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Four Man Front 

Hello and welcome back to our loyal readers of the interweb’s best slightly above average college football blog Four Man Front. We are back with our fourth entry in our countdown of the top 25 transfer portal QB’s for the 2024 season. We have finally reached the top ten! I had to delay the blog a week because my family and I have moved to a new state, plus Survivor 46 started Wednesday and I started a recap blog for that (you can check it out here if you are a Survivor Fan). So my apologies loyal readers, we are trying to build a brand here. Last week we covered some good quarterbacks and this week it keeps getting better. A little controversial at the number ten spot but that’s what makes our list our own thoughts. No more lead up, let's rip the bandaid off.  

Number 10 A: Julian Sayin Transferring from Alabama to Ohio State

Number 10 B: Brock Vandagriff Transferring from Georgia to Kentucky 

Ok so the first big issue some people will have with this is that I cheated and ranked two QB’s in the same spot. I have a good reason for this, are you ready? Neither has played a snap of meaningful football in college. Let’s look at Vandagriff first. Coming out of High School in Georgia, he was a composite 5 star and I feel like you have to be a 5 star to even go to Georgia nowadays. He got beat out for the starting job by Carson Beck and has thrown just 21 passes in his career. From what we have heard and somewhat seen, Vandagriff can play. He is a composite 4 star with a 91 overall ranking so clearly people are high on him. However I am in wait and see mode with him. At Kentucky over the past few seasons they have lived on the transfer quarterback. Will Levis and Devin Leary both transferred into okish results. Levis had a ten win season his first year and was so bad in year two he went from potential number one overall pick in the NFL draft to sitting in the green room until the second round. Leary wasn’t much better at Kentucky compared to his time at NC State. Only led the Cats to 7 wins and threw for 2,746 yards. That’s good but not great. That’s why I’m in a wait and see mode with Vandagriff. Kentucky does have a new OC in Bush Hamdan who coached Number 15 on this list Taylen Green at Boise State last year. Maybe the new OC and Vandagriff are the key for the Cats but Mark Stoops has perfected the 7 wins a year with a 10 win season sprinkled in every so often. Only time will tell if we see 7 wins or 10 from Vandagriff and the Cats. 

Now shifting to Julian Sayin. He is the number one quarterback in the portal according to a lot of websites. If you trust recruiting sites, he is way too low on our list but I have two good reasons why. One, he has never played a snap of college football. I know this kid is elite but he still needs to take an in-game snap to get a feel for college football. Two, he is probably going to be the back up in 2024 to Will Howard (we’ll get to him later). Look I do have a ton of respect for this kid and his ability to play football. He’s way more athletic than I’ll ever be but this list is priding itself on impact in the 2024 season. If the Buckeyes go with Howard then Sayin won’t be a big factor this year. 

Number 9 A: Daquan Finn Transferring from Toledo to Baylor 

Number 9 B: Chandler Rogers Transferring from North Texas to Cal 

Now I know I am cheating again by ranking two QB’s at the nine spot but both Finn and Rogers play a similar style and both are going from the Group of 5 to the Power 5. First let's look at number 9 B: Chandler Rogers. Cal will be the third stop for Rogers in his college career. Starting at ULM then transferring to North Texas this past season. He didn’t start the year at QB but won the job by week 3 and put out some impressive numbers. Rogers threw for 3,382 yards with 29 touchdowns to just 5 picks. Although he didn’t lead the Mean Green to a Bowl game, those numbers shouldn’t be overlooked. He is a dual threat as well but not as much as Daquan Finn but he is better through the air. The Move to Cal will be a good one. Cal with head coach Justin Wilcox can score points and in the weird new look ACC, they should continue to be strong on the offensive side of the ball. It is a brutal schedule though, with road games at Auburn, Florida State, Pitt and Wake Forest (Literally a coast to coast rivalry there). They also get Miami, NC State and the new look Beavers of Oregon State at home so if the Golden Bears want  to make back to back Bowl trips, Rogers needs to play lights out all season long. 

Shifting over to Daquan Finn, MACtion’s Most Valuable Player for the 2023 season. He is the true definition of a dual threat with over 2,000 passing yards and over 500 rushing yards in all three of his years as the starter for the Rockets. If you haven’t  seen Finn play, then you need to look up highlights because he is electric. He does need to improve his passing skills this season but with new Baylor OC Jake Spavital who was at Cal last year, I think he will be able to improve in that area. Dave Aranda needs a turnaround season after a 3-9 clip in 2023. He is putting his eggs in Finn’s basket. Given Finn’s track record as a QB at Toledo, that's a good basket to put eggs in. Finn has something to prove on the Power 5 level and Aranda needs a winning season. This could be a match made in Football Heaven  

