Breaking down where things stand with top California quarterbacks (2025)

Nick Lucero/Rivals.com

California quarterbacks are always in the spotlight and that hasn’t changed with some of the top uncommitted ones in the 2026 class. Here’s the latest on some of the biggest names.

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Stanford, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Cal and Indiana are the front-runners in Fahey’s recruitment. While the four-star from Mission Viejo, Calif., was disappointed to hear that Troy Taylor was fired as Stanford’s coach, Fahey said he was confident that general manager Andrew Luck and others would find the right replacement.

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The Cardinal are probably the strongest but there could still be some QB juggling ahead as Fahey doesn’t seem in a rush.

Now that Hopkins has transferred to Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, he has seen his recruitment get even busier in recent months with at least a dozen offers. Wisconsin and Missouri are the two standouts at this point but Hopkins could see through spring practice if his recruitment takes any twists and turns.

The Badgers are looking strong as he’s developed a great relationship with new OC Jeff Grimes. He’s also intrigued by Missouri OC Kirby Moore.

MORE: Two standouts emerge for four-star quarterback Ryan Hopkins

Mississippi State could be waiting on four-star Brodie McWhorter before the Bulldogs take a more serious run at Kaawa but Arizona, BYU, UCF and others are involved with the Orem, Utah, standout. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Kaawa posted more than 3,200 passing yards in his junior season but might just be Option 2 on some boards right now as things shake out.

There is still some significant fluidity in Lyons’ recruitment, especially after an interesting round of recent visits. The five-star was back at USC recently even though four-star Jonas Williams committed there. Then Lyons was at Ole Miss with his mother and the word is that he had a “great time” in Oxford.

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This week, Lyons is expected at Michigan and Ohio State, and he’s been talking highly of the Wolverines a lot recently. And then there is Oregon, which is waiting on Jared Curtis’ decision (Oregon and Georgia are the favorites) as the Ducks remain a serious contender as well. BYU is also very seriously in this and he’s been in Provo recently, too, as the Cougars are in it as well.

There seem to be way too many moving pieces – still – to make a prediction yet.

Things changed dramatically on Thursday in Rios’ recruitment as UCLA offered the four-star quarterback from Downey, Calif., and the word is that it’s a game-changer in his recruitment.

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Oklahoma State just received a visit and Rios is still headed to Kentucky this weekend so that could change his mind. But it sure looks like the hometown Bruins are now the team to beat.

After backing off an earlier Florida State pledge, four programs have emerged as the front-runners with Washington, South Carolina, Michigan and UCLA standing out the most. There has been a lot of chatter that the Huskies are way ahead for the five-star quarterback from Newbury Park, Calif., but the Gamecocks have been convincing, too, among others.