Every year, 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 2022 college football season.
Note: Only quarterbacks who are eligible for the 2022 season will be listed.
Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss Rebels
Dart was a heavily-recruited quarterback who started his career at USC before transferring to Ole Miss. At USC, he passed for 1,353 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions on 61.9 percent completion. He has some decent experience under his belt and has some potential.
At Ole Miss, he takes over for Matt Corral on a 10-win team from last season. He has five returning starters to work with including three offensive linemen and wide receiver Jonathan Mingo. TCU-transfer Zach Evans could take some of the pressure off of Dart as well. With Dart under center, Lane Kiffin’s Rebels could reach double-digit wins again.
JT Daniels, West Virginia Mountaineers
After starting his career at USC, Daniels transferred to Georgia. He started at the end of the 2020 season after he was fully healed from an ACL tear. During the 2021 season, Stetson Bennett took over and led the Bulldogs to a National Championship. That caused Daniels to transfer to West Virginia. He has passed for 4,840 yards, 32 touchdowns and 16 interceptions on 63.8 percent completion in his career.
West Virginia isn’t expected to compete for the Big 12 Championship this year, but Daniels could help them improve from their six-win 2021 season. He will be joined by eight returning starters, which is led by an offensive line that brings everyone back. The Mountaineers will hope that Daniels can live up to the hype in Morgantown.
Quinn Ewers, Texas Longhorns
Ewers is one of the best recruits of all time. He originally reclassified to the recruiting class of 2021 and signed on with Ohio State. It wasn’t expected that he would start right away, as C.J. Stroud won the job and had a fantastic season. Wanting to get playing time, Ewers decided to transfer back to his home state of Texas to play for the Longhorns.
In Austin, Ewers will be joined by new head coach Steve Sarkisian. Between running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Xavier Worthy, he will have some really talented weapons to utilize. The offensive line brings just two starters back, but there is enough talent on the roster that the Longhorns could compete in the Big 12, if Ewers and Sarkisian work together well.
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma Sooners
Gabriel played the first three seasons of his career at UCF, where he took over for the injured McKenzie Milton. He led the Knights to a 16-7 record in his first two seasons before getting injured in 2021. In his career, Gabriel has 8,037 passing yards, 70 touchdowns and 14 interceptions on 60.7 percent completion.
With head coach Lincoln Riley and a few quarterbacks leaving the program this offseason, Oklahoma needed Gabriel to sign on. Now that he has, there is some hope for the 2022 season. Five starters are back on offense including a playmaking wide receiver in Marvin Mims. Gabriel can have a good statistical season, but also could get Oklahoma back on track under new head coach Brent Venables.
Spencer Rattler, South Carolina Gamecocks
Rattler was expected to be one of the best quarterbacks in college football last season after a solid 2020 campaign. Things didn’t work out that way, as he was replaced. In the offseason, he chose to transfer to South Carolina to play for Shane Beamer who had spent some time with Rattler at Oklahoma. Rattler has passed for 4,595 yards, 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on 70.1 percent completion in his three years of college football.
At South Carolina, it will be important to run the ball well, as that is something that clearly made it harder on Rattler last season at Oklahoma. With six returning starters from last season, the Gamecocks will hope to improve on their 104th-ranked scoring offense. Rattler will need to live up to the hype for South Carolina to make a bowl game this season.
Kedon Slovis, Pittsburgh Panthers
Slovis is another quarterback who started his career at USC. He took over for Daniels when he was injured, then was replaced by Dart when he was injured. In three seasons of college football, Slovis passed for 7,576 yards, 58 touchdowns and 24 interceptions on 68.4 percent completion.
Initially, Slovis thought he was going to be joined by star wide receiver Jordan Addison, who won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s best receiver in 2021. Addison had other plans and transferred to USC. Slovis still has seven returning starters to work with in 2022. He’ll have big shoes to fill, as Kenny Pickett had the team scoring 41.4 points per game last season, which was good enough for fourth in the country.
Caleb Williams, USC Trojans
Williams might have the biggest impact of a transferring player this year after starting his career at Oklahoma. He started off last season backing up Rattler, but was thrust into action when things didn’t go as planned. Williams passed for 1,912 yards, 21 touchdowns and four interceptions on 64.5 percent completion.
Following the season, he chose to follow his old coach to USC. The Trojans only have five returning starters back on offense, but they hit the transfer portal hard. They brought in Addison and former Oregon running back Travis Dye. There is a huge likelihood that the Trojans improve on their 28.7 points per game from 2021. If they do, competing in the Pac-12 North is a possibility.
Cameron Ward, Washington State Cougars
Ward isn’t the biggest name for quarterback transfers yet, but he certainly after some football is played. He is transferring in from FCS-level Incarnate Word, where he passed for 4,648 yards, 47 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 65.1 percent completion. One of the reasons Ward joined Washington State is that his head coach from Incarnate Word, Eric Morris, is now the offensive coordinator for the Cougars.
Ward will only have four returning starters to work with. His passing and ability to extend plays with his legs could lead to a big season regardless. He could play his way into being an early 2023 NFL Draft pick. Washington State is projected to finish near the bottom of the Pac-12, but Ward could change their fortunes if he lives up to the hype.
