We have the COVID season to thank.

The 2020 season was, in many ways, a mess. We had conferences going rogue playing a different amount of games, roster depth was nowhere to be found and compliance departments were dealt a headache unlike any in recent memory.

That season also gave athletes a free year of eligibility, extending the college career for many a household name. It’s why last year felt like the season of mid-20s quarterbacks. This year will feature some of that as well.

I thought it’d be fun to look at some quarterbacks who have more eligibility left than some probably realize. Instead of scratching your head wondering how/why a player still has eligibility, you can refer back to this list.

These 10 quarterbacks all have multiple years of eligibility left despite the fact that they’re well-known names in the sport:

(I didn’t include the projected high draft picks like Caleb Williams and Drake Maye because I don’t think anyone expects them to use all of their eligibility. I’m not saying that the 10 listed guys will indeed use all of their eligibility, but the odds of them getting to Year 6 — or even Year 7 — are somehow on the table.)

Carson Beck, Georgia

Years of eligibility left (including 2023) — 3

Let’s kick this off with a guy that we’ve been talking about for the past 2 years. Entering Year 4 at Georgia, Beck has 3 years of eligibility left. How? In addition to starting his career in the free 2020 season, he preserved his 4-game redshirt in 2021. That means 2022 was the first year of eligibility he used up, and he did so while serving as QB2 behind Stetson Bennett IV. Beck isn’t expected to replicate his predecessor’s path to Van Wilder status and stay for 6 years, but it is interesting to keep that in mind in the event that he isn’t 1-and-done as a starter before heading to the NFL.

Spencer Rattler, South Carolina

Years of eligibility left (including 2023) — 2

Now I have your attention. How in the world can Rattler, who has been a household name in college football for 5 years because of his time on the Netflix show “QB1: Beyond the Lights,” still have 2 years of eligibility left? Simple. In 2019, he redshirted his true freshman season backing up Jalen Hurts at Oklahoma and 2020 didn’t count against him. He used his first year of eligibility in 2021 when he was benched midseason in favor of Caleb Williams, and 2022 at South Carolina was only his second year of eligibility despite the fact that it was Year 4 of college for Rattler. The expectation is that 2023 will be his final season, but he does have the option to return for 2024 depending on how things shake out.

Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma

Years of eligibility left (including 2023) — 2

This one is bizarre because Gabriel was a starting quarterback for a 10-win UCF team in 2019. But then 2020 didn’t count against his eligibility and neither did 2021 because he got hurt in his third game. So 2022 at Oklahoma was just his second year of eligibility used. Wild. Gabriel is a sub-6-foot quarterback playing in what’s considered a more college-style system, so there’s a world in which he’s Oklahoma’s starter for another 2 seasons and everyone is left wondering how McKenzie Milton’s successor is still in college. Hey, we could even get Gabriel playing in the SEC in 2024, where he could face his former UCF coach, Josh Heupel.

KJ Jefferson, Arkansas

Years of eligibility left (including 2023) — 2

I say this all the time. We need to appreciate the fact that Jefferson was recruited to be a Chad Morris quarterback. The guy made it out alive and became, in my opinion, 1 of the 7 or 8 best quarterbacks in the sport. As a 2019 recruit, he didn’t use his first year of eligibility until he became Arkansas’ starter in 2021. It’s crazy to think that Jefferson might only be halfway through his time as a starter because he was considered the quarterback of the future before Sam Pittman arrived. Jefferson is 11 touchdowns from breaking Matt Jones’ program record of touchdowns responsible for (Jones had 77). If Jefferson stays another 2 seasons, he has a strong chance of climbing into the top 5-6 of the SEC’s all-time leaderboard in that category.

Taulia Tagovailoa, Maryland

Years of eligibility left (including 2023) — 2

I wrote about Tagovailoa in 2018 and dug into whether he or Paul Tyson, AKA the great grandson of Bear Bryant, would become the next great Alabama quarterback. Here we are in 2023 and Tagovailoa still has multiple years of eligibility left … at Maryland. And the thing is … he’s a top-20 quarterback in the sport. Tagovailoa redshirted in 2019 at Alabama, and he had the COVID year in 2020 at Maryland. But he’s a 3-year starter who still has 2 years of eligibility left. He’ll finish his career all over the Terps’ record books, and he’s got a strong chance to finish in the top 10 in Big Ten history in career touchdowns responsible for. In other words, he’s done more than enough to make a name for himself instead of living in his brother’s shadow.

