College football transfer portal: Top 25 quarterbacks in 247Sports' final rankings

Jan 09, 2024

Finally, the 2023 transfer cycle has almost entirely come to a close. College football teams have started summer workouts, which means they are largely focused on the players they have on campus rather than on finding more talent via the NCAA transfer portal. Many transfer quarterbacks have been enrolled since January and have long since settled in with their new programs.

Although teams mine the transfer portal for all positions, quarterbacks have taken center stage in recent years with some of the top players in the sport having started their careers at one school then moved to another — think Joe Burrow and Caleb Williams, among others.

This season should provide more of the same, granted no clear-cut College Football Playoff contenders brought in projected starters at quarterback via the portal this offseason. LSU starter Jayden Daniels formerly transferred from Arizona State, but that was last offseason.

Get the latest football and basketball transfer portal news from 247Sports.

With portal madness mostly done for the offseason, 247Sports' evaluators recently completed their final transfer rankings for the 2023 offseason. Here are how the top 25 quarterback transfers stacked up:

Rating: 4-star

After going 9-4 last season, Notre Dame hopes to take a big step forward this fall with quarterback play that should be improved. Hartman starred at Wake Forest as the maestro of offensive coordinator Warren Ruggiero's slow-mesh scheme, but now he'll direct a much more traditional offense.

Hartman threw 77 touchdowns combined over the last two seasons, but he has never been the most accurate quarterback with a career completion rate below 60%. He will need to improve on that if Notre Dame is to make the CFP.

Rating: 4-star

Two seasons ago, Leary emerged as one of the ACC's top quarterbacks by throwing 35 touchdowns against just five interceptions. Last fall didn't go quite so smoothly, as Leary suffered a season-ending injury and then opted for a change of scenery.

Kentucky needs to do a better job at O-line if Leary is to rediscover his form from 2021, but he will have some nice weapons to work with in wideouts Barion Brown and Dane Key as well as running back Ray Davis.

Rating: 4-star

With the arrival of Quinn Ewers from Ohio State, Card found himself in a backup role last fall with the future of the Texas quarterback room including Arch Manning. At Purdue, Card will be the unquestioned starter as coach Ryan Walters enters his debut season with the Boilermakers.

Card has always been solid when forced into action. It feels like he is a safe bet to rank in the middle of the pack among Big Ten quarterbacks at absolute worst. And Purdue figures to support him with a good defense based on Walters' background as a star defensive coordinator at Illinois.

Rating: 4-star

Unsurprisingly, the son of Deion Sanders ended up at new-look Colorado. The younger Sanders gets to throw to Travis Hunter, and CU also added another stud to its skill-position ranks in Houston transfer running back Alton McCaskill.

Sanders put up big numbers at the FCS level, but the Pac-12 will represent a big step up in competition. Nonetheless, Sanders was a 4-star recruit in high school and has the requisite talent to thrive immediately as long as he can get adequate protection from the O-line.

Rating: 4-star

An unusual inclusion this high up the rankings in that Howard likely will not start for Ole Miss this fall and could even be the Rebels' third-stringer. But long term, Howard should be a star in Oxford.

The former 4-star recruit was behind Daniels and Garrett Nussmeier for the foreseeable future at LSU, but he could be Ole Miss' starter as soon as next season depending on what happens with Jaxson Dart. At some point, Howard should be an above-average starter in the SEC. That just probably won't be this season.

Rating: 4-star

Armstrong's numbers dropped off a cliff from 2021 to 2022, but he might have the ingredients to turn things around at NC State. Virginia was in a state of disarray last season under first-year coach Tony Elliott after Armstrong's former offensive coordinator, Robert Anae, went to Syracuse.

Anae is at NC State now, so Armstrong has his guy again. As a result, the Wolfpack's quarterback situation probably took a step forward this offseason even with a talented player like Leary heading out the door.

Rating: 4-star

Don't put too much stock in Mordecai's awful performance during Wisconsin's spring game, when he threw multiple interceptions. Mordecai threw 72 touchdowns combined over the past two seasons at SMU and is a better player than he showed in what was essentially just one bad scrimmage.

Wisconsin hopes to revamp its formerly antiquated offense under new coach Luke Fickell. Mordecai should help with that, as he is a better player than former Badgers quarterback Graham Mertz — and these rankings reflect that.

Rating: 4-star

Uiagalelei made headlines this offseason by criticizing Clemson's plan on offense under former coordinator Brandon Streeter. Now it's time for him to put up or shut up at his next stop.

Arm talent has never been an issue for Uiagalelei, but he hasn't been particularly accurate in recent seasons. Both Uiagalelei and Oregon State hope that this new pairing can unlock the former 5-star recruit's potential in a way Clemson could not. If this is a breakout season for Uiagalelei, then the Beavers could be contenders in the Pac-12.

Rating: 4-star

Schlee has work to do entering summer workouts and fall camp after not really putting his stamp on UCLA's quarterback room during spring ball. The Bruins have a lot of competition at quarterback with highly-regarded players like Ethan Garbers and Dante Moore in the mix. As such, Schlee dropped in 247Sports' final rankings.

"Schlee is a talented passer with size, athleticism, and play extension skills, but he's more in the mold of a gunslinger with his penchant for tight windows and reports out of spring weren't sterling," wrote 247Sports' Clint Brewster. "Schlee tends to be a little loose with the football. However, with that said, he will be under the tutelage of Chip Kelly and his high-powered offense. Schlee is more of a boom-or-bust type of player."

