B/R Recruiting: Ranking QBs from the 2024 Transfer Portal Class by Performance
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Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel Ali Gradischer/Getty Images
There’s no better quick fix in college football than the transfer portal. If you land the right quarterback, you can go from concerned to contender in the flick of a wrist.
Programs have been proving that ever since the advent of the portal. Last year’s Heisman Trophy trio of finalists (LSU’s Jayden Daniels, Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., and Oregon’s Bo Nix) were all with their second collegiate team.
This year, it’s more of the same. Two of the top Heisman contenders at the moment are first-year transfer quarterbacks. Others are making major impacts for surging programs across the nation, too.
So many times in the transfer portal rankings, potential is given equal weight to production. You won’t find that here. In other words, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, Oregon’s Dante Moore or Michigan State’s Aidan Chiles didn’t make these rankings.
Here, we’re only concerned about the numbers they’re putting up and—most important and more heavily weighted—the impact they’re having on their programs on the national scale. For instance, a quarterback making a difference on a better team may be ranked ahead of a player putting up better numbers for a worse team.
Guys like Minnesota’s Max Brosmer, Duke’s Maalik Murphy, Texas State’s Jordan McCloud and Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt just missed the list. Who’s on it? Let’s take a look.
12. Hajj-Malik Williams, UNLV Runnin’ Rebels
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When UNLV starting quarterback Matthew Sluka announced he was transferring in September after only three games, everybody figured the Runnin’ Rebels could just be written off.
That was far from the case.
Head coach Barry Odom inserted little-known transfer Hajj-Malik Williams from the Campbell Camels into the starting lineup, and the Rebels didn’t miss a beat. They are 3-2 since the move, but those two losses were close ones to Syracuse and Boise State and had nothing to do with Williams, either.
The 6’1″, 205-pound senior from Atlanta has been excellent in relief of Sluka. If the Rebels’ record was better with him at the helm, he’d be higher in these rankings. So far this year, Williams has thrown for 1,017 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions and rushed for 495 yards and five scores.
“It was business as usual,” Odom told FootballScoop’s Zach Barnett after Williams was nearly perfect in his first game replacing Sluka.
So far, Williams has completed 68 percent of his passes and has posted his best games in some of the biggest moments. This is what a veteran and sixth-year transfer is supposed to provide a team. UNLV is fortunate to have him.
11. Taylen Green, Arkansas Razorbacks
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The second year of the Bobby Petrino Experience in Arkansas is drawing rave reviews, and rightfully so. The Razorbacks’ offensive statistics and efficiency ratings are well above what they were last season, as Whole Hog Sports’ Matt Jones noted.
A lot of the credit should go to Boise State transfer Taylen Green. In his first year with the Razorbacks, the junior is a massive reason why the Hogs are 5-3 (with an upset over Tennessee) and why head coach Sam Pittman may keep his job.
Green is a dual-threat superstar who is leading the charge for a team that isn’t in contention for the SEC title but is a threat to win every week. In the rugged SEC, Green has thrown for 2,056 yards, 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The long-striding athlete also has shown the propensity to gallop away from defenders to the tune of 395 rushing yards and five scores. That ability to beat teams with his arm or his legs gives him the nod over Duke’s Maalik Murphy for this spot.
The best news for Hogs fans is that unless Green decides to test the NFL waters, he’ll have another season to mature and develop. But he is proving that he’s good enough to shine in the highest level of college football.
10. Riley Leonard, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
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The 2024 campaign has been a bit of a mixed bag for Notre Dame senior transfer Riley Leonard, who is shaking off plenty of rust. He missed most of last season to recover from an injury that he suffered against the Irish while he was at Duke.
But Leonard is finally coming into his own as a leader for the eighth-ranked Fighting Irish after a putrid start to the season.
Leonard was ineffective in Notre Dame’s season-opening win at Texas A&M, but that turnover-less victory in a hostile environment against a good defense is aging well. The two-interception performance in Notre Dame’s upset loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2 is not.