Number 8 Tyler Van Dyke Transferring from Miami to Wisconsin 

More like Tyler Van Dimes am I right? Sorry for the bad joke, I just don’t like that nickname. Van Dyke may be a little high on this list for some people and that criticism is fair. Van Dyke bursted on the scene as a redshirt freshman at Miami throwing for 2,931 yards and 25 touchdowns. It looked like he was going to be a Cane for life and the guy that finally got them over the hump, but that production slowed down the next two seasons. Van Dyke only threw for just over 1,800 yards in 2022 and 2023 and was benched in 2023. He does still have that 2021 season in him. He was ACC Rookie of the Year and he can return to that form at Wisconsin. Under second year head coach Luke Fickell and second year OC Phil Longo, they will want Van Dyke to throw it around the yard. Longo is known for having successful QB’s, so this may be the coaching match Van Dyke needs to permanently become Tyler Van Dimes… still don’t like that nickname. 

Number 7 Dante Moore Transferring from UCLA to Oregon 

Now here is a player that just oozes talent. Moore is an interesting case. He was committed to Oregon in high school then flipped to UCLA to play for Chip Kelly, then when Chip took the OC job at Ohio State, Moore went back to Oregon who was waiting there with arms wide open (Creed reference). Moore is no stranger to high expectations. He was the highest rated quarterback recruit in UCLA’s history but he didn’t quite meet his full potential as a true freshman. Starting in five games and seeing action in nine, Moore threw for 1,610 yards with just 11 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Those are numbers that get you beat. He was thrown in the fire a little bit but that comes with the territory for QB’s rated as high as him. I think Oregon is a perfect fit for Moore. The Ducks and Dan Lanning did wonders for Bo Nix the last two years and with Moore still having three to four more years to grow as a QB, it is scary how good he can be. Schedule in the new Big Ten isn’t easy but if Moore can learn from the bumps and bruises he took at UCLA, then I think the Ducks have another elite QB on their hands. Also circle October 12th when Chip Kelly and the Buckeyes come to Eugene. That one should be fun.   

Number 6 KJ Jefferson Transferring From Arkansas to UCF 

We round out this week’s list with college football AARP member KJ Jefferson. KJ started his career at Arkansas back in 2019… that seems like forever ago. Jefferson has been the guy in Fayetteville for the last three seasons and under his leadership, he helped get the Hogs out of the bottom of the SEC West… minus this past year. The 2023 season wasn’t kind to the Hogs as new OC Dan Enos ruined the offense. Enos was so bad that the Hogs lost to my Mississippi State Bulldogs 3 to 7 and he was fired the following Sunday. The offensive struggles clearly weren’t KJ’s fault as the first week without Enos, The Hogs went into the Swamp to upset Florida in overtime. Jefferson was incredible in that game. Completing 64% of his passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns as well as adding one touchdown on the ground. This game is what I look at when I think of KJ Jefferson. He has had some ups and downs but he willed that team to victory in the Swamp and I wish his 2023 would have been better for him. Now he is off to the house that Mickey Mouse built in Orlando  to finish his college football career. Under fourth year head coach Gus Malzhan, Jefferson should thrive. He has all the tools and as a fellow person from the state of Mississippi, I hope KJ has the final season send off he deserves. 

That will do it for this week’s edition of Four Man Front. Next week, we will finally finish our list of the Top 25 Transfer Portal Quarterbacks for the 2024 season. After we finish our list we will get back to news we have missed since we started this list and start looking forward to anything interesting happening at Spring practices. Until next time this is Hunter singing off.   

  Four Man Front

Hello and welcome back to our loyal readers of the interweb’s best slightly above average college football blog Four Man Front. We are back with the third entry in our countdown of the top 25 transfer portal QB’s for the 2024 season.  Today we are going from 15 to 11 and we are really getting into the meat of this countdown. Still a lot of unfamiliar faces and some faces that shouldn’t have college eligibility but yet somehow they do. Let’s not waste time this week (after all I am dragging this countdown out for a few slow offseason weeks) and jump right in to number 15 on the list 