Rating: 4-star

It's true that Altmyer comes to Illinois with very little meaningful in-game experience, but he's a former 4-star recruit who generally looked the part when he did get on the field at Ole Miss. Considering the depth of Ole Miss' quarterback room, Altmyer's lack of playing time more so reflected what he had to compete against rather than his own skill set.

At Illinois, Altmyer should come right in and start for a team that is on the upswing under coach Bret Bielema. If the Illini can pair their strong defense with an improved passing game, they realistically could win the Big Ten West Division.

Rating: 4-star

Jackson sat behind a Heisman Trophy candidate in Max Duggan last season, and now the former 4-star Composite recruit looks to take over the starting job out west at Cal. An undersized player at the position, Jackson stands out thanks to his speed and arm talent despite the small stature at 5-foot-11.

Cal has quietly built a strong program in the Pac-12, and its offense could reach new heights with the high-upside Jackson potentially taking over for high-floor pocket-passer Jack Plummer, who transferred to Louisville.

Rating: 4-star

Now that Mertz is out of the ground-and-pound Wisconsin offense, can he finally make good on his considerable talent? He had better do so, or coach Billy Napier could face a lot of questions coming out of the 2023 season.

Mertz posted his best season last fall, but he still completed just 57.3% of his passes for 2,136 yards and 19 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. The Gators' spring game wasn't pretty. This is a big summer for Mertz and Co. to get up to speed heading into a brutal schedule.

Rating: 4-star

Sims takes over as coach Matt Rhule's QB1 after Casey Thompson transferred to FAU. One of the highest-rated quarterback recruits in Georgia Tech history, Sims did some good things with the Yellow Jackets but struggled with consistency.

This talented dual-threat hopes to break out now that he is surrounded by more talent as well as a proven head coach at the Power Five level. Sims is a huge X-factor in the wide-open Big Ten West, as Nebraska could be good enough to push for a division title if Sims is one of the division's top quarterbacks.

Rating: 4-star

Here's another player who is far from guaranteed to start but an intriguing name nonetheless. Garcia enters a winnable three-way quarterback battle with incumbent starter Brady Cook and redshirt freshman Sam Horn.

Cook struggled at times last season and has limited upside. So it would not be a stunner if Garcia or Horn can unseat him. Garcia showed some positive flashes over the course of two seasons at Miami but remains unproven as a college quarterback.

Rating: 4-star

The home-state hero returns to Indiana and gives coach Tom Allen a high-upside option to work with, both short term and long term. Jackson did not have much of a chance to play at Tennessee, but the Volunteers have a ton of talent in their quarterback room whereas IU does not.

Jackson has good mobility and size at 6-foot-3. The lack of experience could be an issue. All things considered, the Hoosiers will happily take a Top247 quarterback from the 2022 high school class who has done nothing in games to make anyone concerned about his ability become a good player in the future.

Rating: 4-star

The final 4-star transfer quarterback, Allen is similar to Jackson in that he was a Top247 recruit in the 2022 class and did not play a role as a true freshman. Allen sticks with the coach who recruited him to Purdue, as he follows Jeff Brohm down to Louisville.

Allen is a pure pocket passer who will sit behind Plummer this season. For 2024, it's quite possible that Allen will be the Cardinals' starter. Allen owns prototypical size for the quarterback position at 6-foot-5 and of course will receive high-quality coaching from Brohm, who is known for his mentorship of quarterbacks.

Rating: 3-star

This was an unusual transfer outcome. Sanders was a multi-year starter at Oklahoma State and gave that up in order to transfer to Ole Miss. While it may not have been a guarantee that Sanders would be the Cowboys' starter for 2023, he's officially the underdog at Ole Miss. An injury during spring ball didn't help there.

Sanders still has a chance to win the Rebels' starting job during fall camp, but competition is rugged with Dart and Howard also on the roster.

Rating: 3-star

Fresno State did well here, getting a somewhat experienced quarterback who put up decent numbers in a quarterback timeshare with John Rhys Plumlee at UCF over the past two seasons. Combining those two campaigns, Keene completed 65.6% of his passes for 2,377 yards and 23 touchdowns with seven interceptions.

Keene is a product of Chandler (Ariz.) and returns to the West Coast. The Bulldogs won 10 games in back-to-back seasons and have high expectations entering the second year of coach Jeff Tedford's second stint with the program.

19. Kedon Slovis, Pitt to BYU

BYU is Slovis' third school; he started his career at USC. Things didn't work out so well at Pittsburgh, but Slovis tries to resuscitate his NFL Draft stock in Provo, Utah.

20. Sawyer Robertson, Mississippi State to Baylor

Robertson was going to be stuck behind Will Rogers and perhaps incoming transfer Mike Wright at Mississippi State.

21. Nick Evers, Oklahoma to Wisconsin

A Top247 prospect in the 2022 class, Evers had scores of top-notch programs after him and still has plenty of upside remaining as he learns behind Mordecai.

22. Malik Hornsby, Arkansas to Texas State

This power dual-threat quarterback could put up big rushing numbers in the Sun Belt.

23. Tony Muskett, Monmouth to Virginia

Muskett looks like the man for Virginia in an important season for Elliott as he tries to turn things around.

24. Cade McNamara, Michigan to Iowa

After losing the starting quarterback battle to J.J. McCarthy last fall, McNamara joined a Big Ten foe but will not get a shot at his former team unless Iowa and Michigan meet in the Big Ten Championship Game.

25. Kyron Drones, Baylor to Virginia Tech

Drones got tired of sitting at Baylor but could realistically start for Virginia Tech this season if the former 4-star recruit impresses during fall camp.