Familiar faces in new places: Notable QBs who have transferred ahead of the 2021 season
With players immediately eligible to play after a transfer and an extra year of eligibility available for all athletes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a ton of player movement this offseason.
And the position that had the most notable player movement was quarterback. There are a lot of QBs who you've seen play college football over the past couple seasons at new schools in 2021. Here's where some familiar faces are now playing ahead of the 2021 season.
Appalachian State QB Chase Brice (from Duke)
The former Clemson and Duke QB is the favorite to win the starting job for the Mountaineers as they try to recapture the Sun Belt from Coastal Carolina. Brice threw for 2,170 yards at Duke in 2020 but completed less than 55% of his passes and had 10 TDs to 15 interceptions.
Arkansas State QB James Blackman (from Florida State)
Blackman is entering his fifth season of college football and his first at Arkansas State, where he will compete with Layne Hatcher for the starting QB job under new coach Butch Jones. Blackman played in 29 games at Florida State and threw for over 2,000 yards in 2017 after Deondre Francois’ injury and in 2019. He threw 43 TDs to 26 interceptions with the Seminoles.
Florida Atlantic QB N’Kosi Perry (from Miami)
With D’Eriq King established as the starter at Miami, Perry moved up the Atlantic Coast to Boca Raton. His playing time decreased in his three years at Miami and he completed just 52% of his passes in 24 games with the Hurricanes.
Florida State QB McKenzie Milton (from UCF)
The former UCF star moved to FSU for his final season of college eligibility after rehabbing from an awful knee injury over the past two seasons. We expect Milton to beat out Jordan Travis for the starting job in Tallahassee — the big question is about his health. Milton completed 62% of his passes in three seasons at UCF and threw for 8,683 yards with 72 touchdowns.
Louisiana Tech QB Austin Kendall (from West Virginia)
A former Oklahoma transfer, Kendall was West Virginia’s primary QB in 2019 as he threw for 1,989 yards in nine games. He played in just two games in 2020 after the arrival of Jarret Doege to Morgantown and should be the starter for Skip Holtz’s team.
Louisville QB Shai Werts (from Georgia Southern)
Werts is the only player on this list who is changing positions at his new school. The former option QB at Georgia Southern will be a wide receiver at Louisville with Malik Cunningham entrenched as the starter. Werts played in 46 games over four seasons at Georgia Southern, rushing for 3,083 yards and scoring 68 total TDs.
Memphis QB Grant Gunnell (from Arizona)
Gunnell has the chance to succeed Brady White at Memphis after two seasons with the Wildcats and an offseason coaching change. Gunnell played in 12 games under coach Kevin Sumlin and completed 67% of his passes for 1,864 yards and 15 TDs to three interceptions. He was the only Arizona QB to throw a touchdown pass in the school’s abbreviated 2020 season.
Michigan QB Alan Bowman (from Texas Tech)
It’s not hard to see how Bowman is Michigan’s starter to open the season. But can he stay healthy? He played in just 19 games across three seasons at Texas Tech. When he did play, he averaged 7.4 yards an attempt and completed two-thirds of his passes.
Northwestern QB Ryan Hilinski (from South Carolina)
Hilinski arrives at Northwestern after he played in just two games in 2020 at South Carolina following the arrivals of Collin Hill and Luke Doty. Hilinski completed 58% of his passes for 2,357 yards and 11 TDs and five interceptions as a freshman in 2019 while also dealing with a knee injury.
Notre Dame QB Jack Coan (from Wisconsin)
After Graham Mertz became the starter at Wisconsin following Coan’s preseason foot injury in 2020, Coan heads to Notre Dame where he’s the favorite to take over for longtime starter Ian Book. Can has been an efficient passer for Wisconsin as he nearly completed 70% of his passes in 2019 and had more than three touchdowns for every interception.
New Mexico QB Terry Wilson (from Kentucky)
Wilson arrives after two-plus seasons as Kentucky’s starting QB. Wilson played in just two games in 2019 because of a knee injury but came back to play in 10 games in 2020 in the Wildcats run-based offense. Wilson has averaged just 6.6 yards per attempt in his Kentucky career but has scored 10 rushing touchdowns and rushed for over 1,000 yards in 25 games.
Rice QB Luke McCaffrey (from Nebraska)
McCaffrey spent two seasons at Nebraska and was used more as a rusher than a thrower. He averaged six yards a carry in 11 games with the Huskers and rushed for 364 yards and three TDs during 2020. He should have every chance to be the starter at Rice.
SMU QB Tanner Mordecai (from Oklahoma)
Spencer Rattler’s backup moves south down I-35 to take over for Shane Buechele in Dallas. Mordecai saw action in 12 games across three seasons at Oklahoma, though he threw just 70 passes in those appearances. A former highly-touted recruit, he should keep the SMU offense humming. The Mustangs return nine starters on that side of the ball.
South Alabama QB Jake Bentley (from Utah)
The former South Carolina and Utah QB is in his sixth season of college football. Bentley played four seasons at South Carolina and transferred after the start of the 2019 season. He spent 2020 at Utah where he was 77-of-124 passing for 882 yards and six TDs and six interceptions with the Utes. He’ll look to finish his career on a high note in the Sun Belt.
Tennessee QBs Joe Milton (from Michigan) and Hendon Hooker (Virginia Tech)
Michigan’s opening day starter in 2020 split time with Cade McNamara as the year went on and is now part of a three-player competition to start for Josh Heupel at Tennessee. Milton was 80-of-141 passing for 1,077 yards in six games but scored just five total touchdowns.
Hooker comes to Tennessee from Virginia Tech where he was productive in both 2019 and 2020. Hooker rushed for over 600 yards in 2020 and completed 65% of his passes.
Texas Tech QB Tyler Shough (from Oregon)
Shough spent most of the 2020 season as Oregon’s QB but lost playing time in the Fiesta Bowl to Boston College transfer Anthony Brown. With Brown back in 2021, Shough moves over to Texas Tech where he’ll be competing with Henry Colombi for the starting job.
UNLV QB Tate Martell (from Miami)
The former Netflix docs-series star signed with Ohio State and transferred to Miami ahead of the 2019 season. Martell threw just one pass in two seasons with the Hurricanes and didn’t play at all in 2020. He’s now back in his hometown of Las Vegas where he aims to recapture the magic that made him a top recruit.
Utah QB Charlie Brewer (from Baylor)
Brewer played 44 games across four seasons at Baylor and was one of the better QBs in the Big 12 during that time. He has a career completion percentage of 64$ and has thrown 65 TDs to 28 interceptions. He’s going to compete with Cameron Rising to take over at QB for the Utes.
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