Number 15 Taylen Green Transferring from Boise State to Arkansas 

We start the third entry with a name some people may know but most people probably won’t. I know that is a weird statement to make because normally a lot of eyes are on the Broncos and the Smurf Turf every year but 2023 was an odd one. They fired their head coach Andy Avalos with four games left in the season and promoted defensive coordinator Spencer Danielson to interim head coach and thanks to the efforts of the team and Taylen Green, Danielson went 3-1, won the Mountain West and is now the head coach, dropping the interim tag. Green flew under the radar in Boise. He redshirted his first year, then took over for Hank Bachmeier after a few games in 2022 and was the full time starter in 2023 but started splitting time with backup Maddux Madsen. He did close the year strong and was named 2023 Mountain West Championship Game MVP in the Broncos 44 to 20 upset win over UNLV. So with the kind of up and down career so far, why is he in the top 15? My answer is potential. Green is a big time raw talent and has good numbers for the odd sample size he had at Boise. He has shown he can show up in the big game and produce which is a plus, but the biggest reason is how much Green being good will mean for the Razorbacks. Sam Pittman is entering year four and saying he is entering on the hot seat is an understatement. The Hogs finished last year a dreadful 4-8 and fired OC Dan Enos after a 3 to 7 loss to Mississippi State (Watched every second of that game… I’m a true college football sicko). The offense was bad and so to fix that Pittman went and hired… Bobby Petrino. That’s right, no joke they hired Fun Bobby back. We are a motorcycle and a mistress away from history repeating itself. We are also a break through season from Taylen Green from the good history of Petrino in Fayetteville repeating itself as well. Green has the potential to pull Sam Pittman out from the grave Hog fans have already dug for him. The schedule isn’t easy but this season and the future of Pittman is on Green's shoulders. If he under performs, then get ready for interim coach Bobby Petrino by like week five or six. Just hope they don’t have a Harley Davidson dealership near campus… 

Number 14 TJ Finley Transferring from LSU/Auburn/Texas State to Western Kentucky 

Here’s a player that somehow has eligibility and will be playing at his fourth school in five years. TJ Finely is from Ponchatoula, Louisiana (which is cajun for down the bayou) and as most four star players from Louisiana do, he went to LSU. He was supposed to be the next in line of great quarterbacks for Coach O (now that’s a wild sentence) but ole Ed was canned and TJ hopped in the portal to play for… checks notes.. Bryan Hasin at Auburn. TJ must be a kiss of death for  coaches as Hasin was gone before he could get settled in on the Plains and Finley hopped in the portal again and landed at Texas State. Under first year coach GJ Kinne, TJ exploded for 3,439 passing yards with 24 touchdowns to just 8 picks. He is using his super senior grad transfer year to play at Western Kentucky for Tyson Helton (no relation to Rockies legend Todd Helton.. I checked). WKU runs a pass heavy Air Raid offense and with TJ’s experience and Helton’s play calling, I expect another big year for the former four star from down the bayou. 

Number 13 Will Rogers Transferring from Mississippi State to Washington  

Oh boy… Now as you the loyal readers know I am a Mississippi State fan and I could write a novel on my thoughts about Will Rogers and his time at Mississippi State (and I will) but I will focus on this transfer move and his future. Will started for four years at State, three under the Goat Mike Leach and one under Zach Arnett (need to vent about him in a future blog as well). Will came to Starkville running an Air Raid system for his father at Brandon High School in Brandon, MS. He was made to run the Air Raid and that showed. He is second all time in passing yards in the SEC and holds almost every record a QB can hold at MSU. He is a great quarterback, no denying that fact. He won 9 games in 2022 at State and won a bowl game just three weeks after his coach passed away… That will forever be an amazing moment. However, after Leach was gone Arnett goofed up and chose to change the whole offense to a pro style offense (again will vent on that choice later) which didn’t fit what Will did best. It was a chance to show everyone he wasn’t just an Air Raid guy, but poor coaching and injuries showed us that maybe he is just an Air Raid guy. Nothing wrong with that and when State hired Jeff Lebby, it was time for a change and Will walked off into the sunset to play for Kalen DeBoer at Washington… oh shit… Literally Will was on the sidelines at the National Championship game ready to learn the system and play for DeBoer and he dipped for Bama. Will did reenter the portal for a day or two and then backed out to stay at Washington to now play for Jedd Fisch. Oddly enough, Will beat Fisch twice at State when Fisch was the head coach at Arizona, so if you can beat him, inherit them in a coaching swamp I guess… I will be watching Washington like a hawk this season and I want Will to succeed but my biggest knock on him was his mobility in the pocket. He was a statue at times and I want to see how that will work under Fisch. Doboer was great at changing things to fit the strengths of his players, Fisch just had really talented players at Arizona running his offense so we will see what happens but for my money, there is not a more intriguing QB on this list than Will Rogers.     

Number 12 Kurtis Rourke Transferring from Ohio to Indiana 

I know good and damn well my loyal readers just read that name and said, “Who?”. That’s why you come to Four Man Front baby! I’ll search through all the weeds to find the most under the radar guy that you can talk about with your friends and flex our knowledge on them. Rourke was a three year starter at Ohio which is in the MAC and we all know the MACation is elite competition. As a starter he went 21-13 over four seasons (three as the full time starter) and was named MAC MVP for the 2022 season, first team All-MAC quarterback in 2022 and second team all MAC quarterback in 2023. Rourke threw for 7,651 yards in his Bobcat career with 50 touchdowns to just 16 picks. So what can you gather from this? He takes care of the ball and he knows how to lead a team to victory. Those are the best qualities to have as a QB. However you may be saying, “He’s going to Indiana, they can’t win football games”. That may be true for the last few years under Tom Allen but Indiana has hired Curt Cignetti who was at James Madison and along with being a great president, Mr. Madison has an outstanding football program at his university. Cignetti went 52-9 at JMU and has an overall head coaching record of 119-35… So what can you gather from this? We can gather that Coach Cigs can win football games, and guess what he got out of the portal… a quarterback that can win football games. Look, Rourke isn’t going to blow your mind but he will be a great leader in year one for Cigs at Indiana. Schedule isn’t the worst gauntlett I’ve ever seen so don’t be surprised if the Hooisers sneak into a Bowl Game in 2024.

