The transfer portal has completely changed College Football. Kids no longer have to sit out a year if they decide to move on from the school they’re currently at. They’re free to transfer to whatever school they feel is a better situation for them. Most of the time it’s a kid who isn’t seeing the field as much as he’d like and sees that a starter is in front of him and will be for the next year or two and figures he can play somewhere else. The Transfer Portal has given all athletics at the collegiate level a Free Agency feel. It has added another level of difficulty for coaches when it comes to their depth chart. The bright side to the Transfer Portal is when a kid enters the portal he or she doesn’t HAVE to leave. But realistically, if a kid feels they’re not playing enough, or won’t be playing enough where they’re at and goes as far as entering their name in the portal, more than likely they’re leaving for another program. But there are a few exceptions. Below I will go over a list of quarterbacks who have entered the transfer portal. Most of these kids have found new schools and one is still looking for a new school to go to.
Quinn Ewers: Left Ohio State and transferred to Texas.
No shock here. Ewers finished high school early and because Texas has some weird laws regarding the Name, Image and Likeness deals kids can get Ewers left his home state and signed with Ohio State. He then inked a 7 figure NIL deal, before he ever played a down in a collegiate game. Redshirt freshman CJ Stroud led the Buckeyes to a 10-2 record and came in 5th for the Heisman Trophy. Ewers knew he wasn’t going to see the field and transferred back to his home state. Oh, in case I didn’t say this, Ewers has yet to throw a pass in a college football game.
Dillion Gabriel: Left UCF and transferred to UCLA.
Gabriel has had a roller coaster career. He was the starting quarterback for UCF in 2019 and 2020 but this past season ended early for him. In week 3 he broke his collarbone and missed the remainder of the year. He leaves UCF after throwing for 8,037 yards, 70 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Spencer Rattler: Left Oklahoma and transferred to South Carolina.
Rattler entered the 2021 season as the Heisman Trophy favorite. A rocky start to the season allowed freshman Caleb Williams to step in and seize the starter role. Rattler hardly saw the field after that. He chose South Carolina so he can reunite with former OU assistant coach, Shane Beamer. If anyone needed a fresh start after the 2021 season it’s Rattler. He leaves Oklahoma after throwing for 4,595 yards, 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
Max Johnson: Left LSU and transferred to Texas A&M.
Johnson and the LSU Tigers had a tough year, by LSU standards. Longtime head coach Ed Orgeron was fired mid-season, just 2 years removed from a National Championship. Johnson put up good numbers for the Bayou Bengals but couldn’t put the wins together. When Orgeron was canned it opened the door for Johnson to move on. Here’s the kicker for Texas A&M getting Max Johnson, it’s a package deal, as his younger brother, Jake Johnson, is a 4-star tight end who signed a letter of intent to play his college football at Texas A&M as well. I think A&M is a good fit for Max as their head coach, Jimbo Fisher, is good at getting the most out of his quarterbacks.
Kedon Slovis: Left USC but has not committed to another school yet.
12/22/21 UPDATE: Slovis has signed with Pitt.
Slovis started the season as the starter at USC but struggled at times and eventually lost his starting job to freshman Jaxson Dart. As a freshman in 2019 Slovis showed he had what it takes to succeed at the Power 5 level as he threw for 3,502 yards with 30 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. If Slovis does transfer away from USC, he will finish his career as a Trojan with 7,576 yards, 58 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. Word over the past 24 hours is that Slovis is deciding between Notre Dame and Pitt and honestly those are two places where he should have a lot of success. The latest is he’s going to commit to Pitt later this week. If so, that would be great for Pitt…IF Coach Narduzzi hires an offensive coordinator who runs a similar system as Mark Whipple used to run at Pitt. Notre Dame runs a pass happy system as well under returning offensive coordinator Tommy Rees so the Irish would seem to be a good fit for Slovis too. But Pitt has an Ace up their sleeve, Biletnikoff Award winning WR Jordan Addison. ***UPDATE*** on 12/21/21 it’s being reported that Slovis has signed with Pitt.
Bo Nix: Left Auburn and transferred to Oregon.
Nix has been the kind of quarterback in my eyes that was really good as a freshman but didn’t get much better. He had more completions, attempts, passing yards and touchdowns his freshman year than he did any other year at Auburn. He’s considered a dual threat quarterback as he’s rushed for 869 yards and 18 touchdowns over his three seasons. He leaves Auburn with 7,251 passing yards, 39 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Nix is joining Kenny Dillingham in Oregon, who was just announced as the Ducks new offensive coordinator. Dillingham was the OC for Nix his freshman year at Auburn. Rejoining the OC that you had the most success with should be a good fit for Nix.
Casey Thompson: Left Texas and transferred to TCU.Thompson became the starter at Texas after the 3rd game of the season, replacing the ineffective Hudson Card. Thompson led the Longhorns to a few wins but struggled as the season wore on. He finishes his Texas career with 2,422 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Thompson transferring to TCU means he’s going to play for new Horned Frogs Head Coach Sonny Dykes, who runs the Air Raid offense. Thompson’s passing abilities were good at Texas, they’re about to get much better at TCU working with Dykes.