College football’s musical chairs among quarterback transfers hasn’t yet stopped.
More than a dozen FBS quarterbacks are on the move, and three teams that played in the College Football Playoff this past season — Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame — saw former starters transfer out.
Having patience, learning the offense and waiting your turn is no longer the modus operandi in major college football. Nearly every five-star quarterback expects to start sooner rather than later, and they’ll find somewhere else to play if that’s not the case.
There will be plenty of familiar names wearing new uniforms in 2019. Here are the top quarterbacks who will play — or are hoping to play — for new teams this coming season:
1. Jalen Hurts (Alabama to Oklahoma)
The past two quarterbacks who transferred to Oklahoma — Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray — won Heisman Trophies and guided the Sooners to the College Football Playoff. Those two are considered stronger passers than Hurts, but he wasn’t the first freshman to start at quarterback for Nick Saban by accident. Hurts went 26-2 as a starter, set an Alabama quarterback record with 23 rushing touchdowns and came off the bench to save the Tide in a 35-28 victory over Georgia in the 2018 SEC championship game. Few coaches handle quarterbacks better than OU’s Lincoln Riley, and there’s enough talent returning for Hurts to have big success in his only season with the Sooners.
2. Kelly Bryant (Clemson to Missouri)
Like Hurts, Bryant lost his starting job to a hotshot freshman, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence. And like Hurts, Bryant has a proven track record as a winner, guiding the Tigers to a 12-2 record and a CFP spot in his first season as a starter in 2017. He had the unenviable task of replacing Deshaun Watson and handled the pressure well. Bryant doesn’t have the strongest arm, and there won’t be as many good skill players surrounding him at Missouri. But he should be accurate enough to have success in coordinator Derek Dooley’s offense, which figures to lean on the run game a lot more than it did with Drew Lock under center.
3. Jacob Eason (Georgia to Washington)
Eason, a former five-star recruit, transferred from Georgia to Washington the old-fashioned way, sitting out this past season after losing his starting job to Jake Fromm because of injury in 2017. The fourth-year junior started 12 games as a freshman at Georgia in 2016, passing for 2,430 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions. His arm strength will rival any quarterback in the FBS, and his 6-foot-6 frame allows him to see the field extremely well. Eason is a heavy favorite to replace four-year starter Jake Browning this coming season, and the Huskies bring back just about everybody but Browning and tailback Myles Gaskin on offense.
4. Justin Fields (Georgia to Ohio State)
Fields, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2018 ESPN 300, left Georgia after playing sparingly behind starter Fromm this past season. There are still unanswered questions about his availability this coming season; his attorney, Thomas Mars, is expected to file a hardship waiver appeal with the NCAA, asking for Fields to be ruled eligible in 2019. If the waiver is not granted, he’ll have to sit out this season. Fields might be the most physically talented quarterback who changed schools in this cycle. Fields has tremendous mobility and exceptional arm strength, and UGA coaches believed he had a very high ceiling. It’s probably unfair to judge him by his performance with the Bulldogs, since he was used so sporadically.
5. Brandon Wimbush (Notre Dame to UCF)
Wimbush started 12 games at Notre Dame in 2017 and the first three games this past season. But then he lost the starting job to Ian Book, who guided the Irish to a 12-0 record in the regular season and a CFP appearance. Wimbush played well in another start late in the season, when he replaced injured Book in a 42-13 victory over Florida State on Nov. 10. He threw three touchdowns with two interceptions to go with 68 rushing yards. With UCF star McKenzie Milton not expected back in 2019 because of a serious leg injury, Wimbush will battle rising sophomore Darriel Mack Jr. for the starting job. Mack started three games for UCF in Milton’s absence last season, throwing for 619 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. Wimbush isn’t the most accurate passer — he completed 49.5 percent of his passes in 2017 — but he’s mobile and experienced.
6. Shane Buechele (Texas to TBD)
Buechele, who started 19 games for Texas before losing the job to Sam Ehlinger this past season, is exploring whether to leave for another school as a graduate transfer. In 2016, Buechele became the first Texas true freshman since Bobby Layne in 1944 to start at quarterback in the season opener, and he’s the only true freshman quarterback in school history to start the first two games of his career. Buechele started every game for the Longhorns in 2016, throwing for 2,958 yards with 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He’s a physical runner and adequate passer but was hampered by injuries the past two seasons.
7. Ben Hicks (SMU to Arkansas)
Hicks, who is SMU’s all-time leading passer, is transferring to Arkansas, where he will be reunited with former Mustangs coach Chad Morris. Hicks started two seasons under Morris at SMU and flourished in his hurry-up, spread offense. He set school records for career passing yards (9,081 yards), passing touchdowns (71), total offense (8,977 yards), completions (718) and touchdowns responsible for (74), while starting 33 games for the Mustangs. He wasn’t as effective under current SMU coach Sonny Dykes and briefly lost his starting job this past season. The Hogs are expected to lose both of their quarterbacks from last season — Cole Kelley and Ty Storey, who combined for 11 starts during a 2-10 campaign.
8. Hunter Johnson (Clemson to Northwestern)
Johnson, who fell behind Bryant and Lawrence at Clemson, transferred to Northwestern and sat out the 2018 season. He was the No. 1 pocket passer and No. 21 overall player in the ESPN 300 in 2017. Johnson, who was named Mr. Football in Indiana as a senior, played in seven games as a freshman at Clemson, completing 77.8 percent of his passes for 234 yards with two touchdowns. He is the favorite to replace departed starter Clayton Thorson and has three years of eligibility remaining.
9. Tate Martell (Ohio State to Miami)
Martell, a former four-star recruit from Las Vegas, transferred from Ohio State to Miami after Fields joined the Buckeyes. Martell is also expected to apply to the NCAA for a hardship waiver, which would allow him to play for the Hurricanes this coming season. He was the No. 6 dual-threat quarterback in the 2017 ESPN 300. Playing behind starter Dwayne Haskins in 2018, Martell completed 23 of 28 passes for 269 yards with one touchdown. He also ran 22 times for 128 yards with two scores.
10. Josh Jackson (Virginia Tech to TBD)
Jackson announced earlier this week he’s also exploring whether to move to another school as a graduate transfer. He is scheduled to graduate in May and would have two years of eligibility remaining. Jackson was the Hokies’ starting quarterback as a redshirt freshman in 2017, throwing for 2,991 yards with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He started the first three games in 2018, but suffered a leg injury against Old Dominion in the third game and didn’t play again. He might be able to petition the NCAA for a medical redshirt, which would leave him with three years of remaining eligibility.