Number 11 Aidan Chiles Transferring from Oregon State to Michigan State 

We end our third entry at the number 11 spot with Aidan Chiles who could take the new look Big Ten by storm. Chiles started his career at Oregon State for head coach Jonathan Smith who brought that program up from the ashes, only to leave it for the literal greener pastures that is Michigan State. Chiles was Smith’s hand picked guy and was a composite 4 star out of high school. He sat behind DJ Uiagalelei this past year but got to play in five games late in the season in special packages. A lot of people had thoughts on Smith taking the job at Michigan State (we won’t even go into the whole Mel Tucker situation…) but taking his chosen QB with him was a big first step. Chiles is an athletic freak and could be the surprise of the Big Ten this season. At least for the sake of Spartan fans and Jonathan Smith, let’s hope Chiles lives up to the hype.

That does it for us for part three of our countdown of the top 25 transfer portal QB’s for the 2024 season. Tune next week when we finally crack the top ten on the list and start looking at quarterbacks every reader has heard of.... Until next time this is Hunter singing off. 

Four Man Front 

On the day after Valentine's Day (worst holiday btw) we here at Four Man Front will continue our love letter to transfer portal quarterbacks with the next five in our countdown of the top 25 transfer portal QB’s for the 2024 season. Now we know that there have been some major news stories this past week with Chip Kelly leaving UCLA to be the OC at Ohio State, Bill O’Brien leaving Ohio State’s OC job (was only the OC for 2 weeks) to become the head coach at Boston College, and Ryan Grubb left Alabama’s OC position for the same role with the Seattle Seahawks… Clearly a lot of shit has hit the fan and we will get to all the news at a later date because I don’t want this entry to be a novel. That being said, let's get back to our countdown with number 20…

Number 20 Blake Shapen Transferring from Baylor to Mississippi State 

Now it has been established on Press Box After Dark that I am a Mississippi State fan born and raised in StarkVegas so this is a little bit of a homer pick but come on 20 isn’t that high. This offseason the Bulldogs hired former Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby as their new head coach. His first task was to get a quarterback. A lot of people were hoping to see Dillion Gabriel follow Lebby to Starkville but sadly he chose Oregon for some reason? I mean State and Oregon have the same amount of national championships in football.. 0 so I don’t know why he would choose them over State but I digress. Fans in Starkville were shocked when Blake Shapen committed in December. Some State fans (myself included) were skeptical of the pick up but after doing my research and watching highlights I can say… I’m sold on Blake MotherF’n Shapen (That is his legal middle name… I checked). In three years at Baylor he threw for 5,574 yards with 36 touchdowns to just 13 picks. He was the 2021 Big 12 Championship game MVP and led them to a bowl game in 2022. Concussions and a torn MCL caused him to miss most of the 2023 season and is the reason he chose to transfer. He has one year of eligibility and looks to be the perfect transition guy for Jeff Lebby in year one at Mississippi State. As a State fan I am still in wait and see mode for this new coaching staff but I am also willing to say with complete MSU goggles on that Shapen is gonna win the Heisman!!! Here’s hoping he at least takes State to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl or something because missing a bowl last year was depressing… No pressure Blake. 

Number 19 Max Johnson Transferring from LSU/Texas A&M to North Carolina

Here we have our first double transfer on our list Max Johnson. Johnson started his career playing for Coach O and the LSU Tigers. Most people may remember his first career start, the infamous “Shoe Game” vs. Florida way back in 2020. Thanks to Marco Wilson literally throwing a shoe and costing the Gators the game, the legend of Max Johnson was born. A year later, he was named the starter in the preseason and opened 2021 with a losing effort against UCLA at the Rose Bowl (This is the game Coach O told a fan to “come down here in your sissy blue shirt). After two years at LSU, Johnson transferred to SEC West rival Texas A&M where he appeared in 12 games in two seasons. Johnson has always been the bridesmaid and never the bride. Getting starts when others are hurt and then showing flashes of greatness or just slightly above average play. In his long career he has thrown for 5,853 yards and 47 touchdowns, but again he’s never been the guy. He will finally get his shot at UNC under Mack Brown. Brown has had some great QB play in his return trip to Chapel Hill and he is going to need Johnson to show up in 2024 or maybe the retirement rumors for Brown will be true after this season. I don’t know if Johnson will be great for the Tar Heels in 2024 but I can guarantee UNC fans that he will be experienced and hopefully for them, that will lead to success. 

