Marathon continues… 🏁 pic.twitter.com/3UqmJIWE1d
— Anthony Richardson † (@GVOaant) December 5, 2022
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The Gators are in the market for a new starting quarterback after Anthony Richardson confirmed his departure for the 2023 NFL Draft a couple of weeks back.
Florida does have three contenders for the job already in the fold.
Jack Miller, who may have a tough time recovering from that Las Vegas Bowl start. Max Brown is on campus after committing to Napier during the last recruiting cycle. Jaden Rashada is on the way, but may need a year or two to develop.
This mix of youth and inexperience almost guarantees Florida will seek out an experienced starter in the transfer portal.
A few familiar faces have already committed to their next desitnations:
- Haynes King – Texas A&M to Georgia Tech
- Collin Schlee – Kent State to UCLA
- Shedeur Sanders – Jackson State to Colorado
- Jeff Sims – Georgia Tech to Nebraska
- Kyron Drones – Baylor to Virginia Tech
- Cade McNamara – Michigan to Iowa
TRANSFER PORTAL QB OPTIONS
No doubt this list will continue to grow in the coming weeks, but here is a look the most notable options available at the moment.
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: 2 star prospect (0.7902) / 2 years eligibility / Indian Trail, NC
McCall and Coastal Carolina broke onto the scene with an exciting 10-0 run to open the 2020 season. The Chanticleers only lost two regular season games in three seasons with McCall at the helm. Napier and McCall crossed paths in 2020 in a last second 30-27 Coastal Carolina win over Louisiana.
2020: 2,488 passing yards, 26 TD, 3 INT & 111 carries, 569 rushing yards, 7 TD
2021: 2,873 passing yards, 27 TD, 3 INT & 93 carries, 290 rushing yards, 4 TD
2022: 2,633 passing yards, 24 TD, 2 INT & 87 carries, 183 rushing yards, 5 TD
Devin Leary, NC State
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: 4 star prospect (0.8905) / 1 year of eligibility / Sicklerville, NJ
Leary came into the season with high expectations, but had his season cut short due to injury. The Wolfpack were expected to contend for the ACC title after Leary led NC State to a 9-win season last year. Leary will be one of the top quarterback targets in the portal.
2019: 1,219 passing yards, 8 TD, 5 INT & 40 carries, 46 rushing yards, 0 TD
2020: 890 passing yards, 8 TD, 2 INT & 19 carries, 7 rushing yards, 0 TD
2021: 3,433 passing yards, 35 TD, 5 INT & 54 carries, -73 rushing yards, 2 TD
2022: 1,265 passing yards, 11 TD, 4 INT & 23 carries, 1 rushing yards, 3 TD
🚨NEW🚨 KSR’s @AdamLuckettKSR has logged an expert prediction for NC State transfer QB Devin Leary to commit to Kentucky👀
https://t.co/YVbTUPFEgD pic.twitter.com/BeODQMn4rc— On3 (@On3sports) December 19, 2022
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DJ Uiagalelei, Clemson
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: 5 star prospect (0.9949) / 2 years of eligibility / Bellflower, CA
Uiagalelei broke onto the scene in 2020 while filling in for the injured Trevor Lawrence and looked like the next great Clemson quarterback. Though his tenure as the starter has been perceived as a disappointment from the outside, Clemson has gone 21-5 in the last two seasons. In fact, the Tigers have only lost by more than 10 points once with Uiagalelei leading the way. Despite improving this season, the offense was stagnant at times and 5-star freshman Cade Klubnik is ready to take over. Uiagalelei may not have led Dabo Swinney back to the playoffs, but do not discount the impact he could have on his next program.
2020: 914 passing yards, 5 TD, 0 INT & 28 carries, 60 rushing yards, 4 TD
2021: 2,246 passing yards, 9 TD, 10 INT & 105 carries, 308 rushing yards, 4 TD
2022: 2,521 passing yards, 22 TD, 7 INT, & 142 carries, 545 rushing yards, 7 TD
Hudson Card, Texas
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: 4 star prospect (0.9721) / 3 years of eligibility / Austin, TX
Card lost his job to Casey Thompson last year and backed up Quinn Ewers this season. He filled in admirably for an injured Ewers in the first half of the season and with the addition of Arch Manning in the 2023 recruiting cycle, it was only a matter of time before Card hit the transfer portal.
2020: 5 passing yards, 0 TD, 0 INT & 4 carries, 11 rushing yards, 0 TD
2021: 590 passing yards, 5 TD, 1 INT & 26 carries, 17 rushing yards, 1 TD
2022: 928 passing yards, 6 TD, 1 INT & 17 carries, 46 rushing yards, 0 TD
Luke Altmyer, Ole Miss
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: 4 star prospect (0.9219) / 3 years of eligibility / Starkville, MS
Altmyer, a FSU flip to Kiffin in the 2021 recruiting cycle, only appeared in four games last season including relief appearance for the injured Matt Corral in the Sugar Bowl. After only appearing in three games this past season, Altmyer is eligible for a redshirt and has three years of eligibility remaining.
2021: 192 passing yards, 1 TD, 2 INT & 21 carries, 0 rushing yards, 0 TD
2022: 125 passing yards, 2 TD, 1 INT & 4 carries, 3 rushing yards, 1 TD
Austin Reed, WKU
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: Not rated as HS prospect / 1 year of eligibility / St. Augustine, FL
A Florida native, Reed has entered the portal seeking out his fourth stop in his collegiate career. During his time at West Florida, he threw for 4,084 yards and 40 touchdowns while leading UWF to the Division II national title. Reed is set to take his talents to a Power-Five program after throwing for more than 4,000 yards and receiving the C-USA Newcomer of the Year award.
