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Former Oklahoma QB Lands at Big 12 School

Brendan Zurbrugg was in the Sooners' class of 2024 and spent this season learning the game under Seth Littrell and Kevin Johns.

John E. Hoover

Oklahoma quarterback Brendan Zurbrugg
Oklahoma quarterback Brendan Zurbrugg / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
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A former Oklahoma quarterback is heading west.

Brendan Zurbrugg, a freshman who entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Dec. 12, announced that he’ll play next season at Utah.

News of Zurbrugg’s decision actually broke last week, after Zurbrugg visited the Salt Lake City campus. He’ll have four years of eligibility left after spending a tumultuous freshman season learning the game at 6-6 OU under Seth Littrell (fired at midseason) and Kevin Johns (now at Oklahoma State).

Per 247 Sports, Zurbrugg was a 3-star prospect out of high school. A native of Ohio, Zurbrugg threw for 2,322 yards, 26 touchdowns and four interceptions during his senior season at Alliance High School. He chose Oklahoma over offers from Syracuse, Northwestern and Toledo, among others.

The high school track star also rushed for 1,038 yards and 13 more scores, leading his team to the playoffs. His performance earned him the 2023 Northeast Ohio Inland District Division III Player of the Year honors. In his high school career, Zurbrugg set Alliance records with 6,376 total yards, 63 total touchdowns, and a completion percentage of .720.

As a true freshman, Zurbrugg did not play in any games for the Sooners in 2024.

Utah went 5-7 this season with injuries at QB and multiple departures.

Zurbrugg’s departure two weeks ago on the heels of Jackson Arnold’s exit left Oklahoma with just two quarterbacks on the 2025, but that was addressed last week when Washington State’s John Mateer transferred to OU. Mateer will compete with freshman Michael Hawkins Jr., who started three games in 2024. Former Akron transfer Steele Wasel — a walk-on redshirt freshman who played high school football at nearby Choctaw but didn't get any game snaps this season — is the other rostered quarterback. 

Seventh-year senior Casey Thompson — who was in the same class as and signed with Texas to play alongside outgoing Utah quarterback Cam Rising — is the backup for the Sooners’ bowl game against Navy but is out of eligibility next season. Rising transferred from Texas to Utah and led the Utes to Pac-12 championships in 2021 and 2022.

This year's NCAA Transfer Portal officially opened on Monday. To be eligible to play right away in 2025, players must enter their name into the transfer portal before Dec. 28. The spring portal window runs from April 16-25, 2025.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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