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Transfer QBs could very well determine outcome of SEC race in 2016
By John Crist
Published:
They have no attention span. They’re addicted to technology. They don’t want to have to work hard for anything. They’re overly sensitive to criticism. They feel entitled.
No, I’m not talking about millennials.
(They are the worst, though. Worst. Generation. Ever.)
I’m talking about quarterbacks.
Every offseason, some of the biggest headlines across the country revolve around the increasing number of comings and goings under center.
Alabama just won the national championship with Jake Coker, who came to Tuscaloosa only after not living up to expectations — to be fair, he was blocked by Jameis Winston — at Florida State. Oklahoma made it to the College Football Playoff with Baker Mayfield, who first went to Texas Tech.
Many high school passers are so advanced at such a young age these days, so if their college coach isn’t prepared to start them seemingly right away, they’ll find another one who will.
There is no reason to believe this trend will reverse any time soon. So long as the current NCAA rules remain, especially the one that allows graduate transfers to suit up immediately instead of having to sit out a year, expect all kinds of QB movement into, out of and around the Power 5 conferences.
Embrace it. It’s useless to resist. You’d have better luck trying to get millennials to put away their phones at Chipotle.
At least five SEC schools will welcome quarterback transfers to the roster prior to the 2016 slate, so here is what we can expect from each of them.
Trevor Knight
Originally a four-star recruit from San Antonio (Tex.) Ronald Reagan High School, Knight comes to Texas A&M as a graduate transfer from Oklahoma.
Knight burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2013, when he carved up Alabama to the tune of 32-of-44 passing for 348 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception in a 45-31 upset of the Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl. A trendy Heisman Trophy pick entering 2014, he put together a mediocre TD-to-INT ratio of 14-to-9 before an injury vs. Baylor — much to the dismay of Katy Perry — ended his regular season.
He lost the job with the Sooners in 2015 to the aforementioned Mayfield, who ended up finishing fourth in the Heisman balloting.
The Aggies have dealt with more quarterback turmoil than perhaps any team in America, as former five-star recruits Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray both bolted College Station in December — one-time starter Kenny Hill walked away from coach Kevin Sumlin the year before. Nobody has quite been able to recreate the magic Johnny Manziel had in 2012, and while putting those expectations on Knight is silly, he’s already beaten ‘Bama.
Taking down the Tide is what put Manziel on the map in the first place.
Ricky Town
Originally a four-star recruit from Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure High School, Town comes to Arkansas from USC.
https://twitter.com/tonymataya/status/634771262838079488
Town was committed to Alabama before flipping to the Trojans as an early enrollee, although he was one of two quarterbacks signed in the class — fellow four-star prospect Sam Darnold was the other. Town’s decision to become a Razorback was based in part on coach Bret Beliema’s offense being more demanding than what he was running at SC, but a crowded depth chart in Los Angeles surely played a role in his change of heart.
The Hogs are looking for a new starter after the graduation of Brandon Allen. His younger brother Austin backed him up in 2015. Austin simply isn’t as talented as his older sibling, or Town for that matter.
Luke Del Rio/Austin Appleby
Originally a three-star recruit from Denver (Colo.) Valor Christian High School, Del Rio comes to Florida after stints at Alabama and Oregon State — he already has a year in Gainesville under his belt since he sat out 2015. Appleby, on the other hand, was a three-star signee out of North Canton (Oh.) Hoover High School who began his career at Purdue.
Perhaps no team did more with less quarterback-wise this past season than the Gators, who won 10 games and earned the SEC East division crown despite Will Grier’s suspension for PEDs and Treon Harris not looking like a capable replacement.
Del Rio — the son of Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio — reportedly opened some eyes practicing with the scout team, and it’s possible he would have been given a chance to unseat Harris had he been eligible to play. Appleby was the starter at the beginning of the year for the Boilermakers, but sat for several games following a 9-of-28 stinker in a 51-24 loss to Virginia Tech at home.
While Harris may be the incumbent, you’d have a hard time finding a fan in Gator Nation that wants to see him running coach Jim McElwain’s offense again.
Orange-and-blue backers would be smart to temper their expectations for early-enrollee freshman Feleipe Franks, who was less than impressive in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Judging recruits based on all-star game performances may be a bit harsh — that didn’t stop Twitter trolls from doing so, of course — but it will likely take him some time to develop into a legitimate contender for the starting job.
Danny Etling
Originally a four-star recruit from Terre Haute (Ind.) South Vigo High School, Etling comes to LSU from Purdue.
AM | #LSU Twitter Mailbag: You asked about next season, QB Danny Etling and more – https://t.co/yRrMsOKgI7 pic.twitter.com/Q21Jxb9JiV
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 9, 2015
Etling started the second half of the 2013 season in West Lafayette as a true freshman, as well as the first half of the 2014 campaign before being benched in favor of the previously mentioned Appleby. He finished his stint with the Boilers as a 55.5-percent passer with 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and now he’s ready to compete for the Tigers job — he already sat out a year in Baton Rouge.
While Brandon Harris didn’t necessarily play poorly in 2015, he only managed a completion rate of 53.8 percent, even with Leonard Fournette in the backfield and a dangerous pass-catching tandem of Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural.
John Franklin
Originally a three-star recruit from South Plantation (Fla.) High School, Franklin comes to Auburn from Florida State.
When you couple the three-year presence of Winston with the demands of coach Jimbo Fisher’s passing game, the Seminoles have seen their fair share of QBs leave for other destinations in recent seasons. Franklin joins a list that includes Coker and Clint Trickett, who knew he couldn’t beat out Winston — no shame there, really — and departed for West Virginia.
Franklin was never given much of a chance to play quarterback at FSU and even spent some time at wide receiver, as his arm talent is average at best.
But that may not be a dealbreaker lining up in Tigers coach Gus Malzahn’s system, not after Nick Marshall — a former cornerback at Georgia — nearly won a national championship in 2013 as a dual-threat dynamo. Franklin is about the same size as Marshall and might be even faster with the ball in his hands.
Both Jeremy Johnson and Sean White were given opportunities to take the job and run with it in 2015, but neither managed to do so.
John Crist is an award-winning contributor to Saturday Down South.
