The Early Signing Period has come and gone, with some schools pretty much signing their entire 2021 class. But with the transfer portal becoming a bigger part of the college football landscape every year, several coaches talked about saving spots for incoming transfers.
So who is still available? We take a look at the top uncommitted quarterbacks currently in the transfer portal.
RELATED STORY: Top remaining unsigned QBs in 2021 class
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MORE NSD: The Farrell Awards | What to look for during the rest of the Early Signing Period | Farrell's thoughts on NSD | Winners and losers from National Signing Day | Analyzing the team rankings | How every team announced commits on Twitter | The 10 biggest flips | More team rankings topics after Friday | Five teams poised for late signing period | Biggest surprises of NSD | The Early Signing Period sting factor
NSD COACH INTERVIEWS: USC's Clay Helton | Oregon's Mario Cristobal | Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin | UNC's Mack Brown
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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As a recruit: Hilinski made an early commitment to South Carolina and stuck with the Gamecocks despite a late push from USC and several others.
Stats: After an injury to Jake Bentley, Hilinski was thrust into the lineup as a true freshman and threw for 2,357 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions in 2019. But he fell out of favor in 2020 and only threw six passes all season.
Eligibility remaining: Four seasons
Farrell's Take: It’s odd that Hilinski didn’t see much time for a struggling Gamecocks program this season which leads to some questions about his ability but based on what we saw from him early he clearly has Power Five skills and should find a home perhaps back out west. This is a kid who has a ton of talent when healthy.
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As a recruit: O'Hara didn't have any major offers out of high school and landed with the Raiders after a top at junior college.
Stats: O'Hara became the MTSU starter in 2019 and threw for 2,616 yards and 20 touchdowns with eight interceptions. Over his three seasons, he has 4,690 yards passing with 32 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He has also rushed for 1,753 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Eligibility remaining: Two seasons
Farrell's Take: O’Hara isn’t the biggest quarterback but he can run and is tough. His decision making could be better passing downfield but he’s very solid at choosing when to run and pass. He’s probably a Group of Five lateral move guy but someone might take a chance on him at a higher level.
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As a recruit: Robison committed to Oklahoma early in his high school career over Oklahoma State, Houston and several others. He transferred to Florida Atlantic.
Stats: Robison never played at Oklahoma but threw for 6,241 yards with 40 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in two seasons at FAU under then-coach Lane Kiffin. He didn't play at all in 2020
Eligibility left: Two seasons
Farrell's Take: Robison is a good one who will probably take a hop up in competition to Power Five based on his development under Kiffin. He could be a stat stuffer in a pass-happy offense.
As a recruit: Wilson initially committed to Nebraska before flipping to Oregon during his senior season. After falling behind Justin Herbert on the depth chart, Wilson eventually transferred to junior college before later landing at Kentucky.
Stats: Wilson became the starter in Kentucky in right away in 2018 and never gave up the job, even though he missed most of the 2019 season with an injury. Over his three seasons In Lexington, Wilson had 3,440 yards passing with 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also had 1,015 yards rushing with 10 touchdowns.
Eligibility left: One season.
Farrell's Take: Wilson is a very intriguing option in the transfer portal if he can stay healthy. When he’s 100-percent he’s a dangerous player with his legs and his can get into throwing rhythms as well. He’s also known to be a leader so there’s little doubt a Power Five program is going to jump all over him, maybe a contender.
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As a recruit: Perry made an early commitment to Miami over several other Power Five offers.
Stats: Perry has a roller coaster career with the Hurricanes, going in and out of the lineup across three seasons, throwing for 2,484 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also had 217 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
Eligibility left: Two seasons
Farrell's Take: Perry hasn’t had a ton of on field success for the Hurricanes but he did look solid in a relief role in the Canes bowl game when D’Eriq King went down and he has a live arm. Accuracy and decision making are an issue but he could be the starter at the Group of Five level. Otherwise he’s fighting to be a backup again.
As a recruit: Kendall originally committed to Tennessee but backed off that pledge and landed at Oklahoma, where he was recruited by then-offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley. After failing to win the starting job after a few years in Norman, Kendall landed at West Virginia in 2019.
Stats: Kendall only spent one year as a starter, 2019 at West Virginia, but managed to accumulate 2,418 yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions across four seasons of action.
Eligibility remaining: One season
Farrell's Take: Austin Kendall has had his ups and downs since his first transfer from Oklahoma to West Virginia but there is clearly experience and talent there. He won’t walk in anyplace big and take the job from day one, that only happens if he drops down a level, but he can certainly fight for a starting job at the Power Five level.
As a recruit: Hockman had a lot of hype early in his recruitment as he burst onto the scene as a freshman. Eventually, he committed to Georgia. However, after Mark Richt was fired he backed off that pledge and landed at Florida State. After one year with the Seminoles he transferred to N.C. State.
Stats: Hockman didn't record any statistics with the Seminoles but did go in and out of the lineup for the Wolfpack over the past two seasons. He had 2,634 yards passing with 14 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also had three rushing touchdowns.
Eligibility remaining: Two seasons
Farrell's Take: Austin Kendall has had his ups and downs since his first transfer from Oklahoma to West Virginia but there is clearly experience and talent there. He won’t walk in anyplace big and take the job from day one, that only happens if he drops down a level, but he can certainly fight for a starting job at the Power Five level.
As a recruit: Sandberg committed to Mississippi State out of high school but never actually played for the Bulldogs, pursuing a baseball career instead. After that didn't work out, he landed back in college at Auburn in 2018.
Stats: After years away from the game, Sandberg spent three years as a backup with the Tigers, throwing for 114 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 70 yards.
Eligibility remaining: Three seasons
Farrell's Take: Talk about a blast from the past, Sandberg is so far removed from any true evaluation that guessing the level he could impact at is tough. Based on his arm and athletic ability a Group of Five school might be interested.
As a recruit: Legendre initially committed to Kansas before backing off that pledge and re-opening his recruitment. He committed to Maryland on Signing Day over Florida State and others.
Stats: Legendre played in several games as a reserve over the past two seasons, throwing for 98 yards and two interceptions while rushing for 93 yards.
Eligibility remaining: Four seasons
Farrell's Take: Legendre is a dual threat with high upside and things came down to a bigger recruiting battle between Maryland and Florida State for his services. He was a bit of a late bloomer so he has a high ceiling and will certainly get a Power Five chance.
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As a recruit: McCloud committed to USF over Oregon and several others.
Stats: McCloud had to wait his turn behind former elite recruit Blake Barnett but didn't disappoint when he got his shot in the lineup, throwing for 1,429 yards with 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2019. In 2020 he passed for 1,341 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions while bouncing in and out of the lineup. He also has 357 career rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Eligibility remaining: Three seasons
Farrell's Take: He’s shown dual threat ability at the Group of Five level so you’d think that’s where he’d land but it all depends on room. At worst he’s a starter at the FCS level but I see bigger things than that for him.