Other Notable Quarterback Transfers
Harrison Bailey, UNLV Rebels- Things didn’t work out for Bailey at Tennessee. With his talent level, he could put up some serious numbers at UNLV.
Connor Bazelak, Indiana Hoosiers- Bazelak has passed for over 5,000 yards on 66.3 percent completion in his career. He steps in as the starter at Indiana after playing at Missouri and Will need to get the most out of a team that won two games last season.
Gerry Bohanon, USF Bulls- Bohanon lost the starting quarterback job to Blake Shapen, even after leading the Bears to a New Year’s Six Bowl last year. He will battle with Timmy McClain for the starting job, but should win the job on a team that has a lot of veteran players.
Charlie Brewer, Liberty Flames- Brewer played at Baylor a couple of seasons ago, before playing at Utah last season. He now replaces Malik Willis, who was drafted by the Tennessee Titans. The Flames will likely take a step back in his absence, but Brewer can help them potentially make a bowl game.
Braxton Burmeister, San Diego State Aztecs- Burmeister has played at Oregon and Virginia Tech in his career, building up a reputation for his speed along the way. The Aztecs lost a lot from their team that won 12 games in 2021, so Burmeister will have a lot on his plate.
Zach Calzada, Auburn Tigers- After starting last season for Texas A&M and getting hurt, Calzada stayed in the SEC West with Auburn. He will battle it out with T.J. Finley for the starting job.
Chevan Cordeiro, San Jose State Spartans- Cordiero was one of many players who left the Hawaii program this offseason. After passing for over 6,000 yards, he will have a big challenge getting the Spartans to a bowl game.
Jayden Daniels, LSU Tigers- Arizona State has had a lot of players transfer out and longtime starter Daniels was one of the more notable ones. At LSU, he will battle it out with Myles Brennan for playing time under new head coach Brian Kelly.
Jayden De Laura, Arizona Wildcats- De Laura decided to stay in the conference after transferring out of Washington State. At Arizona, things don’t look great in the short term, but De Laura could help the program grow, as he is just a sophomore.
Tommy DeVito, Illinois Fighting Illini- DeVito was a highly-ranked recruit who chose to go to Syracuse. He is now with the Fighting Illini where he will have just four returning starters joining him on the offense.
Jarret Doege, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers- Doege has played at both Bowling Green and West Virginia in his career. Now he joins the Hilltoppers hoping to keep the pass-happy offense going after Bailey Zappe entered the NFL.
Layne Hatcher, Texas State Bobcats- Hatcher joins Texas State from Arkansas State. The prospects don’t look good in 2022 for the Bobcats, but Hatcher is just a junior.
Gunnar Holmberg, Florida International Panthers- At Duke, Holmberg had a rough year as the starter in 2021. He now joins the Panthers who won just one game and have five returning starters. Holmberg will have to carry the team if they are going to have any success.
Emory Jones, Arizona State Sun Devils- Jones was expected to be the next man up for Florida. Things went awry and the Gators decided to go with Anthony Richardson. There was a huge void at Arizona State, which gives Jones the opportunity to play, but how many wins the Sun Devils get will probably be relatively low.
Max Johnson, Texas A&M Aggies- A season after leading LSU to a win over Texas A&M, Johnson now joins his brother, Jake, as an Aggie. He will have to win the starting job over Haynes King, who started plenty of games last season. Quarterback is the biggest question mark for the Aggies as things currently stand.
Bo Nix, Oregon Ducks- Nix had an up-and-down time at Auburn and decided to transfer to Oregon. He will have to beat out Ty Thompson for the job.
Andrew Peasley, Wyoming Cowboys- Peasley transferred from Utah State to Wyoming and is set to take over from Levi Williams who transferred from Wyoming to Utah State (Williams is projected to sit behind Logan Bonner for the Aggies). The Cowboys have a very young team, but are set up well for the 2023 season with Peasley.
Michael Penix Jr., Washington Huskies- Unfortunately, Penix couldn’t stop getting injured at Indiana. Washington hasn’t had good quarterback play in a long time and Penix can move the sticks with his legs or arm if he is healthy.
Jack Plummer, California Golden Bears- Over the last three seasons, Plummer has received some playing time at Purdue. At Cal, he brings experience to a young offense.
Ta’Quan Roberson, Connecticut Huskies- Filling in for the injured Sean Clifford didn’t go so well for Roberson last season at Penn State. He is now at UConn and will hope his dual-threat abilities can make an impact.
Casey Thompson, Nebraska Cornhuskers- After playing decently for Texas last season, Thompson transferred to Nebraska to make room for Ewers. He takes over for Adrian Martinez and is expected to help Scott Frost make his first bowl game as head coach.
Kyle Vantrease, Georgia Southern Eagles- Vantrease has been successful at Buffalo and now will be in charge of getting Clay Helton‘s offense going at Georgia Southern.
Grant Wells, Virginia Tech- Wells put up some big numbers for Marshall the last two seasons. He now takes over for the Hokies who have 13 total returning starters. If Wells plays well, they could win a few more than the six games they did last season.
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