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College Football

SEC QB transfer carousel creates opportunities for new arrivals

Chris Wright

By Chris Wright

Published:

Almost every SEC team will be impacted by the quarterback transfer carousel this year.

Some had quarterbacks leave, good ones. Some had quarterbacks arrive, better ones. Some had a mix of both.

Here’s a team-by-team look at the SEC quarterback transfer carousel, which has been spinning nonstop and might not be done:

Alabama

Alec Morris, a redshirt junior, wasn’t going to beat out Cooper Bateman or Blake Barnett for the starting job.

Morris announced in January he was transferring to North Texas. He’s from Texas and is eligible to play in 2016.

Arkansas

Ricky Town isn’t a new arrival — he transferred from Southern California last offseason — but he’s eligible and competing for the Razorbacks’ starting quarterback job.

Arkansas has four viable candidates to replace Brandon Allen, so the transfer carousel might not be done spinning. Austin Allen has a little bit of experience, which is more than the others. Rafe Peavey is frequently mentioned as a transfer candidate.

Auburn

JUCO arrival John Franklin III might win the Tigers’ starting job. He’s battling Jeremy Johnson and Sean White and already has wowed coach Gus Malzahn and teammates with his speed, according to AL.com.

Florida

Will Grier’s suspension ultimately led to his decision to transfer. Treon Harris will be transferred to a different meeting room as soon as he returns from a suspension.

Their situation simply created an opportunity for two transfers to claim the job. Luke Del Rio arrived in 2015 from Oregon State, and former Purdue starter Austin Appleby is a graduate transfer who arrived in time to compete this spring for the starting job.

Georgia

Georgia started a graduate transfer last season, Greyson Lambert, who returns to compete with heralded freshman Jacob Eason.

Faton Bauta, who started against Florida last season, won’t be in the mix because he transferred to Colorado State.

Kentucky

Two-year starter Patrick Towles decided to transfer after losing his job to Drew Barker late last season.

While it appears the present and future belong to Barker, he’ll have competition from two transfers. JUCO standout Stephen Johnson II will push him for the starting job this season, and former Cincinnati backup Luke Wright will join the mix for 2017.

Wright, of course, was coached by Eddie Gran and Darin Hinshaw, both of whom essentially transferred from Cincinnati to Kentucky this winter.

LSU

LSU is the most recent to lose a former starter after Anthony Jennings, who threw for 1,611 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2014, decided transferring was better than backing up Brandon Harris. Jennings is scheduled to graduate this spring, meaning he could play his final year next season.

Danny Etling, a former starter at Purdue who transferred to LSU, will battle Harris for the job, though LSU beat writer Ross Dellenger said if Etling senses he might not win it, he might graduate and transfer again.

Mississippi State

If ever there were an opportunity to go after a proven graduate transfer for a quick fix, this would have been the time. But Dan Mullen is sticking by his recruits, regardless of their experience level.

Missouri

Missouri will be without two quarterbacks from the 2015 season. Oft-suspended Maty Mauk finally has been dismissed, leaving his football future in doubt, and back-up Eddie Printz plans to transfer after graduating this spring.

It doesn’t really impact 2016 or beyond much because Drew Lock, who took over for Mauk last season, is viewed as the starter.

Ole Miss

Will former transfer Chad Kelly entrenched and five-star prospect Shea Patterson enrolled, snaps would have been scarce for DeVante Kincaid, who announced in January he was transferring to Grambling State.

Last summer, Kincaid competed but lost the job to Kelly, who arrived from junior college after beginning his college career at Clemson.

South Carolina

New coaches sometimes, OK, frequently, lead to departures, but not much has changed in the Gamecocks’ quarterback depth chart.

The big addition was freshman Brandon McIlwain, a two-sport athlete who already is enrolled and will compete for the starting job.

With so many quarterbacks on the roster, and McIlwain’s ceiling apparently so high, it’s a situation worth monitoring after spring ball concludes.

Tennessee

Does Sheriron Jones count? And, if so, how many times? He transferred to Colorado, quickly changed his mind. NCAA rules allow that as long as the athlete decides within 14 days.

Jones will assume his backup role to star starter Joshua Dobbs.

Texas A&M

No team has taken more rides than the Aggies.

The Aggies have had three starters transfer in the past two seasons. First Kenny Hill, followed this offseason by Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray.

That might decimate some teams, but it just might unify the Aggies, who brought in Trevor Knight from Oklahoma to compete for the starting job against Jake Hubenak, who started his college career at Oklahoma State.

Vanderbilt

Former starter Johnny McCrary wasn’t the entire problem, but he wasn’t the answer, either.

McCrary decided to transfer in January and reportedly was working toward graduating in May, thus making him eligible to play elsewhere in 2016.

McCary lost his job last season to freshman Kyle Shurmur, who was expected to keep the job.

Chris Wright
Chris Wright

Managing Editor

A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.

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