Wave of QB musical chairs in college football adds major uncertainty

The list of championship contenders comprise the usual suspects.

Ohio State. Georgia. Alabama. Oregon.

The second tier doesn’t feature many surprises either.

Texas. Ole Miss. Oklahoma. Michigan. Notre Dame.

Then take a look at the quarterbacks around the country — at three of the aforementioned schools (Ohio State, Oregon and Notre Dame) and several other major programs (Florida State, Michigan State, Miami, Washington, Syracuse) that are hoping changes under center could lead them into playoff contention.

They are new to their teams, creating major uncertainty as the new era of college football is set to start with significant conference realignment and the 12-team playoff.

How these new signal-callers perform will be one of the big storylines of the season. Musical chairs at the most important spot on the field.

“It’s chaotic, but what’s exciting about pro sports? Free agency, who are you going to get,” ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum said in a phone interview.

On paper, Will Howard (Ohio State from Kansas State), Dillon Gabriel (Oregon from Washington) and Riley Leonard (Notre Dame from Duke) are quality additions.

Gabriel has been installed by oddsmakers as the Heisman Trophy favorite.

Howard and Leonard have been productive college players who will now be surrounded by major talent upgrades.

But all three are dealing with pressure they aren’t accustomed to dealing with.

Expectations for the trio are through the roof. The playoff is expected. They are being tasked with learning new offensive systems, playing in a new conference, assimilating with new teammates and coaches.

The quarterback is the most important position on the field. Typically, he is a leader.

“To take a quarterback from one roster to another, it has to be the kind of quarterback who has one of those engaging personalities, that’s gonna be everybody’s friend within minutes,” said former Washington coach Rick Neuheisel, who is now a college football analyst with Sirius XM. “He’s gotta be a ringleader, because otherwise it’s going to be very difficult in a college environment for teammates in the locker room to give up their buddy for a guy they don’t really know.”

“It’s almost always telling to see a kid who transfers to a new school and then is voted captain. Cam Rising at Utah left Texas to come to Utah in 2019 and was voted captain even though he wasn’t the starting quarterback.”

All the movement at the quarterback position has added intrigue to an already fascinating season.

It goes well beyond title favorites.

Syracuse was able to land former Ohio State starter Kyle McCord; Miami found a potential difference-maker in Washington State’s Cam Ward; Florida State picked up Oregon State’s DJ Uiagalelei to replace Jordan Travis and Washington added a new quarterback in Mississippi State’s Will Rogers, among others.

One byproduct of the changes of address, former Florida State quarterback and Sirius XM college football analyst EJ Manuel believes, is that it is leveling the playing field.

The days of teams stockpiling skilled quarterbacks have gone the way of the four-team playoff.

Remember the Alabama quarterback room in 2018 that included Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones? That’s not going to happen anymore.

“I think we’re going to see better football. In a weird way, it’s good for the game because you’re going to see the best of the best,” Manuel said. “Instead of some teams having a backup that can start somewhere else, that backup went somewhere else and is going to be on the field.

“Now every team that you see play for the most is going to have the very best talent at that position they can get, or they can afford.”

That’s not to say this has proven to be a successful model yet.

The big-name quarterbacks to switch schools last year — most notably Sam Hartman at Notre Dame, Devin Leary at Kentucky and Brennan Armstrong at NC State — weren’t exactly home runs.

The one quarterback who switched addresses and excelled was Shedeur Sanders, who followed his father Deion Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado. Sanders threw for 3,230 yards and 27 touchdowns, although the Buffaloes only won four games.

Several of the best quarterbacks in the country last year — from Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. to Texas’ Quinn Ewers — were transfers, but it wasn’t their first season at their new school.

It took time for them to find a comfort level. The four teams in the playoff last year all had established quarterbacks at their respective schools.

“So while, yes, there’s a lot of movement and people believe that’s the way to get to the top, I do still believe that what is rewarded in the end, in terms of who is winning the national championship and ultimately succeeding at the top of the sport, is continuity,” Fox college football analyst Joel Klatt said. “As the free market and marketplace moves through the years, I think that will become more evident to coaches and more evident to players, and they will see the value in staying and playing a second year in a single system.”

In time, that may be true. But how the current crop of transfers performs could shape the future as well. In a year of so many unknowns, the quarterback position is just as much of a mystery for so many schools.