The college football transfer portal continues to add numbers, but there is one position in particular that is getting a lot of attention: Quarterback. Quarterback is the most important position in any team sport. Without a good quarterback, it’s nearly impossible to be successful. Even Navy and Army struggled this year with their quarterbacks not being as effective as they’ve been in recent years, and they only use one-dimensional runners.
Unfortunately, the quarterback is also probably the most difficult position to find elite talent in. To have an effective QB, oftentimes a player needs years of experience at the college level. Look at the best quarterbacks this past season, and none of them were true freshmen. Recruiting a QB out of high school and hoping for success is just not very possible. To be effective, the transfer portal has to be part of the equation.
For immediate success, teams are going to the transfer portal. Unfortunately, most of the big names are already taken up and have their huge NIL deals. But not every QB is gone. Here are the Top 5 Remaining.
5. Bronson Barron – Western Kentucky
Bronson Barron was a quarterback for FCS Weber State for two years before transferring to Western Kentucky this past season. While at Weber State, he was a decent QB who put together 2,259 yards passing and 202 yards rushing his sophomore season. He led the Wildcats to a 10-3 record overall and protected the ball pretty well throwing for 21 touchdowns to only seven interceptions.
Barron isn’t the kind of player who will lead a team to a CFP birth, but he is experienced and can be a great QB to have in any locker room. It also helps that he knows how to win. It may sound weird, but having someone who knows how to win can be very helpful for a team who is struggling with confidence.
Prediction: Mountain West school with a 2022 losing record.
4. Jarrett Guest – Coastal Carolina
There are a few reasons why Jarrett Guest should be a top target in the transfer portal. First, he played behind Grayson McCall for the past few seasons. McCall became a CCU legend and if Guest learned anything from McCall, it will make him a pretty good quarterback.
Next, Guest started two games last season and put up solid stats, completing 44 of 61 passes (71%) for seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He also has the ability to run, although he is not a run-first kind of quarterback. Guest should have two years of eligibility remaining, and considering he is from Georgia, he may end up going to one of the smaller Georgia schools and making a case to be a starter.
Prediction: Either Georgia Southern or Georgia State
3. Tanner Bailey – South Carolina
Sometimes, talent from the high school level to the college level just doesn’t translate the way that players and coaches hope. Early returns show that this may be the case for Tanner Bailey. Coming out of high school, Bailed was ranked as the 11th highest-rated pro-style quarterback in the country. Despite this, for the past two years, Bailey hasn’t really had the opportunity to play. He played in one game and got sacked and fumbled the ball, but with such a small sample size, it’s tough to really rate him.
Bailey has all the potential to be a great quarterback, and he is definitely flying under the radar. If he wants to start immediately, he will likely have plenty of G5 options, however, if he wants to stay at the P5 level, he may find a backup role in the ACC.
Prediction: South Alabama or Backup at Georgia Tech
2. Jordan McCloud – James Madison
James Madison stole the G5 headlines this year after starting off the season undefeated. The big dramatic story was that despite their record, they weren’t going to be bowl-eligible because of NCAA rules prohibiting teams jumping from the FCS to FBS level to play in a bowl game unless there are not enough bowl-eligible teams. Luckily for JMU, this was the case and they got to play in a bowl.
Leading the Dukes was Jordan McCloud. McCloud has had quite the career transferring from South Florida to Arizona, to James Madison, and now to a new school. McCloud will be a senior this upcoming season, but his experience will be something that many teams will be willing to take a chance on.
This past season, McCloud threw for 3,657 yards, 35 touchdowns, and only 10 interceptions. Of all the available QB’s remaining in the portal, McCloud has by far the most success and best statistics from last year. The biggest question will be his buy-in. Having already been at three schools in four years, there are questions to how he will react if faced with adversity.
Projections show he will be going to Auburn out of the transfer portal, but until anything is official, he is still considered an available transfer portal player.
Prediction: Jordan McCloud should announce his intentions to go to Auburn.
1. Drew Pyne – Arizona State
Drew Pyne has quite an interesting situation. After playing at Notre Dame and having a successful career, he realized that Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman was going to take his job as the starter. He decided to transfer to Arizona State, which turned out to be a QB graveyard this season with four different quarterbacks getting a real shot to play, and all four of them playing pretty terribly.
Despite the terrible season, Drew Pyne put enough of a good resume while at Notre Dame to be a very attractive option for many teams. The only issue is that Pyne is currently back at Notre Dame working on his degree, and while he is there, he obviously can’t be signed with another team.
Reports show that Pyne will commit to another school, likely in June, after he has his degree. Until then, teams may be reaching out, but he won’t make any announcements for a while in terms of the transfer portal.
Prediction: P5 school that realizes they need a reliable QB after Spring Practices
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