It’s both transfer season and bowl season in college football.
The poor timing of the sports calendar means that players must enter the transfer portal immediately after the end of the season to enroll at a new school for the second semester. That means players across the country will have to leave their current teams before a bowl game to find a new school. And that coaches need to both prepare their current players for a bowl game and also recruit transfers for the 2025 season.
Here is our tracker of notable QB transfers in college football ahead of the 2025 season.
Beau Pribula to Missouri
After leaving Penn State ahead of the College Football Playoff, Beau Pribula has found his new home.
According to multiple reports, Pribula will move to Missouri on Sunday evening. Pribula was Drew Allar’s backup quarterback at Penn State this season, although Pribula announced he would be moving before the Nittany Lions won at SMU in the first round of the playoffs. Allar announced he will also return to Penn State next season.
Pribula will have two years of eligibility remaining at Missouri, where he will likely replace Brady Cook. Pribula, a former four-star recruit, went 26 of 35 for 275 yards with five touchdowns and an interception this season. He also had 242 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries. Missouri also has Drew Pyne, who backed up Cook last season, on the roster.
The Tigers went 9-3 this season, the fifth under coach Eli Drinkwitz. They close their season against Iowa in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl on December 30.
Michigan adds Mikey Keene from Fresno State
Michigan was looking for a veteran quarterback who could provide a one-year bridge to five-star recruit Bryce Underwood. The Wolverines have found one with Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene, who has one year of eligibility remaining.
As a two-year starter for the Bulldogs, Keene threw for 5,868 yards and 42 touchdowns, completing 68.7% of his passes. He is also familiar with Michigan’s new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, whom he played under at UCF in 2022.
Michigan’s QB play has major room for improvement beyond the 2024 season. The Wolverines were nearly worst in the country in passing offense, averaging 133.6 yards per game and 5.5 yards per attempt.
Davis Warren threw for 1,126 yards, six touchdowns and nine interceptions in eight games, while Alex Orji and Jack Tuttle also started games last season. Orji entered the transfer portal while Tuttle retired due to injury. Warren has a fifth year of eligibility remaining and could return. Redshirt freshman Jadyn Davis will also be in the QB mix with Underwood and Keene.
Maalik Murphy is moving to Oregon State
Former Texas and Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy is heading west.
According to multiple reports, Murphy committed to Oregon State on Thursday. He joins the Beavers after one season in Durham following his transfer from Texas.
Murphy was 254 of 421 passing for 2,933 yards and 26 TDs with 12 interceptions in 2024. He spent the 2023 season as Texas’ No. 2 quarterback and started in Quinn Ewers’ absence when Ewers suffered a shoulder injury. However, due to the timing of the transfer portal, he left the Longhorns before the College Football Playoff.
Murphy will have two seasons of eligibility with the Beavers. Oregon State went 5-7 in 2024 when three different quarterbacks played in at least five games.
After Murphy entered the transfer portal at the end of the season, Duke moved quickly to secure a commitment from Tulane’s Darian Mensah.
Liberty’s Kaidon Salter is headed to Colorado
One of the most productive QBs in college football during the 2023 season is heading to Colorado.
Liberty’s Kaidon Salter committed to Colorado on Wednesday for his final season of eligibility. Salter totaled 44 touchdowns in 2023 as Liberty went undefeated and won Conference USA before losing to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. Salter returned to Liberty for the 2024 season after briefly entering the portal following the Fiesta Bowl loss.
Billy Edwards commits to Wisconsin
Former Maryland QB Billy Edwards said Monday he was headed to Wisconsin. Edwards was 273 of 420 passing for 2,881 yards and 15 touchdowns with nine interceptions in 11 games in 2024. He also rushed for 148 yards and five touchdowns. Edwards played in 15 games during his first two seasons at Maryland before becoming the team’s top QB in 2024.
Wisconsin is undergoing an overhaul at the QB position as the team made a coordinator change at the end of the season. QBs Braedyn Locke and Tyler Van Dyke have already entered the transfer portal. Locke was the team’s starter for most of the season after Van Dyke suffered a torn ACL against Alabama.
Wazzu QB John Mateer enters the portal
Washington State QB John Mateer was one of the most dynamic players in college football in 2024. He will be playing at a new school in 2025.
Mateer enters the portal after leading college football with 44 total TDs. He threw for 29 scores and rushed for 15 others, as he had at least one passing TD and one rushing TD in 10 of Washington State’s twelve games.
