By David Asbury
"You never really know about a quarterback until he plays in a real game."
- Mike Singletary
These rankings are the opinion of David Asbury and do not reflect the views of The Pride of ODU or the (other) Monarchists.
As a top G5 conference, the Sun Belt Conference will face a lot of roster turnover year-over-year. It's just a matter of fact that the top athletes in the league, like App. State's Joey Aguilar, will get P4 offers after successful seasons. But it's transactional, meaning the other side of that results in a number of P4 reserves transferring to the Sun Belt for an opportunity to play and boost their owns stock.
With so much turnover it is difficult to rank these players. This is exacerbated by the fact that incoming transfers have mixed results. Some newcomers come in and surprisingly shine like Marshall's Braylon Braxton did last season, while others may struggle. At this stage it is very difficult to see who will be the next Braxton and who will not be.
Having said that, there is a good amount information to come up with some rankings. At least six starting quarterbacks return to the Sun Belt including Braylon Braxton, even if it is with a different team. So, let us take a look to see who we expect to rise up to be the best in the Sun Belt.
Rank. School - Name (Prev. School, 247 Sports Transfer Rating)
14. UL-Monroe: Aiden Armenta - Reese Mooney (North Texas/Liberty - 83) - Hunter Herring - Bryson Kimbrough -
The ULM Warhawks had a very good defense in 2024 but the offense was subpar. Specifically, the passing game struggled, forcing them to heavily rely on their star running back. Quarterback General Booty transferred out leaving Aiden Armenta as the only veteran in the QB room. Armenta completed only 54% of his passes scoring only nine touchdowns to ten interceptions. Incoming transfer Reese Mooney did not play a snap for Liberty in 2023 nor North Texas in 2024 but he may finally receive playing time in Monroe. But do not count out true freshman Bryson Kimbrough who has a legitimate opportunity at unseating the upperclassmen. And given
13. Marshall: Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (Syracuse - 85) - Zion Turner (Jacksonville State/UConn 82) - Robert Shockey (NC State N/A) -
Charles Huff took away Marshall's break-out quarterback leaving the new coaching staff to find the replacement. Carlos Del Rio-Wilson spent three years at Syracuse, but did not play in 2024. Over two seasons, he went 48/102 (47.1%) passing for 624 yards and threw four touchdowns and eight interceptions. Del Rio-Wilson also rushed for 148 yards on 46 attempts (3.2 average) and one touchdown. In turn, Zion Turner was the UConn quarterback that started against Marshall in the 2022 Myrtle Beach Bowl. He was a backup at Jacksonville State last season, where new Marshall Offensive Coordinator Rod Smith was his OC. Finally, Shockey is a freshman who appears to be a developmental project. These additions look good under the circumstances but none look like stars just yet. But do not worry about that, Marshall. I said the same thing about Braylon Braxton last season and he broke out to be a top quarterback in the conference. Maybe one of these quarterbacks will break out too?
12. Coastal Carolina: Emmett Brown (San Jose State - 85) - MJ Morris (Maryland/NC State - 85) - Tad Hudson -
Ethan Vasko transferred to Liberty giving Tad Hudson his first start in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. However, his pretty poor performance meant that new transfers were required for competition. MJ Morris and Emmett Brown transfer in. Morris had a pretty mediocre performance at Maryland and NC State throwing 19 touchdowns to 11 interceptions over three seasons. Morris has potential to play better in a G5 league than against ACC competition. Meanwhile Emmett Brown (insert Back to the Future joke) played a good amount in 2024 throwing 16 touchdowns to only five interceptions, however he only completed 57% of his passes. The competition will be fun to watch and both have potential to climb this list pretty fast.
11. Ga. State: Christian Veilleux - PJ Hatter (TXST - 83) - Cameran Brown (Texas Tech - 83) -
The Panthers offense had a spark under veteran quarterback Zach Gibson but Gibson entered the portal. That leaves the Panthers with Christian Veilleux and two transfers who have very little experience. Can Dell McGee develop one of these quarterbacks to be the guy in Atlanta? Can he pull a Charles Huff and have a no-name transfer become a star in the Sun Belt? Anything is possible but it may not be something to bet on.
