Every season, transfers flood the college football offseason news. This is especially true for quarterbacks, who look for the best opportunity to see the field. Here are the top quarterback transfers for the 2021 college football season.
Note: Only quarterbacks who are eligible for the 2021 season will be listed.
Alan Bowman, Michigan Wolverines
For the first three years of his career, Bowman played for Texas Tech. He played in a pass-heavy offense and had impressive seasons. Bowman passed for 5,260 yards, 33 touchdowns and 17 interceptions on 67 percent completion. Although the wins haven’t come very easily at Texas Tech, Bowman has shown his talent.
Michigan’s starting quarterback is Cade McNamara, but if he falters, Bowman is the next man up. He has the experience and may have the better arm talent. If Michigan struggles out of the gate, Bowman could be a very impactful player.
Jack Coan, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Coan was a solid quarterback for the Wisconsin Badgers from 2017-2019. He passed for 3,278 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions on 68 percent completion. At Wisconsin, he operated a pro-style system and took care of the football in his two seasons as the starter.
Notre Dame has just four returning starters on their offense and one from their offensive line. Brain Kelly raved about Coan and finally named him the starter. If Notre Dame can move the ball on the ground, Coan can help protect it and control the clock.
Hendon Hooker, Tennessee Volunteers
At Virginia Tech, Hooker played sparingly over the last two seasons. In 21 career games, Hooker passed for 2,984 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions on 63.1 percent completion. He also rushed for 1,033 yards in his career so far.
Following the season, Hooker chose to transfer to Tennessee. The Volunteers lost a lot of players to the NFL and to transfers. They only have 10 returning starters and are projected to finish near the bottom of the SEC. Hooker has not officially been named the starter, but the Volunteers could use his dual-threat abilities to open up the offense.
McKenzie Milton, Florida State
Milton spent three seasons at UCF, but his time there was ended prematurely. After passing for 8,683 yards, 72 touchdowns and 22 interceptions, Milton suffered a gruesome knee injury at the end of the 2018 season. He has since been rehabbing and making his way back to the field. Except now he will be suiting up as a Florida State Seminole.
Not only did Milton put up some great numbers at UCF, but he also led them to the highest points in school history. He’ll have to work some magic again for the Seminoles. The team hasn’t quite been the same since Jimbo Fisher left for Texas A&M. They went 3-6 last year and have just 12 returning starters. Milton is a great player, but it will be hard for him to knock off the rust and help Florida State improve in the ACC.
Tyler Shough, Texas Tech Red Raiders
Shough had a weird stint at Oregon. He took over for Justin Herbert last season and passed for 1,559 yards, 13 touchdowns and six interceptions on 63.5 percent completion. In the bowl game against Iowa State, he was pulled for Anthony Brown more than most year-long starters should be. After the game he entered the transfer portal and enrolled at Texas Tech.
For the Red Raiders, they are coming off a 4-6 season. They return 14 starters, but have a lot of work to do to catch up in the Big 12. Shough could be exactly what Texas Tech needs to help turn the program around under head coach Matt Wells. If he plays well, he could be picked relatively early in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Other Quarterback Transfers
Jake Bentley, South Alabama Jaguars- Bentley has spent time at South Carolina and Utah. Now he will try to help South Alabama compete in the Sun Belt.
Charlie Brewer, Utah Utes- After passing for 9,700 yards at Baylor, Brewer decided to transfer to Utah.
Chase Brice, Appalachian State Mountaineers- Brice started his career at Clemson, then played at Duke last season. Now he will try to help Appalachian State stay near the top of the Sun Belt.
Jarrett Guarantano, Washington State Cougars- He had a tumultuous time at Tennessee, Guarantano transferred to the west coast where he will be able to air the ball out.
Grant Gunnell, Memphis Tigers- Gunnell played at Arizona for two seasons. Although he hasn’t won the job yet, he could find some success at Memphis.
Ryan Hilinski, Northwestern Wildcats- Northwestern had solid play from transfer-Peyton Ramsey last year and now have Hilinski coming in, who started early in his career at South Carolina.
Bailey Hockman, Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders- Hockman filled in for Devin Leary at NC State last year, but with Leary back, Hockman made the move to Middle Tennessee to help improve a team that went 3-6 last season.
Will Levis, Kentucky Wildcats- After playing sparingly at Penn State, Levis transferred to Kentucky. He has been named the starter over Beau Allen and former Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood. Kentucky has struggled to move the ball through the air in recent years and could really benefit from Levis stretching defenses vertically.
Rocky Lombardi, Northern Illinois Huskies- The Michigan State Spartans went 2-5 last season and Lombardi decided to transfer to Northern Illinois. He’ll have to lead a young team this season, but may be able to find success later on.
Tyler Lytle, UMass Minutemen- Lytle was a backup at Colorado, but now is going to suit up for the Minutemen. They went 0-4 last season and have an uphill battle this season as well.
D’Wan Mathis, Temple Owls- At Georgia, Mathis had a cyst removed from his brain and returned to the field to start some games last season. With JT Daniels taking over as the starter, Mathis joins the Owls who are looking to rebound from a 1-6 season.
Tanner Mordecai, SMU Mustangs- Mordecai was a backup at Oklahoma, but now is getting his chance to start for SMU. He should get a chance to put up stats and win some games for the Mustangs this season.
Rhett Rodriguez, Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks- The son of Rich Rodriguez will play for his dad who is the offensive coordinator for the Warhawks. Rhett played for Arizona for his dad too and got limited playing time.
Anthony Russo, Michigan State Spartans- Russo was a solid starter for Temple over the last few years and is using extra eligibility to play for Michigan State. He is currently in a quarterback battle with Payton Thorne for the starting job.
Jarren Williams, USF Bulls- Williams started some games for Miami a few seasons ago and has found his way to USF. The frontrunner to win the job is Cade Fortin, but Williams is still in the battle.
Terry Wilson, New Mexico Lobos- Wilson helped Kentucky win a lot of games in his three years at quarterback. The dual-threat did have to recover from a torn ACL, but played last season. He could really help a two-win Lobos team from last year.
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