Since then, Leonard has been steady if not spectacular. While he needs to be able to throw the ball downfield more consistently, he is a weapon with his exceptional athleticism and ability to run the football.
Leonard got his passing going in a lopsided win over Navy this past weekend and now sits at 1,360 passing yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. He also has 539 rushing yards and 11 scores on the ground, which is what sets him apart.
Leonard is a big reason why the Irish are still in the College Football Playoff picture despite their loss to Northern Illinois.
9. Kyle McCord, Syracuse Orange
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Let’s first address the elephant in the room with Kyle McCord: If not for an atrocious five-interception performance on national television against Pittsburgh last Thursday night, he’d be much higher on this list.
Unfortunately, that’s like asking Mrs. Lincoln how the play was other than…well, you know.
Prior to that meltdown against the undefeated Panthers, McCord had been the author of a Syracuse offense that entered that game second in the nation in passing offense. Even with that ugly stat line on his resume, he’s thrown for 2,481 yards and 19 touchdowns along with 11 interceptions.
Earlier this year, first-year Syracuse coach Fran Brown quipped to the Associated Press, “I should send Ryan Day a bottle of champagne for allowing us to get Kyle McCord. It’s really cool.”
There’s no question he still feels that way. The Orange were awful last season, and they’re now 5-2. While McCord wasn’t what Ohio State was looking for, he wasn’t bad, and he’s showing college football what he can do this year.
There’s now just one major blemish on his resume.
8. Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati Bearcats
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There are a lot of major surprises in these rankings. One of the biggest is Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby.
The former Indiana Hoosier was ranked 18th in the 247Sports Transfer Portal quarterback rankings, so there wasn’t much expected out of him. He certainly didn’t move the needle when he wound up with Scott Satterfield’s Bearcats.
But with Sorsby under center, Cincinnati has enjoyed a bit of a resurgence this season, currently sitting at 5-3 and 3-2 in a wide-open Big 12. They could have made some real noise had they gone into Boulder last weekend and beaten Colorado, but that didn’t happen.
Still, Sorsby is a savvy leader who can do a lot of things with the football. The 6’3″, 228-pound sophomore looks like a sneaky-strong pickup who will be a catalyst for Satterfield’s program for years to come.
If the Bearcats can continue to improve running the ball and protecting Sorsby, they’ll keep growing. There is a lot to like about the future of the program with him at quarterback.
Aidan Riggs @aidanriggs_
#Bearcats Head coach Scott Satterfield on the dip of the running numbers and relying on pass game more as season has progressed:
“It comes down to taking what’s given to you. Brendan Sorsby has been great and even though our offense has changed from last year we just need to be…
Statistically, there aren’t many signal-callers better than Sorsby this year. He has 2,108 passing yards along with 15 touchdowns and just four interceptions. While he isn’t the biggest running threat, he does enough to keep teams honest with 144 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
7. Tyler Shough, Louisville Cardinals
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If these rankings were based on ceiling, Brendan Sorsby would belong in this spot over Tyler Shough. But remember, we’re talking strictly about production and impact.
That’s why the Louisville Cardinals’ first-year starting quarterback gets the nod here.
This is Shough’s third program after he began his career at Oregon and then transferred to Texas Tech. The 6’5″, 225-pound senior started at both of those previous stops, but he’s never put together a year like this. He’s already having a career campaign, and we’re only eight games into the season.
Shough—like Jack Plummer before him last season—is an Arizona native and a one-year mercenary who can help head coach Jeff Brohm get his program off and running before he can recruit the right quarterback to run his system.
Even though the Cardinals are 5-3 and 3-2 in the ACC after making it to the conference championship game a year ago, Shough is having a tremendous season. So far, the senior has thrown for 2,348 yards and 20 touchdowns to go along with just five interceptions.
Louisville is 10th nationally in passing offense, and Shough is 11th in yards per game. He led the Cardinals to a 20-point, come-from-behind win over Boston College this past weekend.
If he can stay healthy, Shough is going to post huge numbers and get drafted.
