Former Florida State Quarterback Comes Up Short For Starting Job At Third School

The former Seminole has simply had an unlucky college career for a myriad of reasons.

Nevada's Chubba Purdy looks to the sideline between play during the Nevada Silver and Blue Spring Game at Mackay Stadium on Saturday April 13, 2024. / Andy Barron / USA TODAY NETWORK

The addition of the NCAA Transfer Portal means thousands of college football players are testing the waters every year - some even multiple times. This is a unique era where a large portion of prep prospects who make it to the next level will spend their careers at more than one school.

In particular, the 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes have featured a ton of moving parts due to the COVID-19 pandemic that limited in-person scouting for nearly 15 months. That made it tough for college coaches to go through proper evaluations of prospects in a business where misses happen on the recruiting trail in normal circumstances.

Former Florida State quarterback Chubba Purdy is one of those players who has gone through the wringer over the last few years. After signing with the Seminoles in 2020, Purdy spent less than two years in Tallahassee before transferring to Nebraska. Following two seasons with the Cornhuskers, he chose to hit the portal again and landed at Nevada.

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A redshirt senior, Purdy was hoping to finally secure a starting role in 2024. He'll have to keep working to earn his chance as Nevada head coach Jeff Choate named Colorado transfer Brendon Lewis the team's opening day starter on Monday. Purdy has been dealing with a shoulder injury that has limited his availability in practice this preseason, according to Pete Thamel.

Unfortunately, that's just more of the bad luck that Purdy has dealt with throughout his career. A four-star prospect, he impressed during his first fall camp at Florida State before suffering a fractured collarbone that kept him out for most of his freshman season. The injury ultimately required a second procedure.

Sometimes players just can't catch a break and that's seemingly where Purdy is at. For instance, Nebraska head coach Scott Frost was fired just three games into the season in 2022, thrusting him into an unexpected circumstance. When Purdy hit the portal this past offseason, he originally committed to San Jose State but had to flip to Nevada after Spartans head coach Brent Brennan was hired by Arizona in a coaching domino effect that began after Nick Saban's retirement.

It's been that kind of ride for Purdy, who was the fifth true freshman in Florida State program history to start a game. His 57 passing attempts in 2023 were the most that he's thrown in a season since 2020.

Purdy has appeared in 15 games, with five starts, during his time with the Seminoles and Cornhuskers, completing 85/163 passes (52.1%) for 846 yards with six touchdowns to seven interceptions. He's also rushed 73 times for 315 yards and three more scores. Purdy is the younger brother of San Francisco 49ers star quarterback, Brock Purdy.

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