10. Louisiana - Walker Howard (Ole Miss - 86) -
For the past few seasons, the Cajuns have rotated quarterbacks Ben Wooldridge and Chandler Fields. Both were very good in this league but they are out of eligibility and it is time to move on. The Cajuns snagged Walker Howard from Ole Miss. He is from Lafayette and returns to his hometown where he hopes to become a local hero. But is he any good? He has had very limited playing time for the Rebels completing only five passes out of ten over the course of three seasons. But he was once a highly-rated 4 star recruit, thanks to his quick release and running ability. However, we need to see a larger sample size before he climbs this ranking.
9. Ga. Southern: JC French - Turner Helton (WKU) -
Clay Helton's Eagles have an identity. Year-after-year, the Eagles' offense is high powered and likes to pass the ball a lot. But they also end up throwing a lot of interceptions while the defense struggles. JC French started last season and fit the mold completing 65% of his passes and throwing 17 touchdowns but he also threw 11 interceptions. If he can stop throwing so many picks, he will be a real asset for this team. If not, Clay Helton's own son Turner transferred in to play for his father.
Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography
8. Troy: Goose Crowder - Tucker Kilcrease - Matthew Caldwell-
Crowder looked very good before his season-ending injury. He played just 11 quarters in the 2024 campaign due to injuries against Memphis and ULM. But he played very well throwing five touchdowns and no interceptions. In fact, his yards per attempt was the highest in the Sun Belt at 8.7, completing 69% of his passes. If he can manage to keep that efficiency up for a whole season, he could be in line for Sun Belt player of the year. But the sample size is just too small to place him higher than here. He could climb this list fast if Troy figures things out in the coaches second season. If injuries still haunt Crowder, Matthew Caldwell can step in like last season where he threw thirteen touchdowns and eight interceptions.
7. App. State: AJ Swann (LSU/Vanderbilt - 86) - JJ Kohl (Iowa State - 85) -
Joey Aguilar started the past two seasons but will now take the reins for UCLA. New head coach Dowell Loggains brings in two pretty good transfers to compete for the job. Both are from P4 schools and have a lot of potential. At Vanderbilt, AJ Swann threw 2,731 yards and 22 touchdowns and is the favorite to start for the Mountaineers. JJ Kohl is younger and has less experience but still has a very high ceiling.
6. Texas State: Gevani McCoy (Oregon State/Idaho - 86) - Nate Yarnell (Pitt - 85) - Holden Geriner (Auburn - 84) -
TXST will have an all new QB room filled with transfers after Jordan McCloud ran out of eligibility. Gevani McCoy, App State's AJ Swann, and JMU's Mathew Sluka, may be competing for Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year. At Idaho, McCoy won the Jerry Rice Award for FCS freshman of the year. Then at Oregon State, he saw limited playing time throwing for over 1300 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions. Nate Yarnell and Holden Geriner are not far behind McCoy. Yarnell saw significant time at Pitt last season throwing ten touchdowns to five interceptions and 1,058 yards. Holden Geriner has less experience but is top recruit from Auburn. Whoever starts for the Bobcats is likely to pick up where McCloud left off.
5. Southern Miss.: Braylon Braxton (Marshall - 86) - Landry Lyddy (UAB - 82) -
After winning the Sun Belt with Marshall, head coach Charles Huff and his quarterback Braylon Braxton are taking their talents to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Braylon Braxton had mediocre numbers at Tulsa so when he came to Marshall and unseated the starter it was a shock to most. He threw 19 touchdowns to only two interceptions, won the Sun Belt and won the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year Award. He will be at a brand new team but Huff may have rebuilt USM fast and he could be a candidate for Sun Belt Player of the Year.
Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography
4. Ark. State: Jaylen Raynor -
Head coach Butch Jones recently signed an extension with Ark. State after a steady rise of success and winning his first bowl game with the team in 2024. The past two seasons that rise has coincided with finally finding a playmaking quarterback in Jaylen Raynor. Raynor returns for his third season as the starter. He did suffer a sophomore slump after an electric freshman season as his average yards per attempt dropped from 8.9 in 2023 to only 6.6 in 2024. I believe he can recapture that 2023 magic. And if their defense can improve, they will compete for the SBC West (strong emphasis on the if).
