College football's backup quarterback talent drain
- Thread starter Chris
- Start date
Oregon getting a masterful performance out of Dylan Raiola off the bench at USC was remarkable to watch, but Raiola is one of the rare exceptions among his peers as a former two-year starter at Nebraska who was willing to take a pay cut and sit behind Dante Moore for a season. Very few programs have the luxury anymore of a backup they'd trust to go win a game.
When asked last week what makes it so hard for everyone but Oregon to have an established backup, Venables offered a simple reply: It's the money.
The economics of this don't make it easy, and not just because most Power 4 starters are earning $2-3 million or more. A survey of Power 4 general managers this offseason found the average pay for a No. 2 quarterback this year is more than $550,000, sources told ESPN.
When asked last week what makes it so hard for everyone but Oregon to have an established backup, Venables offered a simple reply: It's the money.
The economics of this don't make it easy, and not just because most Power 4 starters are earning $2-3 million or more. A survey of Power 4 general managers this offseason found the average pay for a No. 2 quarterback this year is more than $550,000, sources told ESPN.
CFB's new 5 year rule means that:
1) Anthony Colandrea has another year left at Nebraska. From the looks of his 2026 season, keeping him will likely require a healthy salary jump
AND
2) the #1 QB recruit in the nation, Trae Taylor, will be starting his first year at Nebraska. Signing him for 2027 will likely require an upfront seven figures (as it did for Dylan Raiola before him.) The QB position alone is going to put serious pressure on GM Pat Stewart's overall NIL budget.
On the other hand, it's the kind of financial problem every Power 4 program aspiring to greatness would love to have.
1) Anthony Colandrea has another year left at Nebraska. From the looks of his 2026 season, keeping him will likely require a healthy salary jump
AND
2) the #1 QB recruit in the nation, Trae Taylor, will be starting his first year at Nebraska. Signing him for 2027 will likely require an upfront seven figures (as it did for Dylan Raiola before him.) The QB position alone is going to put serious pressure on GM Pat Stewart's overall NIL budget.
On the other hand, it's the kind of financial problem every Power 4 program aspiring to greatness would love to have.
Both Iowa and Washington's backup QB's looked better than the starters last night when pressed into action.
Blatz
Blackshirt
It's a mixed bag of success and failure with the college QB's. Iowa and Washington looked ok. Oregon did one week, then imploded. Syracuse started their 3rd stringer last week, Malachi Nelson (former 5 star, the 1st HS NIL recipient, his 4th school in 4 years, also on the worst performance list that Dylan Raiola heads up). Nelson got hurt after 3 quarters and now Syracuse is on it's 4th QB.
