The most exciting part has been the quarterback shuffle created by the NCAA transfer portal.
Quarterbacks are transferring in more ways now than ever before. Some sat out last year and will be eligible this year. Others moved via the graduate transfer rule. A few more sought a transfer waiver through the NCAA, and one high-profile case already has already been approved.
With spring football wrapping up, more quarterbacks could be on the move. Penn State's Tommy Stevens is the latest quarterback to announce to transfer. He will continue his career at Mississippi State.
MORE: SN Preseason Top 25
It's difficult to keep track of all the movement. Sporting News is here to help. We ranked the transfer quarterbacks heading into 2019, and will continue to track future transfers here for the remainder of the offseason.
Transfer rankings for 2019 QBs
21. Ross Bowers, Northern Illinois
Bowers played in 12 games for Cal in 2017 but started in just one game last season. He dealt with thumb injuries each of the past two years but can re-invent his career in the Mid-American Conference with the Huskies. Marcus Childers is entrenched as the Huskies' starter.
20. Gunnar Hoak, Ohio State
Hoak played in four games at Kentucky last season, and the Dublin, Ohio, native decided to transfer closer to home after spring football. Hoak will get a chance to win the starting job in fall camp, but the better bet is he will serve as depth behind Justin Fields.
19. Ty Storey, Western Kentucky
Storey passed for 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 11 games with the Razorbacks last season. That includes 230 yards and two touchdowns against Alabama. He is a graduate transfer who will get a chance to start for the Hilltoppers and first-year coach Tyson Helton.
18. Jack Tuttle, Indiana
Tuttle is waiting on the ruling of his appeal for a transfer waiver. The former four-star quarterback transferred after just one season with the Utes. If he’s granted hardship by the NCAA, he will compete with returning starter Peyton Ramsey for playing time.
17. Nathan Elliott, Arkansas State
Elliott split time as a starter with North Carolina the last two seasons, but he has a 59.2 career completion percentage with 21 TDs and 14 interceptions. He should be able to put up better numbers with the Red Wolves if he can win the starting job.
16. Riley Neal, Vanderbilt
Neal played in 34 games at Ball State the last four seasons, and the graduate transfer totaled 46 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. He will compete with Deuce Wallace, among others, for the starting job left by Kyle Shurmur. At minimum, Neal gives the Commodores more depth at quarterback.
15. Tommy Stevens, Mississippi State
Stevens reunites with former Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead. Stevens entered the transfer portal on April 17 after four seasons with Penn State and will be eligible to play immediately. Stevens struggled with injuries in a backup role behind Trace McSorley last season, and now he will compete with KeytaonThompson.
14. Brandon Peters, Illinois
Peters spent three seasons at Michigan and started as a sophomore before suffering a concussion against Wisconsin. He slid down the depth chart last season and opted to transfer to Illinois this offseason. Peters is competing for the starting job in fall camp.
13. Austin Kendall, West Virginia
Kendall will finally get his chance to start, and that should help ease the transition to first-year coach Neal Brown in Morgantown. Kendall completed 71.8 percent of his passes in backup duty behind Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray the last three seasons. He will compete with Jack Allison for the starting job.
12. Ben Hicks, Arkansas
Hicks is a graduate transfer who enjoyed success with the Mustangs the past three seasons. He passed for 9,081 yards and 71 touchdowns to 34 interceptions, and has previous experience with Chad Morris, his coach at SMU from 2015-17. This is a get for the Razorbacks, too, who will have competition at the most-important position.
11. Nick Starkel, Arkansas
He finished with 1,962 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions the last two seasons at Texas A&M. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining and will compete for the starting job with Hicks.
10. Josh Jackson, Maryland
Jackson enjoyed a breakout season with Virginia Tech in 2017, but struggled with injuries as a redshirt sophomore and opted to leave the Hokies. He has 25 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions the last two seasons. He will have two years with the Terps, who have shuffled QBs the last two seasons. Jackson offers a solid option for new coach Mike Locksley.
9. Gage Gubrud, Washington State
Gubrud will have to win the starting job in fall camp, but he put up monster numbers at FCS Eastern Washington and could do the same for the Cougars in Mike Leach's pass-first attack. Gubrud dealt with a lower body injury in spring practice, so we need to see more.