3. JMU: Alonza Barnett - Matthew Sluka (UNLV/Holy Cross - 88) - Camden Coleman (Richmond - 85) -
Barnett played well in 2024 but took too many sacks. He suffered an injury against Marshall that required surgery and is unlikely to return this season. So Bob Chesney brought in his former player at Holy Cross, Matthew Sluka. Sluka transferred to UNLV last season after allegedly being promised $100k. Sluka led UNLV to its first 3–0 start since the 1984 season in a 23–20 win over Kansas. But then he, allegedly, decided to redshirt the rest of the season because he was never paid. This would mark the first time (at least publicly) that any player elected to redshirt and transfer in-season due to the player's claim of unsigned, unwritten and unenforceable NIL agreements not being met. Perhaps he should have signed a contract, but what do I know? I'm just a lawyer. Anyways, he's still a top quarterback and a candidate for Newcomer of the Year, if not Player of the Year.
Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography
2. ODU: Colton Joseph - Quinn Henicle
The 2023 starter, Grant Wilson, suffered an injury against East Carolina. That injury caused him to miss the game against Virginia Tech and after playing the first half against Bowling Green, he called it a season when his injury was aggravated. Stepping up for the opportunity was redshirt freshman Colton Joseph who took control of the team with spectacular performances on the ground and in the air. Despite not starting a significant part of the season he gained over 1200 total yards, scored 22 touchdowns and only five interceptions. However, he does need to work on holding onto the ball to ensure he doesn't fumble on RPO plays. He is backed up by Quinn Henicle who started against Ark. State and scored four total touchdowns. Some whisper that Henicle's ceiling may even be higher than Joseph's. Time will tell but head coach Ricky Rahne finally has a top quarterback for his team with either player.
Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography
1. South Alabama: Gio Lopez -
Like Joseph, Gio Lopez is the epitome of a dual-threat quarterback torching teams in the air and on the ground. His average of 274.7 yards of total offense per game ranked 22nd in the nation last season. He finished the season throwing for 2,557 yards and 18 touchdowns against just five interceptions while completing a very impressive .659 percent of his passes. As much as I love Colton Joseph and will be rooting for him this season, Lopez is currently my vote for Preseason Player of the Year.
BONUS ODU's Nonconference Opponents' QB Rankings
4. NC Central: Walker Harris -
Harris returns for his senior year with the NC Central Eagles after an impressive 2024 outing. Last season he completed 61.1% of his passes with 18 touchdowns to only six interceptions and 1,845 yards. He is a pocket passer with negative rushing yards. He is a top-tier MEAC quarterback that may have his team competing for the MEAC Championship. However, he is still a MEAC quarterback playing at a lower level. He hasn't fared well against FBS teams. Against the UNC Tarheels he only completed seven passes for 88 yards and no touchdowns in a blowout loss. Against UCLA in 2023, he threw for 114 yards, took three sacks and no touchdowns in another blowout loss. Those were P4 schools but at the end of the day, he is a very good FCS quarterback but would rank low in the Sun Belt. That does not mean the Monarchs can overlook him.
3. Liberty: Michael Merdinger (UNC - 86) - Ethan Vasko (CCU - 84) -
The 757 local who decommitted from ODU only to play against the Monarchs is transferring to another ODU opponent. Ethan Vasko was 2-0 against the Monarchs while playing for CCU and torched the Old Dominion defense in 2 different ways, through the air and on the ground. But he has some major camp competition with UNC transfer Michael Merdinger.
2. Virginia Tech: Kyron Drones -
Drones started nine games at quarterback in 2024, missing four games with injury - including the final three. He completed 136 of 224 passes for 1,562 yards, a 61 percent completion rate and accounted for 10 passing TDs while rushing for 336 rushing yards and six more scores. Jones had a great game against the Monarchs last season rushing for 117 yards, including two total touchdowns on the ground. The Monarchs need to game plan against him for their visit to Blacksburg.
Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography
1. Indiana: Fernando Mendoza (Cal - 93) - Grant Wilson (ODU - 84) -
This may be the best quarterback Old Dominion faces all year. Fernando Mendoza played very well at Cal last season. The Cuban-American threw for 3,004 yards completing 68.7% of his passes, 16 touchdowns to only six interceptions. Mendoza might be making seven figures in NIL money to play for Indiana this season and could be a future NFL prospect. He will be backed up by a familiar face in ODU's Grant Wilson.
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