With the Pittsburgh Steelers in the market for a quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft, Steelers Now will be taking stock of the draft class every week of the 2025 college football season.
It was only against Northern Arizona, so with respect to the Lumberjacks, keep the performance in context. Leavitt is also no rookie. He started all last season for Arizona State, taking the Sun Devils to the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, where they lost to Texas in double overtime. We have a relatively large sample of what Leavitt brings to the table already.
But man, was he impressive in the season opener. Leavitt completed 21 of 31 for 257 yards and two touchdowns through the air and then ran for another 73 yards on seven carries and two more scores.
Again, it's only Northern Arizona, but Leavitt did exactly what you're supposed to do against lower-level opposition: dominate.
Scouted by Steelers: Week 1 vs. NAU
MDDB Big Board
: Week 1, No. 43, QB 7
Season stats: 25 of 39 (64.1%), 257 yards (6.6 y/a), 2 TD, 1 INT, 131.3 rating
The hype was probably never sustainable. Manning made his first start as Texas' full-time starting quarterback (he started two games as a backup last year) on the road, against the reigning national champions.
It was not the kind of performance that week allow No. 1 overall pick talk to persist much longer. Manning was an inefficient 17 of 30 for just 170 yards, and while he did deal with some drops, his passes were not often as precise as you'd expect with his heritage. Manning frequently dropped into a sidearm delivery that wasn't especially effective and won't impress scouts.
He made a nice throw to give Texas some life in the fourth quarter, connecting on a 32-yard touchdown to Parker Livingstone.
A stop by the Longhorns defense got Manning the ball back with just over two minutes, trailing by a touchdown. He completed two of five passes and the ball went over on downs.
You could live with some inefficiency in the season opener against a tough defense on the road if it came with some big moments sprinkled in, too, but just one is not going to cut it.
That being said, don't write Manning off after facing the toughest test of Week 1.
Scouted by Steelers: Week 1 at Ohio State
MDDB Big Board
: Week 1, No. 1, QB 1
Season stats: 17 of 30 (56.7%), 170 yards (5.7 y/a), 1 TD, 1 INT, 108.6 rating
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU Athletics
Statistically, this was not a dominant performance, with just 230 yards passing for the fifth-year LSU quarterback. But Nussmeier did exactly what you're supposed to do on the road in a hostile environment: Be efficient and make enough plays to get your team out of Death Valley (the road one, in this case) with a win.
Nussmeier completed 73.7% of his passes as LSU dominated the time of possession, 37:10 to 22:50 and choked out what should be a dangerous Clemson team.
Nussmeier's lone TD wasn't particularly a impressive throw, an end zone stop route with 6-foot-7 tight end Trey'Dez Green lined up against 5-foot-11 cornerback Avieon Terrell. But that's the kind of play you'd expect a veteran quarterback, whose father is an NFL offensive coordinator, to make. Find the mismatch and exploit it. He also didn't turn the ball over.
Scouted by Steelers: Week 1 at Clemson
MDDB Big Board
: Week 1, No. 4, QB 4
Season stats: 28 of 38 (73.7%), 230 yards (6.1 y/a) 1 TD, 0 INT, 133.2 rating
Much like Manning, it was a tough Week 1 against tough opposition for Klubnik. The swarming LSU defense had him running and flustered for most of the game, and it showed in the stat sheet: Klubnik completed just 50% of his passes, did not find the end zone and threw one interception, which was a result of that pressure.
Also like Manning, Klubnik had a chance to win it at the end despite a mediocre day, and was unable to. Clemson got the ball with 4:20 to play and went three and out. Then, the Tigers got the ball back and Klubnik completed two passes to get them to the LSU 21 before the drive stalled and LSU won.
While the No. 1 and No. 2 quarterbacks in the big board coming into Week 1 both had rough games, they are not the same. Klubnik has an entire season of starting experience, was playing at home, and facing a not-nearly-as-scary opponent. That should be a much bigger blow to his stock than the one Manning suffered.
Scouted by Steelers: Week 1 vs LSU
MDDB Big Board
: Week 1, No. 2, QB 2
Season stats: 19 of 38 (50%), 230 yards (6.1 y/a), 0 TD, 1 INT, 95.6 rating
Much like Leavitt above, Drew Allar was playing a significantly reduced level of competition. Also much like Leavitt, he did what he was supposed to do in those circumstances.
Allar was a hyper-efficient 22 of 26 for an eye-popping 84.6 completion percentage. He threw for one touchdown — pushing the ball down the field in a fashion that we didn't see him do much in 2024.
It probably helps that Kyron Hudson looks like the best wide receiver Penn State has had since Jahan Dotson .
Allar didn't have many bad days against bad teams last year. It was the season-ending run where his completion percentage fell under 60% for four straight postseason games, and he threw no touchdowns and two interceptions in losses to Ohio State and Notre Dame. As a third-year starter, so much of the evaluation for Allar this season is going to come down to what he does against top opposition.
Scouted by Steelers: TBA in 2025
MDDB Big Board
: Week 1, No. 14, QB 6
Season stats: 22 of 26 (84.6%), 217 yards (8.3 y/1), 1 TD, 0 INT, 167.4 rating
Nico Iamaleava, UCLA Athletics
Before the transfer portal drama between Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee this spring, he was considered one of a large group of potential first-round quarterbacks in the Class of 2026. The second he transferred to UCLA, that hype train came to a crashing halt.
Iamaleava had a chance to get it back on the rails on Saturday night, facing Utah, usually one of the top defenses in the Big 12. It did not go well. In fact, he was roundly out-played by Utah's Devon Dampier.
Iamaleava completed just 50% of his passes, had as many touchdowns as interceptions, spent most of the day scrambling around, and didn't even do that efficiently, rushing 13 times for 47 yards.
Scouted by Steelers: TBA in 2025
MDDB Big Board
: Week 1, No. 213, QB 13
Season stats: 11 of 22 (50%), 136 yards (6.2 y/a), 1 TD, 1 INT, 107.8 rating
Tommy Castellanos, Florida State Athletics
It was not a scintillating statistical performance, but if you beat Alabama, you probably did something right. Florida State spent most of the day rushing with a huge platoon of ball carries, that included 16 carries for 78 yards for Castellanos, a relatively un-hyped transfer from Boston College.
He threw just enough to make the offense work, completed 9 of 14 for 152 yards. That isn't moving any NFL general managers looking for a first-round passer, but considering where Castellanos' stock was (No. 730 on the MDDB big board entering Week 1), I'd say he's earned a big boost.
Scouted by Steelers: Week 1 vs. Alabama
MDDB Big Board
: Week 1, No. 730, QB 51
Season stats: 9 of 14 (64.3%), 152 yards (10.9 y/a), 0 TD, 0 INT, 155.5 rating
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : 2026 NFL Draft QB Stock Report: Rough Start for Manning, Klubnik; Allar, Leavitt Dominate Lesser Opponents
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