess
- Notre Dame is in tier 1a with CJ Carr
- Duke is in tier 18 with Walker Eget and Dan Mahan
- Virginia Tech is in tier 8 with Ethan Grunkemeyer
- Boston College is in tier 15 with Mason McKenzie
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