Key Takeaways
- Air Force quarterback Liam Szarka has emerged as a punishing dual threat, rushing 33 times for 171 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-33 double-overtime win over Nevada.
- The 19-year-old Colorado native stayed at Air Force after a breakout 2025 season, and his physical style earned praise from coach Troy Calhoun, who called him “a warrior.”
- Szarka hopes to reach the NFL but also plans to earn his pilot’s wings, while his limited passing volume makes a Heisman Trophy run unlikely despite his speed, toughness, and growing profile.
One of the more difficult types of players to defend in the sport of football is a dual-threat quarterback.
If the defense keys on the run, it opens up the opportunity for the pass, and if the defense keys on the pass, it opens up the opportunity for the run.
Excelling at football’s most basic cat-and-mouse game early in the 2026-27 season is Air Force quarterback Liam Szarka.
Szarka turned in one of the top performances of his career this past Saturday in a thrilling 36-33 double-overtime Air Force win over Nevada.
The 19-year-old QB ran the ball a game-high 33 times and churned out 171 yards on the ground. He found the end zone with his legs twice, and also threw a fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Falcons receiver Matt Long.
“The unique thing about Szarka in particular is most of the time [an Air Force offense] goes through the quarterback and the fullback,” said Nevada head coach Jeff Choate about his opponent this past weekend. “This is a little bit different, because they can add numbers. It’s not just giving the ball to the fullback. They’re constantly adding numbers the more [Szarka] carries the ball, and that numbers advantage—especially on the perimeter—it’s hard to match when it happens so quickly.”
Szarka is obviously magic in the open field, but he also isn’t afraid to get down and dirty in between the tackles.
“It fires everybody up,” Air Force tailback Rocco Conti said of Szarka running for tough yardage to the Colorado Springs Gazette. “Quarterback putting his head down, getting extra yards fires everybody up. Everyone wants to bust their butt and do it for your brother next to you and he knows that.”
Szarka earned Mountain West Player of the Week honors for his performance against Nevada, with Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun praising his quarterback’s “heart,” “fortitude,” and “guts”.
“I mean, he’s a warrior,” Calhoun told the Colorado Springs Gazette.
When did Szarka first get put on the map?
Szarka was starting to get plenty of buzz at this time last season. In five straight games from September 20, 2025 to October 18, 2025, Szarka had at least 100 yards rushing.
“I think it was in our Boise State game (on October 18, 2025) where he made some highly instinctive, really uncanny plays - and that continued as the season progressed,” Air Force head coach Troy Calhoun told the Hike’s Peak Podcast prior to the start of this season. “I think the area where you’ll see the most growth is knowing, even more so, where to distribute the football. And hopefully what that does is take a little bit of the pounding off of him.”
Szarka was playing tremendous football last fall before he broke his arm in a 26-16 loss at UConn on November 15, 2025.
The comforts of home
In today’s college football landscape, a school can’t rest even if it lands a coveted quarterback out of high school. Each school must keep its QB happy, or else said QB will enter the transfer portal.
Szarka had plenty of opportunities to leave Air Force this past winter following his breakout campaign in 2025, but the Aurora, Colorado native chose to stay in the Centennial State.
“During the offseason, I sat down with my parents and had the list of pros and cons to see if I really do want to stay at this place and make the commitment,” Szarka told the Colorado Spring Gazette. “The pros outweighed the cons by so much, and I feel like there’s opportunities waiting for me to go get.”
What do you want to be when you grow up?
“There are over 400,000 NCAA student-athletes, and almost all of us are going pro in something other than sports.”
This was the tagline of a well-known NCAA commercial many years ago, and it still resonates today—particularly with an athlete like Szarka.
Szarka would love to play in the NFL, and that is one of his many current goals. If he is to fall short of that goal, however, he’s got a hell of a backup plan.
Being in the Air Force Academy, after all, he’s going to earn his pilot’s wings.
“I was able to get in an F-16 this summer, I was in the back seat,” Szarka told KRDO-13. “It was crazy. When you’re just taking off the ground and you see the ground flying by you at that speed. It’s like being in a luxury vehicle in the air. You’re flying around and you’re doing so many cool maneuvers. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever done, and I’m so excited to maybe have an opportunity like that in the future.”
Does he play any sports besides football?
Szarka lettered in football, lacrosse and track at Grandview High School in Aurora. In track, he was the 400-meter Centennial League champion and a state qualifier in four events.
Outside of football these days, he plays a sport that’s a little less taxing on the body: pickleball.
“It’s a great sport. It’s not too hard on the body and it’s a great way to stay in shape,” Szarka told KRDO-13. “It’s a great way to hang out with the guys and kind of bond over something to do athletically.”
Can Szarka win the Heisman Trophy?
It is highly unlikely that Szarka would win the Heisman Trophy this year, simply because he doesn’t have the passing numbers.
Air Force traditionally runs a ground-heavy offense with lots of misdirection, and it’s not uncommon to see the Falcons pass just 5 or 6 times in an entire game.
Szarka is averaging 9 pass attempts per game this season through three games. When you contrast that with a Heisman candidate like Texas’ Arch Manning, who is averaging 28.7 pass attempts per game this season, it’s clear that Szarka just won’t have the amount of opportunity to put up Heisman-worthy passing numbers.
What is his rating in College Football 27?
Szarka is an 82 overall in EA Sports’ College Football 27. Not surprisingly, some of his best attributes are “Speed,” where he’s an 86, and “Acceleration,” where he’s an 88. He also ranks high in “Stamina” and “Toughness” as he has a 91 rating for both.
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