With portal closed, how do Fresno State QBs stack up in new PAC-12? See rosters here

The transfer portal closed on Friday, and most of the schools in the new Pac-12 landed a transfer quarterback.

Fresno State signed Khristian Martin, who played in five games this season at Maryland and will compete in spring practices with four other scholarship quarterbacks who as a group don't have many banked snaps at the FBS (bowl subdivision) level.

The Bulldogs’ five quarterbacks have played a total of 82 snaps, with 26 passing attempts.

Martin, who will be a redshirt sophomore, has played 49 snaps and attempted 17 passes. Buchanan High product Jayden Mandal, who is coming off shoulder surgery and will be a redshirt junior in the fall, has played 33 snaps with just nine attempts. Jonathan Craft did not play last season while taking a redshirt in his true freshman season. Freshman Deagan Rose from Clovis and Jacob Chambers from Rancho Cucamonga hit campus for the first time at the start of the spring semester.

But that does not necessarily put the Bulldogs at a disadvantage in the fall, with quarterback questions across the new Pac-12, which starts play in the fall.

Seven teams in the conference added transfer quarterbacks that are moving up from the FCS (championship subdivision) level or played sparingly if at all at Power Four conference schools and are moving down.

Even Boise State and Texas State, which have returning starters at a position where experience matters, are not miles ahead of anyone.

Here is a look at the position group across the conference:

BOISE STATE

2025 starter: Maddux Madsen

Portal addition: None

Outlook: Madsen has started 26 career games and last season led Boise State to its third consecutive Mountain West title, but there are questions. Fresno State quarterback E.J. Warner, who was benched midway through the year and had fewer TD passes (13 to 18) and more interceptions (11 to 9), than Madsen also had a higher passing efficiency rating than the Broncos’ quarterback (138.42 to 136.91). Madsen completed only 58.3% of his passes, which ranked outside the Top 100 in the nation. Depth also is a question — Max Cutforth started three games when Madsen was out with injury and had an efficiency rating of just 112.06.

COLORADO STATE

2025 starter: Jackson Brosseau

Portal additions: Hauss Hejny, Oklahoma State; Ksaan Farrar, UConn

Outlook: The Rams lost Brousseau and 2024 starter Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi to the portal, so coach Jim Mora may have a lot riding on Hejny or Farrar this season. Hejny was a 4-star prospect coming out of high school. At Oklahoma State, he suffered a broken foot in the first quarter of an opening victory over FCS Tennessee-Martin, but before the injury he led the Cowboys to touchdowns on his first two series. Farrar, who followed Mora from UConn, played in two games as a freshman and completed 61.1% of his passes. Both give the Rams a quarterback run game element to bolster the offense.

FRESNO STATE

2025 starter: E.J. Warner

Portal addition: Khristian Martin, Maryland

Outlook: The Bulldogs managed to get reps to three credible contenders for the starting job last spring and fall, and they have five now. It will be a fascinating competition. The lack of experience in the room is concerning, but coach Matt Entz and the offensive staff have a chance to build a quarterback and an offense for a couple of years. That could be the model across the Pac-12 in the future, as the price of quarterbacks in revenue sharing and Name Image and Likeness continues to rise. Mandal has started throwing again after undergoing surgery late in the season. Martin is an intriguing prospect who had Power Four scholarship offers coming out of high school and adds a quarterback run game element to the offense. Craft was the better of the two freshmen recruited last season — the other, Brayden Turner, hit the portal, as did Carson Conklin, who struggled when given a chance to start last season. Fresno State went 2-1 in those games, but Conklin had passing efficiency ratings of 74.50, 61.62 and 86.22. The incoming freshmen, Rose and Chambers, could merit a look as the Bulldogs work through spring practices.

OREGON STATE

2025 starter: Maalik Murphy

Portal addition: Braden Atkinson, Mercer

Outlook: The Beavers reportedly paid Murphy $1.5 million this season, and things did not go well. Murphy, who started at Texas before transferring to Duke and then Oregon State, completed only 58.1% of his passes with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions and the Beavers went a dismal 2-10. They averaged just 18.2 points per game, which ranked 125th in the nation. Atkinson is an intriguing addition. He won the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the FCS, hitting 66% of his passes for 3,596 yards with 34 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions. His passing efficiency rating of 162.63 ranked ninth in the FCS.

SAN DIEGO STATE

2025 starter: Jayden Denegal

Portal addition: Stone Saunders, Kentucky

Outlook: Is Saunders the answer to the Aztecs’ seemingly never-ending search for quality quarterback play? Over the past 10 years, the highest San Diego State has ranked in the Mountain West in passing offense was eighth, in 2018. Denegal, a transfer from Michigan last season, completed only 58.8% of his passes and struggled when under pressure (37.9%) and in the red zone (42.9%). He had shoulder surgery and did not play in the Aztecs’ bowl game. Saunders was a 4-star prospect out of high school, and the all-time leading prep passer in Pennsylvania with 13,719 career yards. He took a redshirt this season at Kentucky.

TEXAS STATE

2025 starter: Brad Jackson

Portal addition: Shaker Reisig, Boston College

Outlook: The Bobcats look to be in solid shape with Jackson, who had a highly-efficient redshirt freshman season. He hit 71.3% of his passes for 3,224 yards and 21 touchdowns and averaged 9.2 yards per attempt, sixth best in the nation. Playing in the Sun Belt Conference might have inflated those numbers a bit, and it will be interesting to see how the Bobcats fare when moving to the Pac-12. It is a step up. Fresno State and Boise State played Sun Belt opponents this season and won by a combined 89-28, and all-time the Mountain West has a .645 winning percentage against Sun Belt opponents, its highest against any active conference.

UTAH STATE

2025 starter: Bryson Barnes

Portal addition: McCae Hillstead, Brigham Young

Outlook: Barnes led the Aggies in passing yards and rushing yards this season and leaves a large hole in the offense. There was not a lot of experience behind him, and Hillstead figures to have an inside track at starting this fall. He began his career at Utah State before transferring to BYU — he took a redshirt in 2024 and lost a competition for the starting job to Bear Bachmeier this season. As a true freshman in 2023, Hillstead played in eight games including a loss to an 11-2 James Madison team coached by Curt Cignetti, who this season has Indiana in the national title game. Hillstead passed for 399 yards in that game.

WASHINGTON STATE

2025 starter: Zevi Eckhaus

Portal addition: Caden Pinnick, UC Davis

Outlook: Washington State lost its starting quarterback and had three others jump into the transfer portal after the season. But coach Kirby Moore, the former Fresno State wideouts coach and offensive coordinator, may have scored with Pinnick. Pinnick, from Loomis, led UC Davis to the FCS quarterfinals this season as a redshirt freshman and was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, hitting 69.6% of his passes for 3,206 yards with 32 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also can be a presence in the Cougars’ run game -- he rushed the ball 125 times this season for UC Davis and had as many as 22 attempts in one game.