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30 NWA College Football Preview 2019 Sunday, August 25, 2019 Have football? Will travel Graduate transfer quarterbacks flood SEC for another shot The SEC's slogan "It Just Means More" applies to graduate transfer quar- terbacks going into the conference's 87th football season. As in there are a lot more graduate transfers quarterbacks hoping to lead SEC offenses. After LSU's Joe Burrow was the only graduate transfer to start at quarterback in the SEC in 2018, the conference could have as many as five when this season opens. Burrow, who transferred to LSU from Ohio State, is back to lead LSU as a se- nior after passing for 2,894 yards and 16 touchdowns, and rushing for 399 yards and 7 touchdowns last season. The University of Arkansas, Missis- sippi State, Missouri and Vanderbilt also could have graduate transfers as starting quarterbacks. Senior Ben Hicks, from SMU, and junior Nick Starkel, from Texas A&M, are competing for the Razorbacks' job. As soon as Kelly Bryant transferred from Clemson to Missouri, he was named the Tigers' starting quarterback by Coach Barry Odom. Tommy Stevens transferred to Mis- sissippi State from Penn State, where he played for Bulldogs Coach Joe Moor- head, who was the Nittany Lions' offen- sive coordinator from 2016-17. Riley Neal transferred from Ball State to Vanderbilt, where he's competing to replace Kyle Shurmur, the Commodores' starting quarterback the previous four seasons. Kentucky also added graduate trans- fer quarterback Sawyer Smith from Troy. Smith, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining, is expected to be a backup to junior Terry Wilson, a returning starter. "Guys want to play," Burrow said of the increasing number of transfer quar- terbacks. "If you can go somewhere else that allows you to have a better opportu- nity to play, I think you need to take it. "I think that's good for college foot- ball, because more guys get to showcase their talents. There are some really good players out there who might be stuck behind someone who's an NFL guy. They go somewhere else and light it up." The Sporting News ranked the top 20 transfer quarterbacks going into this sea- son, and the list included 10 who either left or joined SEC teams. Jalen Hurts, who transferred from Al- abama to Oklahoma, is No. 1 on the list. Justin Fields (Georgia to Ohio State) is ranked No. 2, Jacob Eason (Georgia to Washington) No. 3, Bryant No. 4, Starkel No. 12, Hicks No. 13, Stevens No. 15, Ne- al No. 17, Ty Storey (Arkansas to West- ern Kentucky) No. 19 and Gunnar Hoak (Kentucky to Ohio State) No. 20. "I think the grad transfer rule is great," Hicks said. "It's great for guys that have stuck at their university and busted their tail to graduate and given that university all they have, and are still able to check out other options and do something else." Hicks said it's exciting to be part of a large group of SEC graduate transfer quarterbacks. "I think it's made this league more fun," he said. "More interesting, too." Starkel said he expects the trend of quarterbacks transferring to continue. "It really has just turned into free agency," Starkel said. "I think it's good for me, obviously. It's good for some guys going to better situations for them, and it hurts some other guys, I guess. "It's going to be interesting this year in the SEC, for sure." Bryant started every game for Clem- son in 2017 when the Tigers won the At- lantic Coast Conference championship and made the College Football Playoff — where they lost to Alabama and Hurts in the semifinals — and started the first four games last season before losing his start job to freshman Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence went on to lead Clemson to the national championship — beating Alabama and new starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the title game — after Bryant quit the team after four games so he could redshirt and start at another school as a graduate transfer. Bryant picked Missouri over Arkan- sas, Auburn, Mississippi State and North Carolina. "It depends on your situation," Bry- ant said of transferring. "If you feel the need to go somewhere else that's going to benefit you and put you in a position to be successful, you've got take care of BOB HOLT ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANDY SHUPE Arkansas quarterback Nick Starkel, a graduate transfer, looks to pass Aug. 2 during practice in Fayetteville. v Continued on next page