Number 18  Maalik Murphy Transferring from Texas to Duke 

Now here is someone on this list that is just a freak of nature (in the best possible way). Murphy was the backup to Quinn Ewers at Texas the last two seasons and has hopped in the portal for two good reasons. 1. Ewers is coming back to Texas in 2024 so Murphy will get playing time at Duke. 2. Why be the guy in front of Arch Manning? The moment you make a mistake, the fans will be booing and begging for Arch so I think it was smart of Murphy to not deal with the potential heat in that situation. Murphy could have stuck it out in Texas if he wanted. His 2 wins as the starter for a hurt Ewers this year kept Texas and their playoff hopes alive so talent wasn’t his issue. The stats are anything to look at in just mop up duty and two starts but the win over ranked and defending Big 12 champ Kansas State showed the college football world that  Maalik Murphy is a dog. Manny Diaz is the new man in charge at Duke and if he can fine tune the raw talent that Murphy has, look for him to have a breakout year in the ACC. 

Number 17 Diego Pavia Transferring from New Mexico State to Vanderbilt 

Speaking of dogs, loyal readers, I introduce you to Diego Pavia. The 2023 CUSA offensive player of the year. The man that led the Aggies of NMSU to their first 10 win season since 1960. Wait a minute… I typed this last week. Yeah that’s right I mentioned Pavia in the start of this countdown as he has followed his OC at New Mexico State to Dandy Vandy and will likely be the starter over number 25 on this list Nate Johnson. Pavia is lightning in a bottle. Fun to watch and someone you want in your foxhole. Pavia threw for close to 3,000 yards (2,973 yards to be exact) with 26 touchdowns to just 9 picks. That is a veteran QB who can take care of the ball. He is also a dual threat that led the Aggies in rushing last year with 923 yards on the ground and 7 rushing TD’s. This dude is special and I’m sure the whole world saw him and the Aggies go into Auburn and beat the Tigers 31 to 10 last year. Look we love Vandy at Press Box After Dark but they aren't winning the SEC with Pavia at the helm but that -2.5 win total should be easy money because with Pavia, Tim Beck the OC and special packages for Nate Johnson… Vandy could sneak up and win 4 or 5 games if their defense can stop a nosebleed. Here’s hoping Pavia has a healthy offseason and a great 2024… Oh and circle Saturday November 2nd, because Pavia gets to play Auburn on the Plains one more time… (insert smirking emoji here).  

Number 16 Grayson McCall Transferring from Coastal Carolina to NC State 

We end this week’s entry with arguably the most decorated QB in this whole countdown Grayson McCall. McCall was a four year starter at Coastal winning Sun Belt Freshman of the year and Sun Belt Player of the Year three times. He led the Teal Chickens to two Sun Belt title games and won the school’s first ever bowl game. In his career he has thrown for over 10,000 yards, thrown 88 touchdowns to just 14 picks in four years… That is nuts. He also has rushed for over 1,100 yards in his career with 18 rushing TD’s. The numbers are video game like. The move to NC State is big on two levels: 1. The move makes NC State a legit threat in the ACC. The Wolfpack have been on the cusp of making some serious noise in the down ACC over the past few years but with McCall leading the Pack, they are a legit top three team behind only Florida State and Clemson. They are probably tied with Miami and Louisville for that third spot. McCall is a winner like Tim Tebow, the dude just knows how to win games so you need to watch out for NC State. 2. This move will make or break his NFL future. McCall has been the man in the Sun Belt for four years and this move to the ACC will be a step up in competition and will give him a chance to show NFL scouts what he is made of. The ACC isn’t a gauntlett but they will have games against Clemson, Duke, and UNC. Plus a non conference game in week two vs. Tennessee so the opportunity is there for McCall to show everyone he is one of the elites in this upcoming QB draft class.   

That does it for us for part two of our countdown of the top 25 transfer portal QB’s for the 2024 season. Tune next week when things heat up and we go from 15 to 11. Until next time this is Hunter singing off.     

