When Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleavea enters the transfer portal this spring, he will be the fourth of the five five-star quarterbacks in the heralded 2023 recruiting to transfer within their first two years on campus.
Nos. 3 and 4 QBs Dante Moore and Jackson Arnold left for new opportunities — Moore from UCLA to Oregon after one year, Arnold from Oklahoma to Auburn after two. No. 5 Malachi Nelson was pushed out at USC, it seems, and then left Boise State after one season, too. Now he’s at UTEP.
Quarterbacks Nos. 6 (Jaden Rashada), 7 (Aidan Chiles) and 8 (Austin Mack) have all transferred, too. It’s just a sign of the times.
And then there’s Texas quarterback Arch Manning. Rumors have circled about Manning transferring from the 40 Acres since before he even lost his first UT ID card — and then spiked again after Quinn Ewers returned for his 2024 season, casting Manning as a backup for the second year in a row. In this era, a wandering eye is not only sensible but logical. A few of the top google queries related to Manning the last 12 months involved whether he’d transfer to a nostalgic place like Ole Miss or to North Carolina when it hired Bill Belichick.
The 2023 quarterback class was one of the first to receive the full brunt of the new era in college football. The transfer portal was wide open for anyone to change their mind on a whim, creating perpetual free agency. NIL created a financial Wild West, meaning anyone could financially court the most valuable name to enter college football in years. Perhaps just as significant, the 2023 QB class ended up being legendary with five five-star quarterbacks in the top 13 players.
And besides, what No. 1 quarterback in this era is content being a backup? How can you keep…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/arch-manning-transferring-nope-the-texas-qb-is-now-the-last-2023-five-star-qb-still-standing/
Author : Shehan Jeyarajah
Publish date : 2025-04-15 16:59:00
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