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Transfer Portal Opens with Star Quarterbacks on the Move

From Ohio State to Oklahoma, top programs must now replace signal callers

Michael Ehrlich

Transfer Portal Opens with Star Quarterbacks on the Move
Transfer Portal Opens with Star Quarterbacks on the Move /
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College football's free agency transfer portal officially opened on Monday with a flurry of top quarterbacks looking for new homes. Perennial powers - such as Ohio State, Oklahoma and Miami - must now replace their star signal callers and concurrently, the recruiting conversation across the country surrounding NIL compensation will heat up.

As Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule shared with reporters last week, the going rate for a new quarterback is certainly an investment. “Make no mistake: A good quarterback in the portal costs $1 million to $1.5 million to $2 million right now.” 

Among the big-name quarterbacks who entered the portal on Monday are Kyle McCord of Ohio State (3,170 yards, 24 touchdowns) and Dillon Gabriel of Oklahoma (3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns), who notched 11 and 10 wins respectively for their squads.

McCord and Gabriel join a stacked list of quarterbacks who are on the move, including highly sought-after Cameron Ward of Washington State and Dante Moore of UCLA. 

Others include:

· Riley Leonard, Duke

· D.J. Uiagalelei, Oregon State

· Will Howard, Kansas State

· Tyler Van Dyke, Miami

· Will Rogers, Mississippi State

· Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina

· Brock Vandagriff, Georgia

Ward in particular has the country buzzing on where he might end up. Prior to even entering the portal, sources reported that the Washington State star had 10 offers of at least $1 million.

Bovada currently has a prop bet for where Ward will end up with Oregon Ducks +110, Nebraska +400 and Houston +400.

As a junior, Ward threw for 3,732 yards, 25 touchdowns and had a 66.7% completion percentage.

Some quarterbacks are taking a different route in the portal - such as Alabama's Tyler Buchner - a former Notre Dame transfer who is reentering now as a lacrosse player. A top high school lacrosse recruit who committed to play at Michigan, Buchner hasn't ruled out a return to football.

With many more athletes on the move in the coming weeks, the transfer portal widows ends on January 2, 2024.

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Michael Ehrlich
MICHAEL EHRLICH

Michael Ehrlich is a seasoned sports marketing executive with experience across the global sports brand, athlete representation, media and education sides of the business. The Founder and CEO of Playbook Marketing, Ehrlich consults with brands on all things NIL and athlete partnerships, advises student-athletes on their personal brand building endeavors and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he teaches a course on athlete communications and marketing. As a writer, his previous bylines include Boardroom, Business of College Sports, DIME Magazine and UPROXX, among others. You can follow him across social media at @MichaelEhrlich and reach out via michael@playbook-marketing.com

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