In last year’s offseason transfer portal cycle, 136 FBS scholarship quarterbacks transferred to other Division I schools. The year before, the total was 130.
This year? It’s the wildest quarterback transfer cycle we’ve seen, both in quality and in quantity. By the end of January, 148 scholarship passers had hit the portal, and the decisions each one made had far-reaching consequences.
North Carolina kicked off this cycle by choosing Texas A&M transfer
Max Johnson over
Texas Tech’s
Tyler Shough. Johnson announced his new home on Nov. 29, and
Louisville quickly picked up Shough. Both players left programs that had promising young QBs returning in 2024, making their moves relatively harmless. These days, though, it’s rarely that simple.
When 43 Power 5 programs (and counting) bring in transfer quarterbacks at the same time, many more QBs end up feeling the impact. The backups realize it’s time to leave. The committed recruits rethink their plans. The schools that lose their starter need to go find their next one.
Attempting to track all of these transactions and the domino effect they set off across college football can leave one feeling a lot like
Charlie Kelly down in the mailroom, so we went to the trouble for you. Here’s a closer look at this year’s crop of transfer quarterbacks and the tangled webs they’re weaving.
theathletic.com