Transfer QBs in 2025 college football season: More than 60% of Power Four starters have come through portal
There will be plenty of new faces in new places under center as the season kicks off this weekend
With almost every quarterback battle settled ahead of Week 1 of the college football regular season, transfers are once again at the depth chart forefront for most teams in the Power Four.
At least 62.7% of Week 1 starters for Power Four programs will be players who transferred at one point in their career.
Ahead of the 2025 season, here's a breakdown of the quarterback situations at the 67 Power Four programs:
| Team | Starting QB | Transfer |
|---|---|---|
Yes | ||
No | ||
No | ||
Yes | ||
Thomas Castellanos | Yes | |
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
No | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
No | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
No | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
No | ||
No | ||
Yes | ||
No | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
No | ||
No | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Nicco Marchiol/Jaylen Henderson | TBD | |
No | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Mark Gronkowski | Yes | |
Malik Washington/Justyn Martin | TBD | |
Yes | ||
No | ||
No | ||
No | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
No | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Demond Williams | Yes | |
Billy Edwards | Yes | |
No | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
No | ||
No | ||
Yes | ||
No | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
Yes | ||
No | ||
No | ||
Yes | ||
No | ||
No | ||
Yes |
Despite super seniors transitioning out of college football as COVID eligibility years phase out, the number of transfer quarterbacks has remained steady from 2024 to this season.
Forty-two Week 1 starters last season were transfers. This year, there are once again 42 with the possibility of it climbing to 43 or 44 depending on what happens at Maryland and West Virginia; it's fair to say the transfers competing are less likely to start in both situations.
Of those 42 transfers, 26 of them are new arrivals on campus, while 12 others are second-year starters. In four cases, like Demond Williams at Washington, a transfer sat for a season and earned the job the next year.
Here's a breakdown of transfer starting quarterbacks by Power Four conference, both with 2025 transfers and with quarterbacks who have transferred at any point in their career:
New transfer starting QBs by conference
ACC: 10 of 17
Big 12: 6 of 16*
Big Ten: 6 of 18*
SEC: 5 of 16
*At least one school has an ongoing quarterback competition in which a 2025 transfer is in position to win the job.
Starting transfer QBs per conference
ACC: 12 of 17
Big 12: 9 of 16*
Big Ten: 13 of 18*
SEC: 8 of 16
*At least one school has an ongoing quarterback competition in which one transfer is in position to win the job.
That means at least half the starters in every Power Four league are one-time transfers. it's a trend that isn't slowing down in college football, especially in an era in which more than 50% of blue-chip quarterbacks transfer at least once in their careers.