Michael Pratt, Tulane

Years of eligibility left (including 2023) — 2

When a third-year starter wins a New Year’s 6 bowl, you assume that guy is off to the NFL or returning for 1 more year. At least I do. Maybe Pratt only returns for 2023, but he has 2 years of eligibility left. He has a chance to start the year as one of the top household names certainly at the Group of 5 level, and perhaps in all of college football if he doubles down on his breakout 2022 season, which seems extremely possible with a Tulane team who ranks No. 31 in percentage of returning production. My guess? Pratt will be off to the NFL after 2023 and he won’t be exhausting his eligibility in 2024.

Will Rogers, MSU

Years of eligibility left (including 2023) — 2

There are plenty of college football fans who’ll be surprised that Rogers is still in college this year. What if I told you he could come back in 2024 and become a 5-year starter who could finish his career possessing all of the SEC’s major passing records? Due to the fact that he got that free 2020 season in his true freshman year when he took over for KJ Costello as the starter, it’s possible. Entering 2023, Rogers is:

  • No. 1 in SEC in career completions (1,159)
  • No. 8 in SEC in career passing yards (10,869)
  • No. 8 in SEC in career touchdown passes (82)
  • No. 18 in SEC in career touchdowns responsible for (83)

Rogers needs just 18 touchdown passes to crack the top 3 on the SEC’s all-time list, and he’s 40 from breaking Aaron Murray’s career record. Would it have a Mike Leach asterisk? Eh, that’s debatable. What’s not debatable is Rogers will make plenty of college football fans wonder how in the world he’s still in Starkville.

Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina

Years of eligibility left (including 2023) — 2

It might’ve been because McCall entered the transfer portal — and came back to Coastal Carolina — at the same time as quarterbacks like Devin Leary and Sam Hartman, both of whom are fully bearded guys who’ll be 24 in their final years of eligibility, but I’ll admit it: I thought McCall only had 1 year of eligibility left. Nope. He has 2.

Want a crazy McCall stat? For his efforts leading that undefeated Coastal Carolina team in 2020, he was the Sun Belt Player of the Year and after that, he still had 4 years of eligibility left. Bananas. The efficient McCall will have a new head coach after Jamey Chadwell left for Liberty, but the 3-time Sun Belt Player of the Year could win the award 2 more times and finish as one of the most prolific college quarterbacks ever.

Haynes King, Georgia Tech

Years of eligibility left (including 2023) — 3

I realize that King isn’t a lock to start at Georgia Tech, but I included him because he’s someone who we’ve been talking about for 4 years, and his college career could be far from over. He was A&M’s opening day starter each of the past 2 years, yet he was out of a job by Week 3 in both seasons. The first was because of a season-ending injury against Colorado and the other was because, well, Appalachian State happened. Maybe King, who was a decorated recruit coming out of Texas, will benefit from getting out of the Lone Star State and, specifically, getting out of the Jimbo Fisher offense. Whatever the case, we could be seeing a whole lot more of King in the next few years.

Tyler Shough, Texas Tech

Years of eligibility left (including 2023) — 2

I saved the best for last. How old is Shough, you ask? He spent 2 years backing up Justin Herbert at Oregon. He’s the rare case of a guy entering Year 6 of college — he finally established himself as the guy late in Year 5 — who could have 2 years of eligibility left. How?

  • 2018 true freshman at Oregon: Played 3 games (no year of eligibility used)
  • 2019 redshirt freshman at Oregon: Played 5 games (used Year 1 of eligibility)
  • 2020 redshirt sophomore at Oregon: Free year of eligibility
  • 2021 redshirt junior at Texas Tech: Started 4 games, broke collar bone (could have medical redshirt available)
  • 2022 redshirt senior at Texas Tech: Appeared in 7 games, started 5 (potentially Year 2 of eligibility used)

So if Shough chooses, he could seek a medical hardship waiver for the 2021 season that was cut short after 4 games. That could give him his 7th year of college. This is someone who committed to a Willie Taggart-led Oregon program in 2017. He’ll be 24 years old in September, and if he does indeed run it back in 2024 with the medical hardship waiver granted, he’ll be 25 years old for the 2024 season. Move over Bennett. There’s about to be a new old man in town.