6. Will Howard, Ohio State Buckeyes
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The spotlight can get extremely hot at Ohio State. Just ask Syracuse’s Kyle McCord, who left Columbus before his senior year.
Things haven’t been perfect for the Buckeyes’ plug-and-play answer at quarterback this year, but Will Howard is doing just fine after transferring from Kansas State.
This past weekend is a prime example. Trailing Nebraska late in the fourth quarter, the senior calmly led a touchdown drive to help Ohio State escape with a win. While fans would like to see Howard throw downfield more, especially with weapons like Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate at his disposal, Howard has been efficient and effective.
He did hit Smith on a beautiful 60-yarder in that win, and for the season, Howard is showcasing his NFL ability to the tune of 1,795 passing yards and 17 touchdowns against only four interceptions. He hasn’t been asked to run the ball like he did at Kansas State, but he still has five touchdowns on the ground as well.
This week, Howard is providing plenty of fodder for reporters as the Pennsylvania native gets ready to take on Penn State in a massive game.
“I’m stoked. I’m stoked,” Howard told reporters at Ohio Stadium after the win. “I cannot wait. It’s going to be a homecoming for me. I grew up a Penn State fan. I wanted to go there my whole life. They didn’t think I was good enough, but I guess we’ll see next week if I was.”
Howard is 0-1 with a loss to Oregon in huge games so far this season. This weekend is another big test for him.
5. Kurtis Rourke, Indiana Hoosiers
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Don’t let the numbers fool you. Kurtis Rourke may not have gaudy statistics like some of the guys in these rankings, but he’s dealt with injuries. He has also been the maestro who has led college football’s biggest surprise this year, as the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers are firmly in the College Football Playoff picture in head coach Curt Cignetti’s first season.
Getting the former Ohio signal-caller to come to Indiana for his final collegiate season was perhaps the biggest piece of the rebuilding puzzle that allowed Cignetti to build a winner right away. He was the No. 22-ranked transfer passer, according to 247Sports, but he’s had a far greater impact than that.
Though backup Tayven Jackson didn’t perform poorly in a win over Washington this past weekend, the Hoosiers’ offense is much more disjointed without Rourke under center.
This season, he has thrown for 1,941 yards, 15 touchdowns and only three interceptions and has added a pair of scoring runs on the ground. Most importantly, he could be back this week for the Hoosiers as they take on Michigan State.
“Optimistic on Kurtis Rourke, he’s thrown the last few days, building up,” Cignetti said, according to the Associated Press. “(His) workload will increase as the week goes on. That’s all I’m going to say about it.”
While the 6’5″, 223-pound Rourke had a nice career in the Group of Five with some highlight-reel plays during MACtion, leading a Big Ten program to a storybook year is another level. NFL teams should take notice.
4. Eli Holstein, Pittsburgh Panthers
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The Pittsburgh Panthers don’t get the hype and hubbub that the Indiana Hoosiers have been getting recently, but these guys are undefeated as well.
Head coach Pat Narduzzi went against the grain by hiring Kade Bell to lead his offense after Bell authored one of the nation’s most explosive FCS offenses at Western Carolina. To run his show, he needed a capable signal-caller.
In transferred former Alabama quarterback Eli Holstein, who was part of the exodus in Nick Saban’s final season. He was the No. 12-rated pro-style passer in the 2023 recruiting class, but he just couldn’t find the field in Tuscaloosa. He got an opportunity to be the man as a redshirt freshman at Pitt, and he ran with it.
You might not have heard of Holstein, but you should commit his name to memory. He has a bright college football career in front of him.
So far this year, he has thrown for 1,808 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions and has run for 286 yards and three touchdowns. Those are shocking numbers considering he was the 40th-rated transfer quarterback, according to 247Sports.
The Panthers have been burned by the transfer portal in recent years (see: Jordan Addison leaving for USC a few seasons back. But Narduzzi has been very clear that Holstein’s bright future is going to be at Pitt if he has anything to say about it.
“It’s always a concern, but first of all, we’re going to take care of Eli,” Narduzzi told SiriusXM’s Zach Gelb (via PGHSN.com’s Karl Ludwig). “Okay? That’s the No. 1 thing.”
3. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt Commodores
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Diego Pavia’s picture should be next to the word “impact” in the college football dictionary. He’s spent the past few years proving doubters wrong.
He began his collegiate career at New Mexico Military Institute (a JUCO) before transferring to New Mexico State under head coach Jerry Kill. Last season, he led the Aggies to the Conference USA title game and won the league’s Offensive Player of the Year award.
When Kill left New Mexico State this offseason to be a chief consultant to head coach Clark Lea and senior offensive analyst for the Vanderbilt Commodores, nobody thought much of it. When Pavia followed him to Nashville, it hardly made national ripples.
But Kill and Pavia are both winners. And it was laughable that a player with Pavia’s refuse-to-lose mentality was the No. 36-ranked transfer portal quarterback, per 247Sports. He has led the ‘Dores with 1,534 passing yards and 13 touchdowns against just three interceptions. He’s also run for 537 yards and four more touchdowns.
Everybody in college football knows his name now. He led the Commodores to a stunning upset of then No. 1-ranked Alabama, and he also took them on the road and upset Kentucky.
Just this past weekend, Pavia led a late fourth-quarter touchdown drive at home against Texas before the Longhorns recovered an onside kick and escaped Nashville with a win.
Pavia has teamed with Lea to make Vanderbilt relevant, which is one of the biggest statements and toughest things to do in all of college football. He is a special competitor who has been doubted at every turn. All he does is win big games.
2. Dillon Gabriel, Oregon Ducks
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Dillon Gabriel was a superstar at his previous two stops at UCF and Oklahoma. The sixth-year, 23-year-old senior now may be on his way to a Heisman Trophy at Oregon.
Most importantly, though, he’s seeking an elusive national championship.
After Sooners head coach Brent Venables didn’t fight to keep Gabriel in Norman, he was a hot commodity in the transfer portal. When Bo Nix ran out of eligibility and headed to the NFL, Ducks head coach Dan Lanning knew exactly who he wanted. Gabriel would be the veteran presence who could step into a program with a ready-made elite wide receivers corps and make everything tick.
It didn’t happen overnight, as Gabriel needed some time to get things clicking. But the top-ranked Ducks navigated some early-season, sweaty-close wins and now look like the best team in the nation. They’re still unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the country, and Gabriel is at the center of it all.
He has 2,371 passing yards and 18 touchdowns. While he has thrown five interceptions, he also has offset that with five rushing touchdowns. Right now, he is up there with Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and the No. 1 player in these rankings in the Heisman Trophy conversation.
With a big day last weekend against Illinois, Gabriel moved into sole possession of second nationally in all-time passing yards and scoring tosses. “Overall, Dillon’s done what he’s been able to do all year for us,” Lanning said, “be really consistent and execute.”
1. Cameron Ward, Miami Hurricanes
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When you go portaling, there’s the off-chance that you’re going to identify your guy and get the perfect blend of elite talent, perfect fit and instant impact. When all of those things line up, there’s the potential for turning your close-but-not-quite-there program into a contender.
That’s exactly what happened when Miami head coach Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes went after Washington State transfer Cameron Ward and put together a package to keep him from the NFL. It’s been a match made in heaven for everybody.
After handling rival Florida State this past weekend, The U is ranked fifth in the nation, and Ward is the primary focus nationally for the Heisman Trophy. The Hurricanes have taken a monumental leap in Cristobal’s third year because of Ward.
He is third nationally in passing yards per game, and Miami is second nationally in passing offense behind only North Texas. Ward has 2,746 passing yards and 24 touchdowns to go with only five interceptions. He also has three scoring runs.
More importantly, there have been times this year—such as in a roaring, second-half comeback win at California—where he took the team on his shoulders and carried the Hurricanes to a win.
If Miami is indeed back, Ward is the biggest reason why.
All stats courtesy of CFBStats and Sports Reference unless otherwise noted. Recruit rankings courtesy of 247Sports unless otherwise noted.
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