The 2024 college football bowl season has already brought excitement, upsets and plenty of good performances by top NFL draft prospects. And now we’ll see three of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 class — Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Miami’s Cam Ward and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe — in their non-College Football Playoff bowl games over the next week.

On Saturday, Sanders — the top signal-caller on my board — will try to lead Colorado past BYU to give the Buffaloes their first bowl win in 20 years. Ward will face Iowa State later that day. And then on New Year’s Eve, Milroe will try to raise his Day 2 draft grade with a big performance against Michigan’s stout defense. It’s one last chance to put up good tape and answer lingering questions about their skill sets for NFL front offices.

What can they each do to improve their draft stocks? What are scouts looking to see in their final games of the season? Let’s answer big questions about what each quarterback needs to show in his bowl game appearance and explore what it means for each player’s scouting report.

Jump to:
Ward | Sanders | Milroe

Pop-Tarts Bowl: vs. Iowa State, Dec. 28, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Ward’s Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 24

Can Ward balance his improvisational playmaking with sound decisions and avoid putting the ball in harm’s way?

Ward led Miami to come-from-behind wins against Cal, Louisville and Duke. He has completed a career-high 67.4% of his passes and improved his completion rate under pressure to 50.4% (28th in the FBS). And he has found success this season extending plays, altering his release point and ripping the ball into tight windows. At 6-foot-2 and 223 pounds, he can make things happen off schedule.

Just look at his 23-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jacolby George in the season opener against Florida. Or watch his flip to tight end Riley Williams for 26 yards, when Miami was rallying late against Virginia Tech. Ward can improvise when his team needs him to make a play.

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Cam Ward makes Heisman-like play to avoid sack and somehow set up Miami’s TD

Miami’s Cam Ward evades two sacks and flips the ball to Riley Williams for a 26-yard gain.

But as exciting and fun as those plays are to watch, holding on to the ball too long and taking chances can lead to turnovers and penalties. Ward’s 36-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio doesn’t raise any red flags, but when you turn on the tape, you see his statistics can be a little misleading. Ward often takes unnecessary risks. He tried to make a similar play to the Virginia Tech flip against Wake Forest and instead tossed the ball directly to a defender.

Scouts want to see sound risk-reward management against Iowa State, who has 14 interceptions this season (tied for sixth-most in the nation). Ward has to get the ball out on time. He has thrown darts from inside the pocket all season, and his 74-yard touchdown pass to tight end Elijah Arroyo against Georgia Tech is one of the best throws on his film. Sure, the ball traveled only about 13 yards, but it came out quickly and hit Arroyo in stride. Let’s see more of that against the Cyclones.

Ward needs to work on balancing playmaking opportunities with taking what the defense gives him and making the easier play when it’s there. The Cyclones aren’t a great tackling team — they rank 106th in tackle percentage (82%), missing 127 tackles this season — so getting the ball out and putting receivers in position to produce after the catch should benefit him.

Valero Alamo Bowl: vs. BYU, Dec. 28, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Sanders’ Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 10

Can Sanders avoid taking unnecessary hits and sacks?

Yes, Sanders is the top quarterback in this class. But there’s still room for improvement, starting with limiting unnecessary hits. Poor pass protection and his hot reads not getting open quickly enough have played a role in him being sacked 38 times (tied for third most in the FBS), but there are also times when he holds the ball too long and (to a lesser degree) fails to step up in the pocket.

Sanders will face a BYU team that has only 16 sacks this season, tied for 123rd in the country. But the Cougars also have the 34th-best pressure percentage (38.5%), so Sanders should expect to be under duress. He can help himself by making some plays with his feet. He moves well enough to pick up yards when he scrambles, as he showed against Baylor in Week 4 (season-high 19 carries for 26 yards and one TD). But he needs to get down, get out of bounds or run with a better pad level to protect himself.

It’s not just about the sacks and hits he takes when he scrambles between the hashes. Two plays in the Baylor game stood out when watching his tape. Late in the second quarter he took a hit because he pulled up too early as he was running out of bounds. And early in the third quarter he threw the ball away, but he was late getting rid of it and took a hit he didn’t need to take. Sanders is tough, and there are times he needs to take hits to make plays, but the cumulative effect of all these hits on the 6-foot-2, 215-pound quarterback is worrisome.

Protecting himself and the ball — BYU has forced the fourth-most turnovers in the FBS (27) — in this game can help him cement his status as the best quarterback of the class. He’s already well on his way. Sanders ranks first in completion percentage (74.2%), second in passing touchdowns (35) and third in passing yards (3,926).

Reliaquest Bowl: vs. Michigan, Dec. 31, at 12 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Milroe’s Scouts Inc. ranking: No. 64

Will Milroe lean more on his scrambling against Michigan?

As talented as Milroe is as a rusher, he has been far more productive running designed quarterback runs than he has been scrambling this season. He is averaging 9.6 yards per scramble, but he has scrambled only 20 times.

But Milroe is averaging 5.7 yards on 114 designed runs with 20 touchdowns. Expect Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale to have a plan to defend those designed runs much like Oklahoma did late in the year, when Milroe was held to a season-low 9 rushing yards on 13 attempts. But Milroe will still need to make plays with his feet against the Wolverines. He should be more aggressive when he gets an opportunity to scramble, tucking the ball and running when his first or second reads aren’t there.

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Milroe takes off for his 18th rushing TD of the season

Jalen Milroe takes off for a 19-yard Alabama touchdown, his 18th of the season.

At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, Milroe is arguably the most physically talented of the three quarterbacks. He has the arm talent to drive the ball downfield and the burst to win games with his feet. The flashes are impressive, and his performance in the first half of Alabama’s game against Georgia was outstanding — he started the game with nine carries for 109 rushing yards and ran in two touchdowns. Milroe took what the Bulldogs’ defense gave him, got the ball out quickly and pounded the strike zone. His ball placement has been erratic, he has airmailed deep throws, and he put too much zip on downfield passes at other times this year. So getting into an early rhythm is going to be important in this bowl game.

Milroe has the talent to generate momentum with a strong game and excel in the pre-draft process. But there’s also a chance he returns to school and focuses on improving his draft stock for 2026.