College football fortunes and fates change depending on transfers. The player who seemed to be the long-sought answer one school had been looking for suddenly changes his mind, and in the process alters the trajectories of two programs, two head coaching careers, and two balances of conference power in the chases for New Year’s Six bowls and College Football Playoff spots. Which transfer quarterbacks are likely to make the biggest differences this upcoming season? One answer is much more prominent than others, but various signal callers will all get their chances to leave a supreme mark on this series of fall Saturdays. Odds are courtesy of BetDSI Sportsbook.
Shea Patterson, Michigan
Odds To Win College Football Playoff: +1500
This is the easy and obvious No. 1 choice as a high-impact quarterback transfer. The key thing to note about Patterson is that he is a dual-threat quarterback, someone who can make plays with his legs as well as with his arm. This is the kind of quarterback Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has lacked since he came to Ann Arbor to coach his alma mater a few years ago. Harbaugh has had to work with Wilson Speight, John O’Korn, Jake Rudock, and other quarterbacks who were simply not that athletic and couldn’t make a lot of improvisational plays. They could make plays on the first read if the receiver was open, but they could not make plays when they broke down and a quarterback scramble out of the pocket was required. Patterson is the kind of quarterback who can thrive amid chaos, and this is why Michigan might finally be able to field a potent offense, something it generally hasn’t had under Harbaugh, one of the more surprising developments of the past few years in college football.
Dru Brown, Oklahoma State
Odds To Win College Football Playoff: +10000
The transfer from Hawaii fills a very big pair of shoes. It was extremely hard for Big 12 defenses to contain Oklahoma State’s offense the past few seasons as long as Mason Rudolph was sitting in the saddle at quarterback, distributing the ball to James Washington and a host of other skilled receivers. Rudolph threw a great deep ball, and even though Washington made a lot of big plays in the air, Rudolph still knew how to get the ball to him in ways other quarterbacks would not have been able to do. Brown faces a huge challenge, but if he can come anywhere close to Rudolph’s standard, he will have done well.
Brady White, Memphis
The transfer from Arizona State is interesting in that he was with the Sun Devils at the time that Mike Norvell, the current Memphis coach, was the offensive coordinator. There will be a very fluid line of communication between the quarterback and the coach for Memphis, which is why the Tigers can reasonably expect to not suffer a huge loss in production after the departure of 2017 quarterback Riley Ferguson.
Joe Burrow, LSU
Odds To Win College Football Playoff: +3000
The LSU Tigers looked to a Big Ten transfer the past two seasons, hoping that Purdue transfer Danny Etling could be the man who would ignite their offense and spice up their passing game. Now LSU is going back to the Big Ten, inviting Ohio State’s Joe Burrow to come to Baton Rouge and the SEC. Burrow was not expected to beat out Dwayne Haskins for the starting QB job at Ohio State this year, so he left in search of a place where he could get more playing time. He is highly regarded, and if he lives up to the hype, LSU and coach Ed Orgeron should have a hugely successful 2018.
Brandon Dawkins, Indiana
The speedster from Arizona will immediately have a chance to boost Indiana in a conference where most quarterbacks aren’t that mobile and the style of play is more conservative than in other power conferences in college football. Dawkins struggles to make reads, but he is a natural playmaker who can make tacklers miss. If Indiana gives him a lot of rushing attempts, he can thrive.