Four Man Front

Welcome back loyal readers of Four Man Front, Press Box After Dark’s college football blog. It is our second weekly edition and the off season is a little slow so I thought It would be a good idea to countdown the top 25 transfer portal quarterbacks for the upcoming 2024 season. Now this list is our opinion and ours alone. So if it’s wrong tell us why on twitter or if it’s right, tell us how awesome we are on Twitter. Now to give this idea some shelf life, we will do five QB’s a week leading up to number two and number one later. We’ll still mix in breaking news in the coming weeks that way you don’t miss anything and get to read a very compelling list of QB’s. Now I won’t lie I was tempted to just do 10 QB’s but there were so many that will make or break a team’s season in 2024 so I bumped it up to a top 25 because the AP poll has got nothing on Press Box After Dark! So let’s start this list of the top 25 transfer portal quarterbacks off with number 25…    

Number 25 Nate Johnson Transferring from Utah to Vanderbilt  

We start our list with a quarterback that turned heads during the season and turned heads with this transfer move. Johnson was thrust into the spotlight at Utah as a redshirt freshman due to AARP member Cam Rising being out all year recovering from a knee injury suffered in the 2022 Rose Bowl. Johnson split the QB duties with another quarterback who will be on this list, Byrson Barnes. Johnson saw action in seven games and showed the raw talent that made him the #16 QB in his class coming out of high school. He is a true dual threat and with Rising staying for another year somehow, Johnson didn’t want to wait another year and hit the portal. The Vanderbilt choice made sense when he announced it on Jan. 15th. The Dores hired a new OC Tim Beck who was at New Mexico State the last two years. Beck helped the Aggies have their first 10 win season since 1960. Things were looking up for Nate until Diego Pavia announced that he was also transferring to Vandy. What makes that significant, is Pavia was the 2023 CUSA player of the year at… you guessed it New Mexico State. Pavia Followed Beck and now Nate Johson is back where he was at Utah. Hopefully he only has to wait one year at Vandy because if you look up highlights of this guy, he can be a game charger… but he checks in at 25 on this list because unless Pavia is hurt, Johnson will be a “special package” QB for another year. 

Number 24 Gevani McCoy Transferring from Idaho to Oregon State 

Here's a name that casual college football fans won’t know. Let me introduce you to Gevani McCoy. McCoy has spent his last three seasons in Moscow, Idaho playing for the Vandals in the best stadium in all of college football THE KIBBIE DOME!!! He makes the jump to the PAC 2 and is the projected starter due the the lack of returners on the Beav’s roster after the exit of Jonathan Smith to Michigan State. McCoy being the option won’t be a bad thing for Beaver fans this fall. In two years as the Idaho starter, McCoy threw for 5,654 yards, 42 touchdowns against just 8 interceptions and has the ability to be a dual threat guy. Plus he led the Vandals to the FCS quarterfinals this past season so he knows how to win. New head coach Trent Bray was the DC last year and picked  Ryan Gunderson to be his OC. Gunderson coached quarterbacks under Chip Kelly for the last three seasons at UCLA and I think he will pair well with McCoy. Oregon State can really turn heads this year if McCoy and what’s left of the offense can click but since he is moving up from FCS to FBS and this will be Gunderson’s first time calling plays, that's why he checks in at 24 on the list but don’t be shocked if McCoy goes off in 2024.  

Number 23 MJ Morris Transferring from NC State to Maryland 

If you are a loyal reader of Four Man Front (I know you are) you should recognize the name MJ Morris. We highlighted Morris in our coverage for the 2023 Bowl Season. He stepped in for a struggling Brennan Armstrong and went 3-1 as the starter for NC State with wins over Clemson and Miami. He chose to sit out the rest of the season to get his redshirt year. He was denied that chance in 2022 as injuries forced him to play in 5 games as a true freshman. So Mike Locksley and Co are getting a seasoned redshirt sophomore to replace lifelong Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa who is the all time leader in passing yards in Big Ten history… (That's right, Tua’s brother is the all time leader for passing yards in the Big Ten… The more you know). Morris is like Nate Johnson to me. Another kid with talent for days and he just needs to fine tune those skills. Locksley is a QB guru and if we can make it click for Morris, Maryland will be just fine a QB in 2024. 

Number 22 Bryson Barnes Transferring from Utah/His Families’ Pig Farm to Utah State 

Told you Bryson Barnes was on this list. Yes, the man that sat behind Cam Rising for his whole career finally got the chance to be the guy at Utah and did fairly well for himself. Appearing in 11 games and splitting time with Nate Johnson, Barnes proved he was more than capable of being the man for Utah in 2023. I’m sure Utah fans will never forget his first play as the starter in the season opener against Florida, a 75 yard bomb for a touchdown. It was the play that let us know 2023 was gonna be a crazy year for college football. (Here’s a link to the highlights of the Utah Florida game if you are curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZkReLvC71M) Barnes was more than that one throw. He passed for over 1500 yards and 12 touchdowns. Interceptions were an issue, as he threw 11 but he was the leader Utah needed to keep their season afloat with Rising being out all year. Head coach Kyle Whittingham went viral for his post game comments about Barnes after their win over USC. Whittingham said "They've got a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback, so they're gonna make some things, and that's just the way it is. But we've got ourselves a pig farmer at quarterback, so we're proud of that guy, too." The legend of the Pig Farmer Bryson Barnes was born. It is sad that Barnes is leaving Utah but with him only having one or two more years, I don’t blame him for making the move. He will bring a great leadership presence to Utah State. Oh and circle your calendars on Sept. 14th as Barnes and his new Aggies will host Whittngham, Rising and the Utes in what is sure to me a very emotional game. 

