Transfer portal update: Which quarterbacks are still available, which teams need a QB

On By Littum

The winter transfer portal window technically closes on Saturday, although players on teams still active — either in bowl games or in the College Football Playoff — have another five days after their season ends to submit the paperwork.

There are still plenty of big names available, especially in the quarterback market. Some are notable for production on the field at the collegiate level and some for their recruiting coming out of high school.

Let’s take a look at some of the notable names and some of the programs that are still on the market.

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The late, productive addition

Aguilar was a senior this season but will be able to return for another year due to the NCAA creating a blanket waiver for the 2025-26 season for any current player who spent a season in junior college, and whose eligibility was set to expire.

Aguilar, who entered the portal Tuesday, was the 2023 Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and passed for 6,760 yards, 56 touchdowns and 24 interceptions in two seasons with the Mountaineers. He has rushed for 456 yards and five scores in those two years.

App State made a coaching change after the 2024 season, firing Shawn Clark and replacing him with former South Carolina offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains.

According to a source with knowledge of the recruiting process, UCLA, Cal, Wake Forest and Ole Miss are among the schools that have shown some interest in the Northern California native.

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The former high-profile recruits

Each of those quarterbacks was a top-50 prospect nationally in their respective recruiting cycles. Huard (2021) and Nelson (2023) are former five-star prospects.

Huard will be looking for his fourth program after spending the 2024 season in Utah. He didn’t see the field for the Utes — though they cycled through several quarterbacks — and had season-ending surgery in October. He started one game as a true freshman at Washington and threw for 2,247 yards with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his one season at Cal Poly.

Huard and Thompson signed in the 2021 cycle and were supposed to be the future of the Washington-Oregon rivalry. Then came coaching changes, and Kalen DeBoer and Dan Lanning recruited over both quarterbacks with more established transfers.

Thompson transferred to Tulane last offseason, but lost the competition to redshirt freshman Darian Mensah, who played well and has since transferred to Duke. Thompson started the Gasparilla Bowl against Florida and completed just 11 of 29 attempts for 125 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Tulane signed transfer portal veteran TJ Finley, and Thompson is back on the market.

Nelson is another big-time recruit who was expected to win a starting job at the G5 level (Boise State) this season, but he lost a competition to Maddux Madsen, who has several years of eligibility remaining. Nelson, who spent one season at USC, entered the portal after the Broncos won the Mountain West title and has visited UTEP. There hasn’t been much buzz about his recruitment other than that.

Brown has been at Ohio State for the last three seasons and was the backup quarterback for the last two. He’s only attempted 48 career passes, so there’s still an element of mystery to him. Brown will remain at Ohio State through the postseason. There were rumors on social media that he had committed to Cal, who will replace Indiana-bound Fernando Mendoza, but Brown shot them down.

The multi-hours

Finn, McNamara and Van Dyke were supposed to be the answer to quarterback woes at their recent programs, but it never materialized for any of them for various reasons. Van Dyke suffered a torn ACL in September, limiting his time as Wisconsin’s starter to just three games. The offensive coordinator who brought him in, Phil Longo, was fired late in the season.

Finn was one of the more hyped portal additions last year and opened the season as the starter at Baylor. He was limited by injury, but Sawyer Robertson proved to be the better quarterback for the Bears. So Finn, who was named the top player in the MAC while at Toledo in 2023, is seeking a medical hardship waiver for a seventh season and a new home.

McNamara was also limited by injury at Iowa, but also wasn’t as effective when he played the last two years. McNamara was Michigan’s starting quarterback in 2021 when it made its first trip to the College Football Playoff.

Ashford has some starting experience (nine games at Auburn in 2022) but attempted just 59 passes over the past two seasons at Auburn and South Carolina. His next destination will be his fourth school.

The fire starter

No one created more discussion (or fury?) than Sluka when he left UNLV after three games and declared his intention to enter the Portal following an NIL dispute. It was crazy to see a quarterback leave a team with a conference title and playoff hopes in the heart of the season. It doesn’t help Sluka’s case that the UNLV offense looked fine — or better? — with Hajj-Malik Williams at quarterback.

Sluka reportedly visited Liberty and was scheduled to visit Memphis, but the Tigers have added Nevada transfer Brendon Lewis.

Other names to see

EJ Warner (Rice via Temple): Warner has passed for 8,814 yards and 58 touchdowns (and 37 interceptions) over the past three seasons.

Emmett Brown (San Jose State via Washington State): Brown lost his starting job to Walker Eget midseason, but was productive (1,621 passing yards, 16 touchdowns, five interceptions) when he played in the first half of the year.

Kadin Semonza (Ball State): Semonza performed well as a redshirt freshman, throwing for 2,904 yards, 25 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Alex Orji (Michigan): Orji isn’t much of a passer, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if some run-heavy programs show interest in him.

Pierce Clarkson (Louisville): Clarkson was a four-star signee in the 2023 cycle and was considered a significant recruit for the Cardinals. But Jeff Brohm clearly never felt comfortable turning the offense over to him, signing three transfers over the past three offseasons. Clarkson is still an unknown commodity.

Hauss Hejny (TCU): Hejny was a four-star recruit in the class of 2024 who spent the regular season as a reserve at TCU. There was plenty of intrigue about him as a recruit, so the market for him could be interesting.

Maverick McIvor (Abilene Christian via Texas Tech): McIvor played the last three seasons at the FCS level and passed for 8,035 yards, 61 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. He spent three seasons at Texas Tech before that, but did not play. Programs value experience, so there could be some interest in the (very) veteran quarterback.

Programs to watch out for

Ole Miss: The Rebels have a young quarterback with promise in Austin Simmons, but have still been involved in several different transfers this cycle.

UCLA: Bruins starter Ethan Garbers has no eligibility remaining and backup Justyn Martin transferred to Maryland. Former four-star commit Madden Iamaleava flipped to Arkansas during the early signing period. UCLA has a gaping hole at QB. As mentioned earlier, Aguilar could be a match here.

Cabbage: The Golden Bears lost Mendoza to Indiana. Cal also hired Bryan Harsin as its offensive coordinator, and he’ll likely have his own guy at the position.

Washington State: The Cougars haven’t had a problem finding a quarterback – it’s holding on to the quarterback that has been the problem (first Cam Ward, then John Mateer). First, the Cougars must name their next head coach after Jake Dickert left for Wake Forest. Then we’ll see what direction they go at QB.

Miami: The Hurricanes have Emory Williams, but reportedly tried to get involved in Mateer’s recruitment. So Miami will pursue transfer quarterbacks when the right opportunity presents itself.

Syracuse: There is talk of Kyle McCord coming back for another season. It’s unclear how likely that is, but if he doesn’t return, the Orange would have an opening for the starting job. LSU backup Rickie Collins, a former four-star prospect, recently committed to Syracuse.

Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers lost starter Caden Veltkamp to FAU as well as Finley to Tulane. Western Kentucky has featured one of the better offenses in the country over the past four years despite constant turnover at coordinator. A talented quarterback can go there and expect to produce.

(Photo by Devin Brown: Adam Cairns/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)