Seen 'em all – 136 FBS teams in action! In 2025, we finished with the CFP Championship game, Indiana 27 Miami 21. Now, we're up to 740 games since 1979. Capture our unique, fun, life-long adventure in my book on Amazon.com: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly. Our journey continues into the 2026 season! Click on our 2026 Schedule below to follow us to exciting, competitive clashes we'll attend this season!
Lebanon, TN – We’ve already noted that the best of Top Gun QBs we witnessed entering the selection melee in April starts with Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza as the first overall pick. We saw him lead the Hoosiers three times. Big wins came over Illinois, Oregon and Miami on the way to the 2026 National Championship. In those three victories, the Hoosiers defeated three of the best quarterbacks who also performed in those games we attended. One, Dante Moore of Oregon, opted out of this year’s draft. We saw him go 3-1 in 2025. Some of the other best quarterbacks entering this year’s draft entertained us over the last three years. Mendoza performed as the best QB we watched at the college level since Joe Burrow at LSU in 2019 against Oklahoma in the CFP semi-final. Both displayed the highest of standards when we watched them in action.
Tougher challenges await new QBs at the next level
However, despite seeing exciting signal callers at the college level in recent years, we understand that doesn’t guarantee high marks for all of them at the professional level. Some of these prospects may go earlier in the draft than we expect, but this does not seem like an outstanding draft for quality quarterbacks. Some will go earlier than we probably anticipate. We see most going late in the selection process to fill as back-ups or as practice squad talent in need of further development in upcoming seasons.
We expect some make it eventually as journey men. In the past, some quarterbacks continued to linger in the depths of some forgotten roster but showed up when needed under extenuating circumstances, I.e. Liberty’s Malik Wilis and Wake Forests’ John Wohlford. Others we’ve seen may not get drafted by the NFL. Some may get the freedom to shoot their shot as free agents. They may find the ranks of the Canadian Football League more amenable. Size and strength matter more in the NFL.
Illinois State’s Tommy Rittenhouse – ahead of the curve
Illinois State QB Tommy Rittenhouse (16) led the Cardinals (12-5) in their 35-34 FCS championship loss to Montana State in Nashville in January. In 2025, this Top Gun QB completed 64.7% of passes for 3,568 yards and 40 TDS. At 5’11, 195 lbs., he’s already signed on with the British Columbia Lions of the CFL.
One impressive QB we saw has already done so. He flourished in leadership and in game action we witnessed. Small in stature though an effective leader at the FCS level, his CFL signing makes sense. We look to see what he will do in the CFL, but it’s generally a world away from the NFL. Unlike Boston College Heisman-winner Doug Flutie years ago, we just don’t see him making a leap eventually to the NFL. Based in his resume, we see one or two others following his lead after the NFL signs most of the Top Gun QBs making their entry into the NFL through the draft of free agency this year.
Top Gun QBs following Mendoza in the 2026 NFL Draft
Challenging Mendoza in the CFP championship, Carson Beck (11) finished off his six-year college career. We saw him here and at Georgia in 2023. In 2025, he ranked fourth in passing yardage with 3,813 yards and fired 30 TDs for the No. 2 Hurricanes of Miami.LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier taken down in loss to Vanderbilt, 27-21. For the season, Nussmeier’s stats averaged low among QBs at 1,927 yards, 12 TDs and five INTs. However, he’s still considered among the top QB selections for 2025. Next year, more talented QBs should be available.Illini QB Nate Altmyer lofts pass downfield under pressure against Tennessee in the Music City Bowl. In his senior season while destroyed by Indiana like every other QB, he passed for 3,007 yards, 22 TDs and only five picks. Some teams may consider him as an adequate back-up.
Middle to late round prospects
We saw Top Gun QB Joey Aguilar lead Appy State in the 2023 Sun Belt Championship before he left for UCLA. In 2025, we saw him lead Tennessee to the Music City with 3.565 passing yards, 24 TDs and 10 INTs. He may surprise us at the next level. Hopefully he’s not surprised that he’ll have to wear knee pads in the future.We rooted for Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia in Commodore wins against LSU and Kentucky at First Bank Stadium in 2025. However, his post-season rant losing the Heisman to Mendoza on top of his slight stature may push him into free agency. He was fun to watch, but now we find him difficult to root for.Top Gun QB Drew Allars (15) of Penn State on the receiving end of a reverse option pass against Michigan in 2023. Definitely a developmental prospect at the next level. He not only recovers from a season-ending injury, but more importantly, he never looked off his primary receivers nor ran many play actions for the Lions. Big and strong-armed. Could surprise with better QB coaching.
Other Works-in-Process
In 2024, BYU QB Jake Retzlaff fires a pass against Wyoming. He led the Cougars to a record of 11-2. In 2025, he transferred to Tulane leading the Green Wave to an 11-3 record, the American Athletic championship and a CFP bid where they fell to Ole Miss for a second loss against them. He completed the season with 3,168 yards passing, 15 TD passes, 16 rushing TDs and seven INTs. Stands in at 6’1″ and 205 lbs.Kansas QB Jalen Daniels set four Liberty Bowl records against Arkansas here in a 55-53, 3 OT loss to Arkansas in 2022. He set marks for passing yards (544), completions (37), TD passes (5), and scores (6). Thought he would build on that. Pro coaching may be able to help him improve on Sundays.Arkansas QB Taylen Green (10) hands off in the Razorbacks’ 38-35 loss to Mississippi State. Despite a 2-10 record, Green is considered a strong pro prosect. He completed 60.7% of his passes for 2,714 yards, 19 TDs and 11 INTs. Offensively, the Hogs averageed 32.6 points per game. Six of ten losses came within six points. A weak defense hindered wins for Arkansas in 2025.
Honorable Mentions
North Dakota State QB Cole Payton barks signals against Tennessee State this season in their 59-3 triumph at Nissan Stadium. Despite the Bisons’ 12-1 record and Payton’s 71.9% completion rate, 2719 yards and 16 TDs, his one season as starter may give him a chance. However, other NDSU QBs drafted such as Carson Wentz and Trey Lance did not fare well. However, Bison offensive linemen have. Perfect landing for the truest Top Gun QB of all as Navy QB Blake Horvath scores winning touchdown, 17-16, in this year’s Army-Navy game. Despite Horvath leading the Mids to 10 wins in 11 games started, he most likely will not play professional football. He graduates to become a Naval Aviator. The Navy senior led the Mids with 1,580 yards through the air and 1,200 yards on the ground. He passed and ran for 28 TDs overall in 2025. Anchors Aweigh to Blake!
Read our stories of many players we saw in college to become successful pros!
Click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Uglyon Amazon.com. Among 740 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person at least once. This tells our story! Among them, you’ll pry into collegiate lore regarding the likes of Willie Gault, Dan Marino, Randy Moss, Eli Manning, Ezekial Elliot, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson and many more.
Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Get it, enjoy it, and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe these will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did!
