Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1159352
32 NWA College Football Preview 2019 Sunday, August 25, 2019 "There's one quarterback on the field at a time. Every quarterback knows that." Fisher praised Starkel at SEC media days and said he understands the motiva- tion of quarterbacks who transfer. "You have to manage that position differently because it's the one position where basically one guy plays," Fish- er said. "You get a backlog or they see someone that wins a job, they're going to transfer. "I think that will always be the game going forward. I truly do. And I can un- derstand why a guy does that. If he loses his job and he's going forward and he has one or two years to play, I mean, I get it. "That's why I think you're constant- ly recruiting quarterbacks. Because you don't ever know how many of those guys are going to leave." Bryant started all 14 games for Clem- son as a junior in 2017 and completed 262 of 398 passes (65.8%) for 2,802 yards and 13 touchdowns with 8 interceptions. He also rushed 192 times for 665 yards and 11 touchdowns. In Bryant's four games last season, he completed 36 of 54 passes (66.7%) for 461 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rushed 30 times for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Tigers started 4-0. "I feel great," Bryant said of getting a second chance at Missouri. "I can't thank God enough for the timing of the rule, because if it was two years ago, I don't know what would have been the out- come as far as my situation. "I'm glad it worked out for me, and for a lot of guys as well." Stevens played in 23 games at Penn State. He completed 24 of 41 passes for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns, and rushed for 506 yards and 8 touchdowns. He al- so caught 14 passes for 62 yards and 2 touchdowns. "I think Tommy is a kid with a lot of physical tools," Moorhead said. "Strong arm. He can really run. "He's accustomed to the system, so he's going to understand it for the most part coming in. I think he brings a lot of talent to the position, and I think the competition is going to be an exciting one. "It's going to make the position better, it's going to make our offense better, and it's going to make our team better." Neal started 32 games at Ball State and passed for 7,393 yards and 46 touch- downs. "In this day and age, you see a lot of programs stack up the quarterback po- sition," Vanderbilt Coach Derek Mason said. "Guys look up and they say, 'Well, maybe I need to look at a different op- portunity.' "They got their undergraduate de- gree, and now they feel like they want to take their talents elsewhere. I'm not against that." Smith played in 13 games last season for Troy and started the final seven. He passed for 1,669 yards and 14 touch- downs, and rushed for 191 yards. He gives Kentucky a capable backup with Hoak's decision to transfer to Ohio State. The Razorbacks play Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State and Missouri, so they could end up facing four of the SEC's graduate transfer quarterbacks. "I've talked to some young guys who have kind of been thinking about [trans- ferring]," Burrow said. "What I always tell them is when you're making the de- cision, make sure you don't just wake up one day — maybe the practice didn't go well the day before — you go, 'Oh, screw these guys. I'm leaving.' "I think you need to take a step back and look at the entirety of the situation and make it like a business decision and not an emotional decision." Bryant said recruiting visits as a grad- uate transfer are different than the pro- cess as a high school player. "I think it's more stressful as a grad- uate transfer, because you don't have three to five years to play anymore," Bryant said. "You only have one year — maybe two years — to get it right. "You pretty much have to get it right. I wanted to make sure all my boxes were checked before I made this decision." Burrow said it's tough to become a team leader — a natural role for a quar- terback — in a short period of time as a graduate transfer. "What I really tried to do is just keep my mouth shut and let my work do the talking until people saw that," Burrow said. "Then I was able to speak up a little bit more. "It's like when you're a freshman and go into a new place. Keep your mouth shut, and if you show people how hard you work, then you can start being a leader." Bryant showed his leadership skills in late January when Missouri was hit with NCAA sanctions for academic fraud — including a bowl ban — and he addressed his new teammates. Missouri's players — including Bry- ant — could have transferred elsewhere and had immediate eligibility. But no player left Missouri. "If you're going to be here, make sure we're all committed," Bryant said of his message to the team. "There is not going to be one foot in and one foot out. "We had to make sure as seniors that we're bringing the young guys up and keeping everybody positive. We're not trying to let outside noise come between this team." Burrow was asked about a player de- ciding to transfer for his own best inter- ests, but also being a good teammate at the same time. "People that are successful in the sport of football are almost always good teammates," Burrow said. "I think that's a universal truth. "I think that the coaches' goal should be to create an environment that breeds people wanting to stay inside the pro- gram. But if a player wants to leave for a better opportunity, why is it bad for them to go chase their dream?" Quarterbacks v Continued from Page 31 TSN'S top 20 transfer quarterbacks The top transfer quarterbacks for this season as ranked by The Sporting News: Rank QB New school/old school 1 Jalen Hurts Oklahoma/Alabama 2 Justin Fields Ohio State/Georgia 3 Jacob Eason Washington/Georgia 4 Kelly Bryant Missouri/Clemson 5 Hunter Johnson Northwestern/Clemson 6 Tate Martell Miami/Ohio State 7 Brandon Wimbush UCF/Notre Dame Tie 8 Alex Hornibrook Florida State/Wisconsin Tie 8 Shane Bucechele SMU/Texas 10 Gage Gubrud Washington State/Eastern Washington 11 Josh Jackson Maryland/Virginia Tech 12 Nick Starkel Arkansas/Texas A&M 13 Ben Hicks Arkansas/SMU 14 Austin Kendall West Virginia/Oklahoma 15 Brandon Peters Illinois/Michigan 16 Tommy Stevens Mississippi State/Penn State 17 Riley Neal Vanderbilt/Ball State 18 Jack Tuttle Indiana/Utah 19 Ty Storey Western Kentucky/Arkansas 20 Gunnar Hoak Ohio State/Kentucky AP/JEFF ROBERSON Missouri quarterback Kelly Bryant throws Aug. 12 during practice in Columbia, Mo.