Transfer Guide: How did newcomers fare in QB battles?
The 2024 season officially kicks off this weekend and it might take viewers awhile to remember who transferred where and who is starting for which team.
Did your team have an open competition to see who would start at quarterback this season? Was one of the quarterbacks a transfer? Take a look at this guide to see which transfer quarterbacks won the battle for the starting job.
ARIZONA STATE
2024 starter: Sam Leavitt
The Sun Devils lost Jaden Rashada to the transfer portal and eventually Georgia but Kenny Dillingham and staff added two transfer quarterbacks in Leavitt and Jeff Sims. Last season Leavitt played in four games for Michigan State while Sims, who began his career at Georgia Tech, played in five games for Nebraska. Leavitt won the starting job at Arizona State this week.
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ARKANSAS
2024 starter: Taylen Green
With KJ Jefferson heading for the exit after last season, Arkansas is ready for a new starting quarterback. Green transferred in from Boise State and Blake Boda arrived from Coastal Carolina but Green has this job pretty much sewn up.
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BAYLOR
2024 starter: Dequan Finn
With head coach Dave Aranda squarely on the hot seat this season, the Bears went out and landed a major quarterback transfer in Finn. Baylor already had quarterback Sawyer Robertson on the roster and the battle between the two quarterbacks was only recently resolved, with Finn earning the title of “QB1.”
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BOISE STATE
2024 starter: Maddux Madsen
It’s generally a surprise when a high-profile transfer doesn’t land the starting job at their new school. That’s what happened at Boise State. The Broncos added former USC quarterback Malachi Nelson out of the transfer portal but incumbent Maddux Madsen was named the starter earlier this week.
Madsen played in nine games for Boise State last season and is slated to be Boise State’s starter in its first game against Georgia Southern.
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BYU
2024 starter: Undecided
Jake Retzlaff is the incumbent starter for the Cougars but that didn’t stop BYU from adding transfer quarterback Gerry Bohanon from South Florida. The battle between the two quarterbacks still isn’t settled with less than 10 days until their opening game against Southern Illinois.
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CAL
2024 starter: Undecided
This quarterback battle could get resolved in the coming days as Fernando Mendoza looks to hold onto the starting job from last season. Chandler Rogers, who transferred in from North Texas, is really pushing Mendoza and making this a much tougher decision for head coach Justin Wilcox.
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CINCINNATI
2024 starter: Brendan Sorsby
Cincinnati’s 2023 starting quarterback Emory Jones graduated after last season so the Bearcats will have someone new under center this year. Brady Lichtenberg had hoped he would move into the starting role after being the backup last season but it appears that Indiana transfer Brendan Sorsby will be Cincinnati’s starter to start the season.
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DUKE
2024 starter: Maalik Murphy
The Blue Devils have a new head coach in Manny Diaz and, after losing Riley Leonard to the transfer portal, they will have a new starting quarterback this fall. Henry Belin and Grayson Loftis played a lot last season after Leonard was injured but neither was able to beat touted Texas quarterback transfer Maalik Murphy for the starting job going into this season.
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FLORIDA STATE
2024 starter: DJ Uiagalelei
The Seminoles are looking to bounce back after a heartbreaking end to the 2023 season and brought in a number of big-time transfers to help. The most important of those transfers is none other than quarterback DJ Uiagalelei.
The former Oregon State and Clemson quarterback was the overwhelming favorite to win the starting job this season over Brock Glenn. Now the Noles are ready to get the season started this weekend in Ireland.
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INDIANA
2024 starter: Undecided
Head coach Curt Cignetti hadn’t named a starting quarterback as of Wednesday night but it wouldn’t be surprising if he did by the time this article was published. Ohio transfer Kurtis Rourke is the leading candidate after an impressive scrimmage last week. He’s leading a crowded field that includes Tayven Jackson and Tyler Cherry.
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IOWA
2024 starter: Undecided
The Hawkeyes are revamping their offense and they still haven’t publicly named their starting quarterback for this season. Cade McNamara is back from a knee injury that prematurely ended his 2023 campaign. Iowa also added transfer quarterback Brendan Sullivan from Northwestern during the offseason. He’s made this a really tight race but McNamara might have the edge.
