The 2024 college football season is over. The parades in Columbus, Ohio, have come and gone and the rest of the country has Ohio State’s seat on the throne in their crosshairs heading into the winter portion of the 2025 schedule.
It was an incredible season for Big 12 football, as the league ended the regular season with a four-way tie for first place and saw Arizona State take home a conference title after an unforgettable season.
While the 2025 season will be unpredictable and entertaining in its own right, the Big 12 is going to look a lot different. Names like Travis Hunter, Cam Skattebo, Shedeur Sanders, and Tetairoa McMillan are all NFL-bound, making it due time that the next wave of Big 12 stars step up.
Let’s look at some quarterbacks who could fit that mold and some who might not live up to the hype in our stock up and stock down for Big 12 quarterbacks.
Stock Up
Sam Leavitt, QB, Arizona State
When Jaden Rashada left Tempe last spring, it felt like a death knell for Arizona State football. Little did we know that Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt had left Rashada no choice. Leavitt was sensational in 2024, throwing for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns to six interceptions, adding 443 yards and five rushing touchdowns during his march to Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
Heading into 2025, Leavitt appears to be among the best quarterbacks that the Big 12 has to offer, and that will make his Sun Devils’ a team to watch in the title race.
Devon Dampier, QB Utah
Big 12 fans don’t know this name just yet, but they will soon enough. Devon Dampier comes to Utah with his offensive coordinator, Jason Beck, from New Mexico, and was among the most explosive players in the country as a sophomore. In just 12 games, Dampier accounted for 31 touchdowns and 3,934 yards, with 19 touchdowns and 1,166 yards coming on the ground.
Surrounded by better skill talent and protection, Dampier should explode onto the scene for Utah in 2025.
Sawyer Robertson, QB, Baylor
Year over year, there might not have been a player in the Big 12 who improved as much as Sawyer Robertson did from 2023 to 2024. A virtual afterthought in the Bears’ backfield last offseason, Robertson was thrust into action when starter Dequan Finn went down with injury. Once he got rolling, Robertson was among the best quarterbacks in the country, throwing for 3,071 yards and 28 touchdowns with just eight interceptions.
If Robertson can build off of the year we just saw him put together, Baylor might be a dark horse Big 12 title contender.
Stock Down
Avery Johnson, QB, Kansas State
There wasn’t a hotter Heisman dark horse candidate coming into the 2024 season than Avery Johnson. Unfortunately, the sophomore wasn’t able to live up to the sky-high expectations, whether by his own doing or questionable play-calling. While he still accounted for 32 touchdowns and flashed the big play occasionally, he completed just 58.3% of his attempts and had multiple turnovers in three of K-State’s four losses.
If he cleans the turnovers up and K-State figures out a consistent identity on offense, Johnson can be among the Heisman contenders again in 2025.
Noah Fifita, QB, Arizona
Noah Fifita looked like a sure-fire All-Big 12 candidate coming into 2024, but he might’ve been the most disappointing player in the league when all was said and done. Fifita dazzled as a freshman in 2023, completing 72.4% of his attempts for 8.6 yards per completion, 25 touchdowns, and six interceptions. However, in his first season without Jedd Fisch, Fifita struggled, regressing to a 60.5% completion rate for 6.9 yards per completion, 18 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
In 2025, Fifita will have to improve without Tetairoa McMillan going to the NFL, and that certainly doesn’t bode well for his chances.
Jalon Daniels, QB, Kansas
During the 2022 season, Jalon Daniels showed that he can operate on offense to the highest level, accounting for 25 touchdowns and leading the Jayhawks to their first bowl game in more than a decade. The 2023 season appeared to be much of the same before he was injured, but in 2024—and especially early on—Daniels was pressing too much. With 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, plus a completion percentage of just 57.0%, Daniels just wasn’t the player he was touted to be.
Daniels has been in decline since he was selected as the Preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2023, and as of now, he’s a stock I’d be selling.