Number 21 Ty Thompson Transferring from Oregon to Tulane 

We end our first set of transfer QB’s with another kid that is talented but unproven. Ty Thompson will finally get his chance to be the guy after sitting behind Bo Nix the past two seasons at Oregon. Now I know Ty Thompson has less stats than the four QB’s above but I gave him the nod for the folks that trust in recruiting rankings. Thompson was a composite 4 star out of high school and was the number 1 player in his home state of Arizona. Plus Oregon is a school that turns out QB talent on the regular. If it wasn’t for Bo Nix getting another year, Thompson probably stays at Oregon so Tulane fans need to be partying in the streets over this guy. (They are partying because of Mardi Gras but they can also celebrate this) John Sumrall comes over from Troy after two Sun Belt titles so the potential for the Green Wave to not fall off after the departure of Willie Fritz is there. Only time will tell but if they want to continue being one of the best teams in the American, they will need Thompson to live up to the hype. 

 That wraps us up for the 25 through 21 on our countdown of the top 25 transfer portal QB’s for the 2024 season. Tune next week when we go from 20 to 16. Until next time this is Hunter singing off. 

Written by Hunter 

Four Man Front

Welcome to the first ever weekly edition of Four Man Front. Our goal with this blog is to bring you all of the college football news from around the country. We started covering bowl season and if you missed any of that, you can check it out by clicking this link here (Insert link). Starting this blog in the off season will be slow but we will try and find some topics that will peak your interest until late August. We will try and do four topics a week but if not we will change our defensive front to match what’s going on in the world of college football. For our first edition we just have a 3 man front and it starts with the reigning national champions. 

Take the “interim” tag off Sherrone Moore

On January 26th, 2024 Michigan promoted offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore to head coach after “Michigan Man” Jim Harbaugh took 9 seasons to win the school’s first national championship since 1997, then darted the first chance he got because “College football doesn’t have the Super Bowl.” Look I’m not a big Jim Harbaugh fan, and this 2023 season did him zero favors in likeability but he is a damn good football coach. He built Michigan back to the power they used to be and now he's gone. Along with Harbaugh, Michigan is losing 21 players to the NFL draft/ graduation and currently (as of Feb 1st) have 9 players in the transfer portal. Some of those names include QB JJ McCarthy, star running back Blake Corum, standout WR from the playoff run Roman Wilson, and team captain offensive linemen Zak Zinter.  On the defensive side leading tackler Junior Colson is gone. Edge rusher Jaylen Harrell who led the team in TFL’s is gone. Starting corner Josh Wallace is gone. I can go on and on but the point is this team was built for this championship run. It was Harbaugh’s make or break year after losing back to back playoff games and he delivered. Shifting to the focus of this paragraph Sherrone Moore. Moore was the offensive coordinator in 2023 for the Maze and Blue. He was promoted from co-offensive coordinator in 2022 and has been on staff since 2018. He also served as “acting head coach” for four games this past season as Jim Harbaugh was suspended for the Connor Stallions cheating scandal that was just ignored during the playoff run for whatever reason. So that is why I say the “interim” tag was taken off. Moore was the right choice for the job. That late in the cycle, Michigan wasn’t getting a flashy name. Even though Moore was the right choice doesn't mean there aren’t doubts. He has never been a head coach before (minus those 4 games), and he has to replace DC Jesse Minter who followed Harbaugh to the Chargers. The offense shouldn’t be a problem. Moore had the 14th best scoring offense last year and is an O-line coach at heart so they will still be good up front. Plus fan favorite Alex Orji the dual threat QB from Sachse, Texas is projected to be the starter. Also add in national championship game star RB Donovan Edwards staying so he can be the starter and you have an offense that should be able to run the ball. My question marks are on the defense. Who does Moore bring in? Who is going to step up for them? It’s not like they will be lacking talent because it is still Michigan but new coaches and no Harbaugh there to rally the troops if the going gets tough could be an issue. The schedule isn’t easy for Moore either. Week 2 they get Texas at home, Week 4 USC, Week 6 they travel to Washington, Week 9 Oregon comes to town and they finish the year at Ohio State. That is brutal compared to Harbaugh’s lack of strength schedules he had these last 3 seasons. How does Moore deal with issues if he drops a game to Texas or USC early? Only time will tell. I think a lot of Ohio State fans are loving this and will be throwing the “woke up on 3rd base line” that Harbaugh used about Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day back at them. Moore will be compared to Day. Neither had been head coaches before taking over, and both took over after national championship winning coaches. How will Moore and Michigan handle this? Again time will tell but I think Moore will be a great head coach but I worry with the strength of schedule that if he is slow out the gate, he may not have time to turn it around. Harbaugh was rumored to be fired almost every year until he finally beat Ohio State for the first time in 2021. I hope Moore gets that long of a leash in Ann Arbor… but we’ll see. Moving on to our next topic of the week, we stay in the Big Ten to talk about America’s favorite offense… the Iowa Hawkeyes    

Iowa has a New Offense? 