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KENTUCKY
2024 starter: Brock Vandagriff
He may not have been officially named the starter just yet but all signs point to Georgia transfer Brock Vandagriff starting for the Wildcats when they begin their 2024 season. Gavin Wimsatt also transferred in from Rutgers but this job looked like it was Vandagriff’s to lose once he decided to transfer to Lexington.
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MARYLAND
2024 starter: Undecided
Record-setting quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa is gone and the race to replace him is pretty much down to Billy Edwards and NC State transfer MJ Morris.
Head coach Mike Locksley hasn’t hinted at who could be leading this race as the 2024 season nears.
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MIAMI
2024 starter: Cameron Ward
This race was over as soon as Ward announced he’d be transferring to Miami. The Hurricanes saw 2023 starter Tyler Van Dyke and backup Jacurri Brown leave via the portal and Ward was head coach Mario Cristobal’s main target for the starting job this season.
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MICHIGAN STATE
2024 starter: Aidan Chiles
Another race that was over before it started. Aidan Chiles followed head coach Jonathan Smith from Oregon State to East Lansing with the idea that he’d be the next starter for the Spartans and that’s exactly what’s happening.
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MINNESOTA
2024 starter: Max Brosmer
It’s hard to call it a QB battle at Minnesota but there was no incumbent after Athan Kaliakmanis transferred to Rutgers. The race for the starting quarterback job was over almost as quickly as it started, with New Hampshire transfer Max Brosmer emerging from the pack.
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MISSISSIPPI STATE
2024 starter: Blake Shapen
A situation similar to what happened at Minnesota – an incumbent transfers out and an obvious starter transfers in. Former Baylor Bear Blake Shapen transferred to Mississippi State and it’s been off to the races for him as the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs.
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NORTH CAROLINA
2024 starter: Undecided
Mack Brown isn’t tipping his hand before the Tar Heels hit the field to start the 2024 season but Max Johnson has looked like the eventual starter for North Carolina since he transferred there from Texas A&M.
Jacoby Criswell has been trying to take advantage of his second opportunity at North Carolina but he may come up just short again.
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OHIO STATE
2024 starter: Will Howard
It was a tighter race than most expected but Kansas State transfer Will Howard will be Ohio State’s starter when it hits the field this fall.
Howard narrowly beat out a field that included five-star Alabama transfer Julian Sayin, Devin Brown and Lincoln Keinholz.
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OREGON STATE
2024 starter: Undecided
Ben Gulbranson has the inside track to be the starter for Oregon State this fall but head coach Trent Bray has yet to give him the nod.
Idaho transfer Gevani McCory and Missouri transfer Gabarri Johnson have performed well and are making this a difficult decision.
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PITTSBURGH
2024 starter: Undecided
It seems as if Nate Yarnell doesn’t necessarily have the starting job locked up just yet. There is some buzz around Alabama transfer Eli Holstein as he pushes for the starting job.
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RUTGERS
2024 starter: Athan Kaliakmanis
This race has been decided for a while. Kaliakmanis, the Minnesota transfer, will be the starter for the Scarlet Knights this season after beating out Gavin Wimsatt, who transferred to Kentucky, in the spring.
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SOUTH CAROLINA
2024 starter: LaNorris Sellers
Sellers had been the favorite to win the job at South Carolina since the end of last season but Auburn transfer Robby Ashford didn’t make this the easy decision many thought it would be. Last season Sellers only saw significant action in one game and he has attempted just four passes in his career.
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USC
2024 starter: Miller Moss
UNLV transfer Jayden Maiava was briefly headed to Georgia before flipping to USC, thinking he could win the job there with Malachi Nelson heading off to Boise State. After the dust settled, Miller Moss, the star of USC’s bowl game victory, will end up as the Trojans’ starter this season.
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VANDERBILT
2024 starter: Diego Pavia
With AJ Swann and Ken Seals hitting the portal after last season, the Commodores loaded up on transfer quarterbacks. Of the quarterbacks they brought in, Nate Johnson, a Utah transfer, and Diego Pavia, a New Mexico State transfer, were the leading contenders for the starting job this season but the nod went to Pavia.
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WISCONSIN
2024 starter: Tyler Van Dyke
Embattled former Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke landed at Wisconsin this offseason and was in a competition with incumbent Braedyn Locke for the starting job. That battle lasted for most of the offseason but it’s Van Dyke who will start the year as QB1 for the Badgers.
