Vanderbilt QB Drew Dickey plans to enter NCAA Transfer Portal

Vanderbilt quarterback Drew Dickey plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Dickey has spent four seasons with the Commodores, logging three career appearances.

Two of those appearances have been this season. In Vanderbilt’s 70-21 win over Georgia State in its season-opener, he completed 1-of-his-2 pass attempts for 28 yards.

Dickey is the first Vanderbilt player to announce his intent to transfer this season. Last season, the Commodores lost 20 players to the transfer portal. Vanderbilt was ranked No. 28 in On3’s 2025 Team Transfer Portal Rankings.

Dickey played high school football at The Regents School of Austin (TX), where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 976 overall player and No. 55 quarterback in the 2022 recruiting cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings.

Dickey has been sidelined since October. At the time, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea revealed the backup quarterback is battling heart issues.

“Drew Dickey is dealing with some cardiac issues, so he’s going to be out for the foreseeable future,” Lea said Oct. 15. “We’re focused on getting him healthy and feeling good. Obviously, that’s the priority.”

Dickey’s loss doesn’t immediately put Vanderbilt’s depth at QB in danger. Blaze Berlowitz is the Commodores’ QB2 behind star Diego Pavia. Berlowitz has tallied 131 passing yards and a touchdown this season.

Of course, Pavia has taken the lion’s share of Vanderbilt’s snaps. The Heisman Trophy candidate has racked up 3,192 passing yards, 826 rushing yards and 36 total touchdowns in the 2025 campaign.

Pavia led Vanderbilt to a 10-2 record in the regular season. Now, the Commodores are anxiously awaiting their fate from the College Football Playoff selection committee. This past week, Clark Lea made an emphatic case for the Commodores to earn a ticket to the playoff.

“This team deserves the brightest lights on the biggest stages. They’ve earned that right. Look, I don’t care how we have to get there. They can tell me whatever they want to tell me,” Lea said. “If they want my team to play four more games, we’ll play four.

“If there are teams we need to play against to play into it, tell me when and tell me where. We’ll put the ball down in the parking lot and play. This group is competitive; they’re tough. It’s a blood and guts team. They’ve poured their hearts into this, and they deserve the right to have a chance to win it all.”