Transfer Portal: G5 Schools Where Mizzou QB Jake Garcia Could Land

Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, Missouri quarterback Jake Garcia is expected to enter the transfer portal and will have three years of eligibility remaining. This is

© Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, Missouri quarterback Jake Garcia is expected to enter the transfer portal and will have three years of eligibility remaining. This is the second time that Garcia will enter the portal, with the first time being his exit from the University of Miami.

Missouri QB Jake Garcia (@jakegarcia14) tells ESPN he intends to enter the NCAA transfer portal. He’s expected to have three years of eligibility remaining. He began his career at Miami, where he started one game and threw for 950 yards and 7 TDs as a Hurricane in 2021 and 2022.

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 27, 2023

In his one season with Missouri, Garcia did not see any in-game action. The last time  we saw Garcia get into game action was with the Hurricanes, where he played in eight games in 2022, throwing for 950 yards and seven touchdowns.

Garcia's return to the portal begs the question: would going to the group of five level will benefit the former four-star quarterback?

Garcia would likely be a starter at the G5 level and there are several teams who could use his services entering the 2024 season.

With three years of eligibility remaining, most teams can look at Garcia and use him as the building block for the next few seasons.

New Mexico State

With the departures of starter Diego Pavia, backup Blaze Berlowitz, and head coach Jerry Kill, it begins to feel like a new era is ahead for the Aggies. Garcia could be a building block for that. 

After a 10-5 season, the Aggies look to build off of that momentum and having a quarterback like Garcia makes a lot of sense for new head coach Tony Sanchez.

Florida Atlantic 

After starting 11 games for the Owls, Daniel Richardson transferred to Florida A&M to play his final year of eligibility. Along with Richardson, Casey Thompson also entered the portal, leaving the quarterback room in need of players.

Garcia's three years of eligibility are a big factor for where he will play in 2024 and moving forward and for the Owls, having stability at the quarterback position is something they need, and have needed for a while. Garcia would be able to elevate an FAU team that went 4-8 this past season with several losses in close games.

Ohio 

The Bobcats just saw starter Kurtis Rourke transfer to Indiana and then two of the other quarterbacks are transfer students. The Bobcats finished the 2023 season with a 10-3 record, which included a bowl game victory, so they are looking to build off of that going into 2024.

Seems like the Bobcats offense fits what Garcia's play style is, which is more through the air. Tim Alpin can pair up Garcia with junior wide receiver Miles Cross and tight end Will Kacmarek, to get the pass game going, along with the Bobcats not losing any of their top running backs this past season. Garcia and UCF transfer Parker Navarro would be the two most likely starter candidates. 

San José State

This option is somewhat close to home for the quarterback. Garcia is originally from Whittier, California, in Los Angeles County. With starter Chevan Cordeiro finishing up his career at San José State, that opens the door for someone like Garcia to step in for head coach Brent Brennan.

The Spartans are coming off of a 7-6 season, their second winning season in a row. Adding Garcia would allow the Spartans to keep almost everything the same in terms of the offense.