North Texas QB Drew Mestemaker expected to enter NCAA Transfer Portal

North Texas redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Mestemaker is expected to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal after two seasons in Denton, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

A former walk-on, he played in five games as a freshman — including a standout showing in UNT’s bowl game — before taking over the starting role as a redshirt freshman this fall. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder set the college football world on fire with his second act, completing 70.2% of his passes while throwing leading the FBS in passing with 4,129 yards in 12 games. On top of that, he threw for 31 touchdowns to just seven interceptions and was named the American Athletic Conference’s offensive player of the year.

With his head coach Eric Morris leaving for Oklahoma State though, he has opted to enter into free agency with the Cowboys considered a strong contender to land him.

Mestemaker immediately becomes one of the top quarterbacks available once he hits the portal, with three years of eligibility remaining.

The Austin, Texas native is one of only five freshman in FBS history to throw for 4,000 yards, and now holds multiple single-season passing records for the Mean Green.

Another top QB hits the transfer portal

Mestemaker only adds to what is already an intriguing group of quarterbacks set to enter the portal.

In the past 36 hours alone, Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola, Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby, Florida’s DJ Lagway and Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles have all expressed their intentions to enter free agency. They join the current No. 1 overall player in the portal, Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt, who missed the Sun Devils’ team banquet earlier this month and has been rumored to be entering the portal for a few weeks now.

Oregon, Indiana, Miami and LSU are among the early schools to watch for Leavitt, per Nakos. And those same schools are also in the mix with a number of other passers on the list.

Raiola and Lagway, who were both five-star prospects in the 2024 class, offer some of the highest upside available but are expected to come with hefty price tags. Sorsby, who previously transferred from Indiana earlier in his career, is also expected to be in high demand. Multiple reports have cited rumored offers of $4 million paydays offered to him.

And with the portal not opening officially until January 2, the breadth of coveted passers becoming available is only going to grow.