Quarterback transfers becoming an epidemic in college football
It’s the millennial generation. Today’s college graduates want to be CEO on their first day of work.
The same can be said for quarterbacks. The days of paying their dues for a few years before earning a chance to start seem to be gone. If they’re not named the starter, it’s time to find a new spot.
Elijah Staley, formerly of Mississippi State, is the latest signal caller to announce his plans to depart the SEC. He and three others had been getting first-team reps in fall camp as the potential replacement for Dak Prescott — big shoes to fill, of course — for coach Dan Mullen in Starkville.
Presumably, Staley was losing the battle to Nick Fitzgerald, who will most certainly be No. 1 now.
As the primary backup to Prescott in 2015, Fitzgerald completed 11-of-14 passes for 235 yards with 3 touchdowns in 0 interceptions. He did little more than perform mop-up duty late in games, though.
Staley was on the field even less, hitting on 3-of-5 throws for 51 yards with 1 TD and 0 INTs. Most of the MSU arrows in the wake of Prescott’s graduation to the NFL — what a preseason debut he had, by the way — pointed to Fitzgerald being next in line. At best, Staley was a dark-horse candidate.
But Fitzgerald, just a sophomore, is hardly a lock to be the unquestioned starter for three years.
Maybe he doesn’t play well. Perhaps he suffers an injury. Had Staley only stuck around, there was a reasonable chance that he would have gotten meaningful snaps with a game on the line at some point.
However, instead of being patient and waiting for an opportunity to present itself, Staley decided to take his ball and go home. Where he winds up next is still to be determined. Another FBS school, an FCS program, JUCO — one way or another, he’ll get a new coach, a new offense and new teammates.
And he was just a three-pick outing or a rolled ankle from getting his shot to start for MSU.
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This column isn’t being written as a criticism of Staley. Mullen’s (above) cut-and-paste answers when asked about the young man’s choice shed little light on the situation. There might be more to the story.
That being said, it’s undeniable that quarterbacks transferring from one school to the next is more common than it used to be. All 14 SEC programs have had some degree of transfer drama at the game’s most important position recently. Coaches may never get this horse back in the barn.
At Alabama, Jake Coker won it all after departing Florida State. Alec Morris left for North Texas.
Austin Allen earned the job at Arkansas in spring practice after waiting behind his older brother, Brandon Allen. But he had to outduel Ricky Town, a USC refugee highly recruited out of high school.
On The Plains, the presumptive starter is John Franklin III, who started out with the Seminoles — he and Coker overlapped, actually — and then played for a year at famed East Mississippi Community College. Auburn hopes that he’s another Nick Marshall. Marshall himself was a retread from Georgia.
Will Grier and Treon Harris both left Florida. Luke Del Rio and Austin Appleby each came there from elsewhere.
As for Georgia, the incumbent starter is Greyson Lambert. He began his college career at Virginia. Faton Bauta, who started one game for the Bulldogs last season, is now out west at Colorado State.
Patrick Towles, who was supposed to be the next great quarterback at Kentucky, lost his job a year ago to fellow four-star signee Drew Barker. But instead of working his way back up the depth chart, he made a beeline for Boston College. Reese Phillips and Luke Wright also exited Lexington lately.
LSU already saw Anthony Jennings (below) leave Baton Rouge. It’s possible that Danny Etling is next to go.
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DeVante Kincade, stuck between the outgoing Chad Kelly and the incoming Shea Patterson at Ole Miss, is now at Grambling State. Remember that Kelly went from Clemson to EMCC before arriving in Oxford.
Eddie Printz left Missouri for Texas State. Connor Mitch waved goodbye to South Carolina for James Madison. Sheriron Jones had one foot out the door at Tennessee, headed for Colorado, but changed his mind and decided to stay in Knoxville. Johnny McCrary said no to Vanderbilt and yes to Mercer.
But nowhere in America did the quarterback turnstile get worn out faster than the one at Texas A&M.
Two years ago, Kenny Hill was an instant Heisman Trophy contender taking over for Johnny Manziel. A quick fall from grace saw him hightail it out of College Station. He may be QB1 this season at TCU.
Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray shared the starting job a year ago for the Aggies. They apparently got tired of fighting each other, so Allen left for Houston and Murray left for Oklahoma within days of each other. Jake Hubenak — original school? Oklahoma State — made his one start in the bowl game.
Coach Kevin Sumlin essentially flip-flopped Murray for Trevor Knight, who started with the Sooners.
(Continue reading once you catch your breath, please.)
Quarterback is a unique position. It’s not like tailback, where one guy starts but others more than likely help shoulder the load. Shuffling passers in and out of the huddle is a recipe for disaster.
One criticism of nowadays’ youth is that entitlement has run off the rails. It doesn’t matter if a player is a five-star phenom destined for the NFL or a three-star overachiever lucky to get an SEC offer, every player has a highlight reel — hello, Hudl — making him look like the next big thing.
Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Then he gets to college and realizes there are three other QBs in town every bit as good or better.
Only one quarterback can start. He’s going to get all the first-team reps in practice, all the best coaching from the staff and all the praise on campus if he’s throwing TDs and directing victories.
It takes a special player to be a backup. It takes a special player to prepare like he’s No. 1 even though he’s clearly No. 2. It takes a special player to go from superstar in high school to scout-team scrub in college — many can’t handle it. That’s why we’re seeing so much turnover these days.
But competition makes us all better, even if it means fewer opportunities to bask in the spotlight.
It wasn’t that long ago when Staley, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound southpaw, was being called a Cam Newton clone. Newton, last season’s NFL MVP, went from Florida to Blinn Community College then to Auburn.
His path to the pros was far from conventional, though. Tom Brady, in the conversation for best QB of all time, was third string as a freshman at Michigan, second string as a sophomore and then the No. 1 as a junior. Even as a senior, he had to fend off Drew Henson, who allegedly had more talent.
Brady earned every snap he took in Ann Arbor, wasn’t given a thing, and still plays that way today.
He also had a chance to master the offense run by the Wolverines from being in it year after year. Memorizing new schemes and playing with new weapons mid-career can make the learning curve steeper.
Many coaches in the SEC are yet to name a starter for this coming season — Alabama’s Nick Saban is among them. If he had announced that Cooper Bateman was his guy at the end of spring practice, it’s possible that David Cornwell and/or Blake Barnett may have bailed and depleted Saban’s depth chart.
Spin the QB carousel again. Staley is next to hop on board. Let’s hope for him he doesn’t get sick.
John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