I felt like I wasn’t the most qualified to discuss the greatness that is the Iowa offense. So I let life long Iowa fan and head writer of Double Doink Zach share his thoughts on the hire of new offensive coordinator Tim Lester…

From Zach:

Unfortunately, I think this is a perfect fit for the Hawkeyes. This is a guy who went back to his alma mater, Western Michigan, to be the head coach in 2017, and went 37-32 in six season. He then was the senior analyst for the Green Bay Packers, and the only reason he got that job is his relationship with Green Bay Head Coach Matt LaFleur (they were college teammates at WMU). It's the most vanilla hire ever, and honestly, that fits what Kirk Ferentz wants to do. It'll be a pro-style offense, and it'll be. boring. They'll run the ball twice, then throw a seven-yard out on 3rd-and-8. Oh well. At least I can keep wearing the hell out of my "I Cheer For The Punter" shirt. Thanks Hunter.

Hafley Goes Out for Milk… Never to Return 

To finish up our first weekly edition of Four Man Front, we had breaking news literally overnight at Boston College. Jeff Hafley is out at BC and will become the new defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. I’ll be honest, I’m not the most in the know person when it comes to Boston College football but this just seemed out of left field. Hafley did have strong NFL ties and the NFL is like a brotherhood, once you’re in you’re in for life. So the move makes sense from that perspective. Hefley is a good DC and had the nation's best pass defense when he was the DC at Ohio State in 2019 and was top 30 in pass defense this past season at Boston College. It does seem odd though. The Eagles had a pretty good transfer portal haul over the past two months, highlighted by 2 Ohio State DB’s Cameron Martinez and Ryan Turner and Kansas State’s second leading rusher Treshaun Ward. However, after reading Hafley’s comments in the ESPN article breaking the news of his departure, it is clear that he isn’t a fan of the current college landscape. Hafley told ESPN, “He wants to go coach football again, and college coaching has become more fundraising for NIL and recruiting new players as well as your own. There’s no time to coach football anymore.” Clearly this man will be in the NFL for a while and we wish him the best. I’m sure Boston College fans are also wishing him well on his way out… So now there is a Power 5 job open on February 1st. Who will BC go after? The first name that I saw was a joke but man wouldn’t it be amazing if Bill Belichick took the job? He just got fired from the Patriots because apparently 6 Super Bowls isn’t good enough to keep you around when you choose to start Mac Jones every week. Look the NFL isn’t my expertise, that’s why Zach writes Double Doink but could you imagine Belchick at BC… That would be hilarious. Here is a  link to an interesting article by Boston College’s SB Nation site that will convince you that Belchick is the man for the job (https://www.bcinterruption.com/2024/1/31/24057574/why-bill-belichick-to-boston-college-bc-football-makes-perfect-sense-patriots-nfl-head-coach-hire). I think from the list I’ve seen there are four names that look good to me: 1. Al Golden Notre Dame DC. Yes, the same Al Golden that used to wear a tie when he was the head coach at Miami. He coached linebackers at BC in the late 90’s and is due for another shot to be the head guy somewhere. 2. Jason Candle Toledo Head Coach. Candle would be a homerun in my eyes. He has been the Head Coach at Toledo since 2016 and won two MAC titles. I don’t know if he will leave the Rockets this late in the cycle but any Power 5 job is better than the Group of 5 (Sorry Toledo you know we love the MAC). 3. Liem Coen Kentucky OC. Coen was a hot name in 2021 after Kentucky won 10 games and he made Will Levis look like a first round QB. He left to dip his toes in the NFL water in 2022 as OC for the not St. Louis Rams and quickly returned to Kentucky this past season. An offensive mind may be a good move but if it is Coen he will have to hit the portal hard in the second window after spring to get some offensive weapons for his system. 4. Jeff Monken Army Head Coach. I love this move just for the chance that the triple option is back at the Power 5 level. Monken probably wouldn't run that if he gets the job but he would be a good fit. He’s done wonders in West Point and wouldn’t be a world beater at BC but could keep them in the 6 to 8 win range every year. We’ll see what happens but if I know anything about football coaching searches, it will be none of the names I just listed…

That does it for the first weekly edition of Four Man Front. Hopefully you enjoyed it and will be back next week. If not, just do me a favor and at least click on the article so we feel good about our efforts. See ya next time!

Written by Hunter