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Father & Son Impressions:  Transfer QB’s Who Will Have the Most Impact?

By Matt and Matthew Kupec

September 3, 2019

College football’s first week is upon us!!  What a great opening weekend for what promises to be a season of special memories.

During the off-season there was a significant number of quarterbacks who transferred to other schools.  In this blog, my son Matthew and I take a look at these high profile quarterbacks and provide thoughts on which of these players will have the greatest impact on their teams this season.

There were outstanding performances by a number of these quarterbacks in Week #1 but we all know that one game doesn’t make a season.  So, with that background, we take a season long view at the talented transfer group of quarterbacks.

Which transfer quarterback will have the greatest impact on their teams?

Matthew Kupec

Jacob Eason, University of Washington.  I believe he is the most talented quarterback in the group.  I love his talent and his cannon of an arm.  He can throw it.  Eason had a strong freshman year but lost his job at the University of Georgia when he was injured in the opening game.  Freshman Jake Fromm came in and did an outstanding job leading the Bulldogs to the College Playoffs.  Washington has good talent on the offensive side of the ball and Eason replaces a good but not spectacular QB in Jake Browning.  Watch out for Washington’s offense this year.  They could get back into the College Football Playoffs with Eason at the helm.

Tommy Stevens, Mississippi State.  This pick will probably surprise a great many people.  Stevens is a transfer from Penn State.  A dual threat quarterback, Stevens played some quarterback in a back-up role to Trace McSorley and also gathered some playing time in the Taysom Hill (New Orleans Saints) role as a running back/quarterback.  Stevens played for new Mississippi St. Head Coach Joe Moorhead when Moorhead was the offensive coordinator at Penn State.  Stevens is a sparkplug with excellent talent and will shine at MSU.

Kellen Bryant, Missouri.  This former starting quarterback at Clemson will shine in the explosive Missouri offense.  Bryant is a winner and led the Tigers to the College Football players while at Clemson.  He had excellent statistics in Death Valley and should put up some impressive numbers with the Tigers in Columbia, MO.  Bryant’s only issue is that he is replacing a very talented record-breaking quarterback in Drew Lock who put up some gaudy numbers for Missouri.  Whether Bryant can lead Missouri to a major bowl is doubtful.

Justin Fields, Ohio State.  This former University of Georgia quarterback was the top-rated quarterback in the country coming out of high school.  His problem was picking a school that had Jake Fromm solidly entrenched as the starting quarterback.  Unable to beat out Fromm, Fields played sparingly and really wasn’t able to showcase his big-league talent.  He runs like Kyler Murray and has a really strong arm.  He also joins a very talented group on the offense at Ohio State.  He’ll be more like J.T. Barrett than Dwayne Haskins but he should flourish in Columbus.

Jalen Hurts, University of Oklahoma.  This former two-year starting quarterback at the University of Alabama and former SEC Player of the Year is a winner in the truest sense of the world.  A 26-2 record as the Crimson Tide QB, Hurts had a great career at Alabama only to be beaten out last year by Tua Tagovailoa as the Crimson Tide moved to a more open, throwing offense.    The only question about Hurts is if he can throw the ball well on a consistent basis.  He has a very strong arm and certainly runs as well as any QB in the nation.  He enters a system that has produced consecutive Heisman Trophy winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.  Hurts will rack up impressive stats and lead Oklahoma back to the College Playoffs.

Brandon Winbush, University of Central Florida.  It is hard to believe that just one year ago, Winbush was being heralded as a Heisman Trophy candidate after leading Notre Dame to an impressive opening season win against nationally-ranked Michigan.  Eventually, Winbush lost the starting job to Ian Book as Winbush’s throwing ability came into question. A dual-threat quarterback, Winbush joins an offensive scheme at UCF that has produced quality run-throw quarterbacks in the recent years.  His success at UCF will be measured by the consistency of his throwing game.  He has a strong arm and if he gets more accurate he could lead UCF to a major bowl game.

Steve Buechele, SMU.  The one-time QB of the future at Texas, Buechele lost the starting job to Sam Ehlinger when Tom Herman took over from Charlie Strong as Texas’ head coach.  Buechele threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 21 TD’s in his freshman year and looked to be a future All-American candidate in his first college game when he led Texas to a very impressive win over Notre Dame.  Now at SMU, Buechele should showcase his significant talents and rack up big numbers for SMU in the American Athletic Conference.

Matt Kupec

  1. Justin Fields
  2. Jalen Hurts
  3. Jacob Eason
  4. Kelly Bryant
  5. Tommy Stevens
  6. Steve Buechele
  7. Brandon Wimbush

About the Author

Matt Kupec is a former record-breaking four year starting quarterback for the UNC Tar Heels.  During his career he set 19 passing records, two of which still exist (most consecutive games with a TD pass and most wins as a starting QB).  He was named MVP of the 1977 Liberty Bowland 1979 Gator Bowl becoming the 1st player in ACC history to be named MVP of two bowl games.

Matthew Kupec is a senior at East Chapel Hill School in Chapel Hill, NC.  Matthew played defensive back for the East HS football team last year and set a school-record when intercepting three passes in one game.  As a baseball junior last year, Matthew led the conference with the lowest ERA (earned run average).