NCAAF Nation ranks top FCS quarterbacks for 2026, stars return nationwide

1. Justin Lamson, Montana State

Justin Lamson has the clearest case to become the face of the 2026 FCS season because he is returning to the defending national champions after delivering the biggest stage performance of the year. Montana State’s 35-34 overtime win over Illinois State in Nashville ended a 41-year title drought, and Lamson left that game as the Most Outstanding Player, which is the kind of résumé that changes how every other contender is measured in Bozeman and beyond.

That matters far beyond one trophy. A returning championship quarterback gives Montana State immediate credibility in the playoff race, and it gives the subdivision a recognizable headliner at a time when so many top programs are still sorting out their depth charts. If the Bobcats again look like the most complete team in the country, Lamson will be the reason the conversation starts with them and not around them.

2. Beau Brungard, Youngstown State

Beau Brungard is right there at the top because the Walter Payton Award is the FCS’ national offensive player of the year honor, and he won it after a season that put Youngstown State back into the national spotlight. He also beat out North Dakota State’s Cole Payton and Western Carolina’s Taron Dickens in the final voting, which tells you he was not just good, he was the standard.

Brungard’s award gives Youngstown State an immediate buzz factor heading into the fall, especially in a year when analysts have stressed how important quarterback continuity is to playoff positioning. In a crowded offensive conversation, the Penguin signal-caller brings the kind of proven production that travels, and it is easy to see why his name anchors any serious preseason debate about the top tier.

3. Cole Payton, North Dakota State

Cole Payton belongs in the top group because finishing as a Walter Payton Award finalist at North Dakota State is never a small thing. The Bison remain the program every FCS quarterback gets measured against, and Payton’s place in the final three with Brungard and Dickens shows he is already operating at an elite level in the subdivision’s most scrutinized environment.

His ranking also reflects the stakes in Fargo, where quarterback play is less about flash and more about control, efficiency, and handling pressure in the biggest games. If North Dakota State is going to reclaim the center of the title conversation, Payton is the type of passer who can push that argument from theoretical to inevitable.

4. Taron Dickens, Western Carolina

Taron Dickens gives the quarterback race one of its most interesting angles because his presence in the Walter Payton Award final vote proves the spotlight is not limited to the traditional heavyweights. Western Carolina reaching that level of recognition gives the 2026 QB class a broader footprint, and that matters in a subdivision where geography, recruiting reach, and visibility all shape who gets remembered nationally.

Dickens also represents the kind of player who can shift perception fast if the numbers stay loud early. When an FCS quarterback from a program outside the usual blueblood circle can sit among the last three names in national offensive player voting, it reinforces how deep the position is this season and how quickly one big September can change the entire conversation.

5. The returning quarterback class

This is the real reason the 2026 FCS quarterback race feels like a title-race story instead of a routine ranking. Coverage around the subdivision has pointed out that six of the top eight preseason teams entered the year with new starting quarterbacks, while the end of the spring transfer portal period reduced some of the late offseason chaos that usually clouds the picture.

That combination creates a sharper separation between programs with proven veterans and those still searching for rhythm. National FCS coverage has already framed 2026 as a quarterback-strength year, and the return of standouts across the country means the first playoff separator may not be record alone, but which team has the passer capable of winning on third down in November and on the road in December.