Penn State QB Beau Pribula leaves the team before the playoff
The Nittany Lions will get a new backup behind Drew Allar for the College Football Playoff.
No. 2 QB Beau Pribula announced on Sunday that he entered the transfer portal ahead of the postseason. Pribula lamented the timing of his announcement due to the college football calendar, and his sentiments were echoed by coach James Franklin, who said he supported his QB’s decision to find a new school.
Pribula’s decision to transfer came one day before Allar announced he would return to Penn State for the 2025 season.
Pribula saw significant playing time behind Allar in 2024. He was 26 of 35 passing for 275 yards and five touchdowns and rushed 38 times for 242 yards and four scores while appearing in all 13 PSU games.
Miller Moss will spend his final season at Louisville
The Louisville Cardinals will likely get a one-year transfer starting at quarterback for a second straight season.
Former USC QB Miller Moss committed to the Cardinals on Saturday. Moss was USC’s 2024 starter for much of the season before being replaced by Jayden Maiava. Moss was 233 of 362 passing for 2,555 yards with 18 TDs and nine interceptions in nine games.
The Cardinals and coach Jeff Brohm took a closer look at what Moss can do in the Holiday Bowl at the end of the 2023 season. With Caleb Williams opting out of the NFL Draft, Moss started the game and was 23 of 33 for 372 yards and six touchdowns.
Tyler Shough spent the 2024 season as Louisville’s starter after stints at Oregon and Texas Tech. In his seventh season in college, Shough has completed 63% of his passes and thrown for 23 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
Ex-Stanford QB Ashton Daniels joins Jackson Arnold at Auburn
Auburn added a second starting QB in less than a week on Monday when Ashton Daniels from Stanford committed to the Tigers. In 11 games in 2024, Daniels was 170 of 271 passing for 1,700 yards and 10 TDs with 12 interceptions. He was also the Cardinal’s leading rusher with 148 carries for 669 yards and three touchdowns.
Daniels has played in 33 games during his Stanford career and is 366 of 602 for 3,986 yards. His commitment came days after former Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold committed to Auburn. The Tigers will have a new starter in 2025 after Payton Thorne became ineligible and Hank Brown transferred to Iowa.
Utah adds New Mexico QB Devon Dampier and OC
Dual-threat QB Devon Dampier is headed to Utah.
The Utes received a commitment from Dampier on Dec. 11 after the Utes hired former New Mexico offensive coordinator Jason Beck to call plays.
Dampier thrived under Beck in 2024 as one of the most underrated players in college football. Dampier was 226 of 390 passing for 2,768 yards and 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also rushed 155 times for 1,166 yards and 19 scores. He was the only player to rush for more than 1,000 yards this season while throwing for more than 2,500 yards.
Dampier will be the presumptive starter for the Utes as they try to bounce back from a poor 2024. QB Isaac Wilson has been the team’s main starter following Cam Rising’s multiple injuries. Wilson was briefly in the transfer portal before heading back to Utah.
Thomas Castellanos is headed to Florida State
After an ignominious end to his career at Boston College, Thomas Castellanos is headed to Florida State.
The former BC QB entered the transfer portal at the end of the season after losing his starting job in November. Through eight games in 2024, Castellanos threw for 1,366 yards and 18 touchdowns.
But Castellanos’ season was effectively over after Grayson James replaced him in a win over Syracuse. Castellanos stepped away from the team after BC coach Bill O’Brien announced that James would remain the team’s primary QB and announced he was entering the portal a short time later.
Texas A&M QB Conner Weigman is headed to Houston
Conner Weigman decided to stay in Texas after transferring from Texas A&M.
The former Aggies starter committed to Houston after putting his name in the portal. Weigman was the team’s starting quarterback, but lost his job to Marcel Reed during the Aggies’ comeback win over LSU.
Weigman, a former four-star recruit, has battled injuries the past two seasons. He missed time in 2024 with a shoulder injury and played just four games in 2023 before a foot injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Maalik Murphy comes over from Duke, Darian Mensah commits
Duke effectively executed an early QB trade in the transfer portal after the 2024 season concluded.
Starter Maalik Murphy entered the portal after one season with the Blue Devils. Just days after Murphy said he would transfer, Duke added former Tulane QB Darian Mensah.
Mensah has been one of the highest-rated QBs in the portal since announcing he was leaving Tulane two days after the AAC title game. He threw for more than 2,723 yards and 22 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2024.
