Meet Jaden Craig, the Ivy League QB coming to a playoff contender near you

Craig was Harvard's best QB since Ryan Fitzpatrick and is set to ply his trade at college football's highest levels

Harvard quarterback Jaden Craig is poised to become one of the most closely watched names in the upcoming transfer portal window when it opens Jan. 2. The Ivy League signal-caller is already garnering interest from a number of Power Four programs, and at least one College Football Playoff team has him as one of the top transfer quarterbacks on their big board, sources told 247Sports and CBS Sports.

Craig's rise has been built on sustained production and efficiency rather than just hype. Over the past two seasons as Harvard's full-time starter, he threw for 5,299 yards and 58 touchdowns while completing 61% of his passes, cementing himself as the most prolific passer in program history. Former Harvard coach Tim Murphy has said Craig is the best quarterback he's seen at Harvard since Ryan Fitzpatrick in the early 2000s.

Craig helped lead Harvard to its first FCS playoff appearance in 2025. Individually, he is a two-time finalist for the Walter Payton Award, the FCS equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, placing him among the most decorated players in the subdivision the past two seasons.

NFL evaluators have also taken notice of Craig's skill set. One NFL scout told CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz this summer that Craig stands out as a processor of the game. 

"Good decision-maker," the scout said. "Really like his pocket presence and mobility. Stands tall. Full field reads, gets through progressions with natural pace. Worried about his arm strength. That's what would hold me back from (him) being draftable at the moment. Better athlete than I expected though and has escapability."

From an analytical standpoint, Craig's production matches the film. He posted the seventh-best passing grade (90.6) among FCS quarterbacks with at least 300 dropbacks this season according to PFF, and his 30 big-time throws ranked second among that group. 

In 2025 alone, Craig recorded five 300-yard passing games and five contests with three or more passing touchdowns. He had three 300-yard games and five multi-touchdown performances in 2024.

🏈 Jaden Craig's Harvard résumé

Category	Stat	Harvard Rank
Career passing yards	6,074	1st
Career passing touchdowns	52	1st
Single-season passing touchdowns	25	1st
Single-season passing yards	2,869	1st
Single-season completions	208	1st
Career completions	435	2nd
Career pass attempts	714	2nd
Single-season pass attempts	338	2nd (one shy of record)

Once an unranked recruit out of Montclair (N.J.) Seton Hall Prep in the 2022 class, Craig now is anticipated to enter the portal rated as a three-star transfer and the No. 9 quarterback at this time, according to 247Sports' Cooper Petagna. Craig projects as one of the most intriguing quarterback options on the market this winter.