Familiar faces, new places: 10 biggest QB transfers to know ahead of the 2025 college football season
Miami QB Carson Beck (from Georgia)
A year ago, Beck was a Heisman favorite and hoping to become a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Now he's at Miami looking to salvage his draft prospects following a disappointing 2024 season that ended with an elbow injury.
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After completing 72% of his passes and averaging 9.5 yards an attempt in 2023, Beck completed just 65% of his throws and averaged 7.8 yards an attempt in 2024. He also threw twice as many interceptions as he suffered a torn UCL in his throwing arm during Georgia's win over Texas in the SEC title game. If Beck looks more like he did in 2023, Miami has a great chance to make the College Football Playoff.
Former Georgia QB Carson Beck is now at Miami. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Florida State QB Thomas Castellanos (from Boston College)
The former BC QB has made headlines this offseason with his trash talk of Alabama. The Seminoles and Crimson Tide meet in Week 1 and Castellanos made it known in an interview with On3 that 'I just don't see [Alabama] stopping me.'
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Those are big words from a guy who lost his starting job in 2024 before deciding to transfer. In eight games last season, Castellanos threw for 1,366 yards and 18 TDs with just five interceptions. Florida State is hoping he's a massive upgrade over the QB play the team had last year in its disastrous 2-10 campaign.
Iowa QB Mark Gronowski (from South Dakota State)
One of the best quarterbacks at the FCS level moved east to try to give the Hawkeyes an offensive spark. Gronowski was a four-year starter at South Dakota State and threw for more than 20 TDs and rushed for more than 400 yards in each of the past three seasons. In 2024, he completed 61% of his passes for 2,721 yards and 23 TDs while rushing 83 times for 577 yards and seven scores. If he posts those numbers in 2025, Iowa will be a sleeper contender to make the Big Ten title game.
UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava (from Tennessee)
Beck was the highest-profile transfer of the offseason until the Iamaleava saga became the story of the spring. The former five-star recruit left Tennessee in the spring over a reported NIL dispute and transferred to his home state where he will start at UCLA.
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Iamaleava's first full season as a starter was a relative disappointment. Tennessee made the College Football Playoff, but it was on the back of a stellar run game and a strong defense. Ten of Iamaleava's 19 TD passes came over UT's four non-conference games. And he threw just five TDs against SEC opponents who weren't Vanderbilt.
While Iamaleava went back to California, Tennessee added the guy who was set to be the Bruins' starter had Iamaleava stayed in Knoxville. Former App State QB Joey Aguilar went to Tennessee after Iamaleava's transfer and has the inside track to start for the Vols.
Nico Iamaleava left Tennessee for UCLA during the spring. (Photo by)
(Ric Tapia via Getty Images)
Oklahoma QB John Mateer (from Washington State)
Mateer and former Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle are tasked with reviving an Oklahoma offense that sputtered throughout much of the 2024 season.
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Mateer was one of the most productive QBs in college football a season ago with 29 TD passes and 15 rushing TDs. He threw for over 3,100 yards across 12 games while also rushing for 826 yards on 178 attempts in his first season as a starter. In addition to Mateer, OU also added former Cal RB Jaydn Ott through the transfer portal ahead of what could be a make-or-break season for coach Brent Venables in Year 4.
Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza (from Cal)
Mendoza has shown flashes of excellence over two years at Cal as he slots into the starting lineup for an Indiana team that made the College Football Playoff a season ago behind a stellar season from former Ohio QB Kurtis Rourke.
Mendoza completed 69% of his passes for 3,004 yards and 16 TDs in 2024. He was 25-of-36 for 233 yards and 2 TDs in Cal's win over Auburn and threw for 285 yards and two scores in the Bears' one-point loss to Miami. Mendoza could be an early pick in the 2026 NFL Draft with a strong season. Yahoo Sports draft analyst Nate Tice is a big fan of Mendoza's potential.
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Duke QB Darian Mensah (from Tulane)
Mensah comes to Duke after a strong debut season at Tulane. He was 189-of-287 passing for 2,723 yards and 22 TDs with just six interceptions in 2024 as the Green Wave made the AAC title game. Mensah was one of the first QB transfers of the offseason as the Blue Devils and coach Manny Diaz moved early to secure his services. Former Texas QB Maalik Murphy started for Duke in 2024 and is now at Oregon State.
Louisville QB Miller Moss (from UCLA)
Like Iamaleava, Moss wasn't able to parlay a stellar bowl game start at the end of the 2023 season into sustained success in 2024. After throwing for six TDs against Louisville in the Holiday Bowl, Moss tossed just 18 TDs over nine games in 2024. He lost his starting job after a three-interception performance against Washington in early November that dropped USC to 4-5 on the season.
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Now he takes over for Tyler Shough at Louisville after the well-traveled Shough parlayed a strong season in Jeff Brohm's offense into becoming a second-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Colorado QB Kaidon Salter (from Liberty)
Salter is hoping to bounce back from a disappointing 2024 season. But he first needs to win the starting job with the Buffaloes. Coach Deion Sanders said at Big 12 media day that he wasn't sure if Salter or freshman Julian Lewis would be his team's QB.
Salter's 2023 stats were phenomenal; he had 42 total TDs and threw for over 2,800 yards while rushing for more than 1,000 as Liberty made the Fiesta Bowl on the heels of an undefeated regular season. But the Flames took a step back in 2024 and Salter did too. He completed just 56% of his passes last season and had 22 total touchdowns.
Colorado brought both Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis to Big 12 media day. (Photo by)
(Stacy Revere via Getty Images)
Houston QB Conner Weigman (from Texas A&M)
Weigman is looking to play more than six games in a season for the first time in his college career. He appeared in just 15 games over three seasons with the Aggies after a shoulder injury derailed the start of his 2024 season. After missing four games, Weigman shined in an early October start against Missouri. However, he struggled in the two games that followed and lost his starting job to Marcel Reed.
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At Houston, Weigman has a clear path to the starting job as the Cougars look to bounce back from a 4-8 season with a significant upgrade at QB. The four QBs who threw passes for the Cougars in 2024 combined to throw just nine TDs and 16 interceptions.
Other notable transfers: Utah QB Devon Dampier (from New Mexico), Missouri QB Beau Pribula (from Penn State), Wisconsin QB Billy Edwards (from Maryland), Northwestern QB Preston Stone (from SMU), Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar (from UCLA and Appalachian State), Auburn QB Jackson Arnold (from Oklahoma), Kentucky QB Zach Calzada (from Incarnate Word), Rutgers QB Athan Kaliakmanis (from Minnesota), North Carolina QB Gio Lopez (from South Alabama), Syracuse QB Steve Angeli (from Notre Dame), Virginia QB Chandler Morris (from TCU), Cal QB Devin Brown (from Ohio State), Tulane QB Brendan Sullivan (from Iowa)
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