8. Shane Buechele, SMU
Buechele was a case of too much, too soon at Texas. He thrived as a freshman with 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He eventually lost the job to Sam Ehlinger after Tom Herman took over. Buechele gets a chance for more playing time with the Mustangs, and chances are he will take advantage of it in the American Athletic Conference.
8. Alex Hornibrook, Florida State
Hornibrook was a three-year starter at Wisconsin who entered the transfer portal this spring. He has 47 TD passes and 33 interceptions the last three years. He made the surprise move of transferring to Florida State, where he will have a chance to battle with (and win) the starting job ahead of James Blackman.
7. Brandon Wimbush, UCF
This is an interesting career move for Wimbush, who started in 12 games at Notre Dame in 2017 before losing the job to Ian Book in 2018. Wimbush averaged 5.4 yards per carry while rushing for 16 touchdowns the last three seasons. This gives the Knights a chance to make sure McKenzie Milton is fully recovered from a gruesome leg injury before returning to action.
6. Tate Martell, Miami
Martell brings to Miami a ton of potential, which he flashed in brief glimpses the last two seasons at Ohio State. He completed 23 of 28 passes and rushed for 5.8 yards per carry with the Buckeyes behind Dwayne Haskins last season. Martell would be a good fit to start the Manny Diaz era, but that’s assuming his transfer waiver is granted.
5. Hunter Johnson, Northwestern
Johnson, the No. 2 pro-style quarterback for the class of 2017, completed 21 of 27 passes for 234 yards, two touchdowns and one interception at Clemson in 2017 before Kelly Bryant wrested control in the Tigers' quarterback race. Now, he becomes the highest-ranked quarterback of the Pat Fitzgerald era at Northwestern. How will that tilt the balance of the race in the Big Ten West?
MORE: Bryant's transfer from Clemson reflects new reality of college football
4. Kelly Bryant, Missouri
Bryant transferred to Missouri after leaving Clemson last season, and he will get one year with offensive coordinator Derek Dooley in what has been a productive, quarterback-friendly system. Bryant chose to stick with Mizzou despite the NCAA postseason ban, too. Bryant completed 66.2 percent of his passes with Clemson, but his added threat in the running game (he scored 16 rushing touchdowns there) makes him an interesting successor to Drew Lock.
3. Jacob Eason, Washington
Eason sat out the 2018 season and learned behind four-year Washington starter Jake Browning. It’s easy to forget that Eason won the starting job at Georgia as a true freshman and kept it until an injury in his first game back as a sophomore. Eason’s numbers with the Bulldogs weren’t bad, considering he was pressed into action with first-year coach Kirby Smart. If his accuracy has improved into the mid-60 range, Washington will be in the College Football Playoff hunt.
2. Justin Fields, Ohio State
We will not be surprised if Fields ends up the most productive player on this list after the 2019 season. He showed a dynamic skill set in small doses with Georgia last season, but the "business decision" to play for Ohio State and coach Ryan Day was granted with a transfer waiver. Fields is a five-star talent with the ability to lead another Big Ten championship run in Columbus. Given Day’s work with Heisman Trophy finalist Dwayne Haskins last season, it seems like a given that more numbers are coming. That makes Fields the most intriguing player in college football next season.
1. Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma
Hurts has started in two College Football Playoff championship games at Alabama, and he led a comeback in the second half of last year’s SEC championship game against Georgia. He’s 26-2 as a starter, and he sported a 72.9 completion percentage as a backup in 2018 — his most efficient season at Alabama, by far. He’ll finish his career at Oklahoma with Lincoln Riley, who has helped Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, themselves transfer quarterbacks, win the Heisman Trophy in consecutive years as part of Playoff runs. That makes Hurts the top transfer quarterback heading into 2019.
MORE: Hurts' transfer to Oklahoma sets up happy ending — for everybody
Transfers who will sit out 2019
Shawn Robinson, Missouri. Robinson played in seven games for TCU in 2018 before undergoing season-ending surgery on his non-throwing shoulder. He will be in the hunt for the starting job after Bryant exits.
Matthew Baldwin, TCU. Baldwin transferred from Ohio State after the spring game but was denied a waiver to play right away.
Cameron Rising, Utah. Rising transferred from Texas. He has not thrown a pass in the FBS and will wait a year before getting his shot with the Utes.
Braxton Burmeister, Virginia Tech. The former four-star quarterback played in 11 games for Oregon the past two seasons behind quarterback Justin Herbert.
