Jake Fette

Physical Profile

Listed at 6-0, 195 lbs. Taller than 5% and heavier than 39% of 2026 Quarterback prospects in the SEC Scouts database (128 with a listed size).

Play Style

He is an efficient, rhythm-based distributor who wins with fast decisions and accurate short-to-intermediate throws. He doesn't force the ball into coverage and takes the checkdown or runs when his first reads are covered. In the RPO and read-option game he makes good give/keep decisions and turns quickly upfield as a runner instead of drifting sideways. He throws well on the move, especially rolling to his right, and as a senior he became more willing to run between the tackles on designed runs. His game is about protecting the ball and extending drives more than big-armed shots, and his low interception totals reflect that.

Strengths

• Protects the football at a rare level: 31 touchdowns to 1 interception as a junior and 28 to 2 as a senior. That is 59 touchdowns and 3 interceptions over his last two seasons, which points to good decisions and a sense of where the ball can't go.
• A real running threat: his rushing grew from 589 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior to 1,105 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior. Defenses have to account for him on designed runs, zone reads and third-down scrambles.
• Consistent results and high-level validation: a 28-5 record as a starter, an 11-1 junior season and an invitation to the Elite 11 Finals, where he held up in structured throwing drills against the top quarterbacks in the class.
• Mature and steady: he graduated early, enrolled at ASU in spring 2026 and drew spring reports for avoiding the high-volume freshman mistakes staffs usually expect, which put him in the conversation for QB2 as a true freshman.

Areas to Improve

• Needs to add weight and strength. At 190 pounds he is a durability risk as a running quarterback, and he needs a stronger base to drive throws outside the numbers and down the field under pressure.
• His level of competition is a question. West Texas (El Paso) Class 5A football rarely showed him Power-4 speed on defense, so reading coverage after the snap, handling disguised pressure and managing protections at the line all need to be proven against college defenses.
• Needs more volume as a pure passer. His 2,400-2,700 passing yards per season came in a balanced offense, so he still has to show he can carry a drop-back passing game over four quarters when the run is taken away.

College Projection

He is in his true freshman year at Arizona State in 2026. Sam Leavitt left for LSU and Jeff Sims ran out of eligibility, which opened a four-man quarterback battle that carried through Camp Tontozona. Cutter Boley has the most experience, and Fette is widely projected as QB2, so expect him to play in select games while protecting his redshirt, with some package or relief snaps. He is a realistic contender to start in 2027 as a redshirt freshman and projects as a multi-year starter in 2027-2029 once he adds weight. His ceiling is an all-conference, efficient dual-threat quarterback in the Big 12.

NFL Outlook

He is a Day 3 NFL prospect with Day 2 upside if development goes well. Scouts will question his height (about 6-2) and frame, so his draft value depends on adding 20 or more pounds without losing speed and on showing he can throw to NFL levels, especially outside the numbers, in a pro-style drop-back offense. If he keeps his ball security against Big 12 competition and becomes a threat on the second and third levels of the field, he fits the modern model of an efficient, mobile passer that NFL teams value as a developmental starter or high-end backup.

Best Fit

An RPO-heavy spread offense with quarterback-run concepts, which is essentially what Kenny Dillingham runs at Arizona State. That system rewards quick decisions, zone-read skill and accuracy on the move, all of which Fette already has, while protecting him from heavy drop-back volume early. A staff with strong strength-and-conditioning and quarterback development is critical, because his path to becoming a star runs through adding mass and learning to read defenses after the snap.