2018: Southern Illinois
2019-2021: played at West Florida (D2)
2022: 4,247 passing yards, 36 TD, 10 INT & 87 carries, 199 rushing yards, 8 TD
Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: 4 star prospect (0.9311) / 1 year of eligibility / Denton, TX
One of the most valuable players in the portal, Sanders will find a new home after four years of starting experience for Mike Gundy in Stillwater. Sanders is a dual threat quarterback who can excel on a big stage.
Thank you! pic.twitter.com/y8LwvcR1AL
— Spencer Sanders (@SpenceSanders) December 5, 2022
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2019: 2,065 passing yards, 16 TD, 11 INT & 139 carries, 628 rushing yards, 2 TD
2020: 2,007 passing yards, 14 TD, 8 INT & 101 carries, 269 rushing yards, 2 TD
2921: 2,839 passing yards, 20 TD, 12 INT & 146 carries, 668 rushing yards, 6 TD
2022: 2,642 passing yards, 17 TD, 9 INT & 107 carries, 391 rushing yards, 8 TD
Brennan Armstrong, Virginia
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: 3 star prospect (0.8710) / 1 year of eligibility / Shelby, OH
Armstrong flourished in 2021 under OC Robert Anae, who helped revitalize Syracuse this past season, but struggled to find his footing under the Tony Elliott regime in Charlottesville.
2018: 62 passing yards, 1 TD, 0 INT & 9 carries, 74 rushing yards, 0 TD
2019: 196 passing yards, 1 TD, 2 INT & 7 carries, 19 rushing yards, 0 TD
2020: 2,117 passing yards, 18 TD, 11 INT & 126 carries, 552 rushing yards, 5 TD
2021: 4,444 passing yards, 31 TD, 10 INT & 97 carries, 256 rushing yards, 9 TD
2022: 2,210 passing yards, 7 TD, 12 INT & 123 carries, 371 rushing yards, 6 TD
Malik Hornsby, Arkansas
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: 4 star prospect (0.9208) / 3 years of eligibility / Missouri City, TX
KJ Jefferson is set to return for his senior season, so Hornsby decided to transfer. “He wasn’t really developed as much as we would have liked for him to have gotten a chance to be developed at quarterback because of the offense and the system,” his trainer JP Tillman told the Omaha World-Herald. “We thought it would be a little different and a little better for him. The way we wanted to be nurtured and developed wasn’t that.”
2020: 0 pass attempts & 2 carries, -1 rushing yards, 0 TD
2021: 46 passing yards, 0 TD, 0 INT & 24 carries, 136 rushing yards, 1 TD
2022: 268 passing yards, 1 TD, 2 INT & 31 carries, 172 rushing yards, 0 TD
Kedon Slovis, Pitt
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: 3-star prospect (0.8683) / 1 year of eligibility / Scottsdale, AZ
With the addition of Penn State transfer QB Christian Veilleux at Pittsburgh, Slovis has decided to enter into the transfer portal. Slovis had a nice year at Pitt, but much like former teammate JT Daniels, he is about to earn nomad status with his third destination up next. Slovis can be the perfect fit for a team that needs to a one-year placeholder.
2019: 3,502 passing yards, 30 TD, 9 INT & 45 carries, -57 rushing yards, 0 TD
2020: 1,921 passing yards, 17 TD, 7 INT & 23 carries, -57 rushing yards, 0 TD
2021: 2,153 passing yards, 11 TD, 8 INT & 26 carries, -36 rushing yards, 0 TD
2022: 2,397 passing yards, 10 TD, 9 INT & 25 carries, -68 rushing yards, 0 TD
Graham Mertz, Wisconsin
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: 4 star prospect (0.9689) / 2 years of eligibility / Mission, KS
Mertz has visits to Florida and Kentucky under his belt. The Wisconsin transfer struggled to show improvement during his time in Madison despite being one of the best QB prospects to sign with the Badgers in the modern era.
2019: 73 passing yards, 0 TD, 0 INT & 2 carries, 6 rushing yards, 0 TD
2020: 1,238 passing yards, 9 TD, 5 INT & 36 carries, 38 rushing yards, 2 TD
2021: 1,958 passing yards, 10 TD, 11 INT & 37 carries, -25 rushing yards, 4 TD
2022: 2,136 passing yards, 19 TD, 10 INT & 50 carries, -49 rushing yards, 2 TD
Hank Bachmeier, Boise State
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: 4 star prospect (0.9114) / 2 years of eligibility / Murrieta, CA
Bachmeier was a serviceable starter during his time on the blue turf, but left the team in September after a 27-10 loss to UTEP. He would be a second-level option that Florida could explore if they missed out on the top names in the portal.
2021: 3,079 passing yards, 20 TD, 8 INT & 60 carries, -20 rushing yards, 0 TD
2022: 497 passing yards, 6 TD, 3 INT & 12 carries, -26 rushing yards, 0 TD
JT Daniels, West Virginia
Embed from Getty Images247Sports Rating: 5 star prospect (0.9919)/ 1 years of eligibility / Santa Ana, CA
JT Daniels announced that he will hit the transfer portal to finish his collegiate career at his fourth school (USC, Georgia, and West Virginia). Daniels had his most productive season in 2022 since his true freshman year. Perhaps Kirby Smart could use another backup.
2021: 722 passing yards, 7 TD, 3 INT & 4 carries, -18 rushing yards, 0 TD
2022: 2,107 passing yards, 13 TD, 9 INT & 30 carries, -51 rushing yards, 1 TD
