Pete Thamel updates latest on multiple transfer portal quarterbacks
The Transfer Portal is open for business and bustling as the college football offseason arrives for all FBS programs over the next month.
Amid all the madness, one of the most connected reporters in college football, Pete Thamel, joined ESPN colleague Rece Davis on the network’s College GameDay Podcast to break down the transfer market when it comes to the quarterback position. Davis asked about the quarterback situation and Thamel just shot off like a rocket breaking down the latest with various QB situations around the country.
You can read below what Pete Thamel had to say on the future of the quarterback position for the following schools: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida State, LSU, Oklahoma, Louisville, Washington and USC — who are chasing some of the top QB transfers on the market so far.
Pete Thamel shares latest on QB transfer market
Notre Dame: “Riley Leonard is on the campus at Notre Dame as we speak. I was told his great-grandfather played football at Notre Dame and that appears to be fated, but it’s not done until it’s done in this.”
Ohio State: “You know, for for a place like Ohio State, do they or don’t they? Devin Brown gets an audition in the bowl game, right. It’ll be really interesting to see if they jump in the sweepstakes.”
Florida State: “Florida State’s in the market. There’s a couple guys that they had that they’ve looked at. There’s a little bit of buzz of DJ Uiagalelei, but I think he’s a little down their list.”
LSU: “LSU is probably going to go with Garrett Nussmeier, who’s been the longtime backup, who I think is really talented.”
Oklahoma: “In Oklahoma, you know, do they go with Hawkins or one of the young guys? Or do they go back to the portal?” Thamel refers to Michael Hawkins Jr., a four-star and top-400 recruit in the 2024 class.
Louisville: “Louisville picked up Tyler Shough last night, a talented hard-luck guy who just — you know, I was looking back, he had a broken collarbone, re-injured that shoulder the next year, and then this year, had broken fibula. So it’ll be interesting to see with Jeff Brohm, who by the way, should always be a top veteran port target for quarterbacks, because they huck it, he’s a great play caller.”
Washington: “Washington’s in a unique spot. I’ve heard a lot of Will Rogers buzz there. Although, that’s not done, that’s just buzz. Washington has a really good player, young player, on campus, I think Dylan Morris. And then they got a five-star committed from the Sacramento area, like does that change the calculus too?”
USC: “USC has been flirting around Cam Ward. They’ve been flirting around Will Howard,” said Thamel. The respective starters from Washington State and Kansas State are names to watch at So Cal. He also used the Trojans’ QB room as an example of why bringing in transfers can have ripple effects on down the roster.
Thamel explains dynamic between landing transfers vs. sticking with young guys
“You know, all these blue bloods who have, if you look at Malachi Nelson at USC with Miller Moss for example. Like, you have these guys, you’ve recruited them for three years, they come, you develop them, you have to play the the three card monte of, ‘okay, he comes in, then you lose your room.'”
Nelson is a five-star QB prospect from the ’23 recruiting class and was the No. 11 overall player in the On3 Industry Rankings. Meanwhile, Moss is a four-star recruit from ’21 that is still waiting for his chance and would be a likely transfer candidate if another QB was brought in. Thamel explains that such a dynamic played out in South Bend last season.
“You know, we saw it a little bit at Notre Dame last year when (Sam) Hartman came in. They had future lacrosse All-American Tyler Buchner leave, and then they obviously had Drew Pyne leave as well. So these are really difficult decisions because it’s easy for us sit there and say, ‘oh, he’s going to go there, he’s going to go there,’ but you got like years of relationships built.”
That’s why teams like USC, Washington, Ohio State and others have to balance the future of their QB rooms with getting a quick fix for this season. Like, maybe Cam Ward makes sense for USC next season or maybe Ohio State goes after him. He’d likely be the best option for next season, but would the Trojans and Buckeyes then chase away their promising youngsters? They very well may. It’s just a tightrope they have to walk.
As programs like those two make such decisions while the rest of the quarterback carousel spins like a top, Pete Thamel claims that these are the weeks which will decide who is still competing for the national title this time next December.
“So that, the the future of college football in 2024, is being shaped in these upcoming weeks at the quarterback position.”