Notre Dame will once again be in the spotlight this off-season attempting to bring in a quarterback through the Transfer Portal. Last year, it was a hot topic of the off-season with the new coaching staff ultimately deciding to stay put with the quarterbacks on the roster at the time.

It seems likely Marcus Freeman will be taking a much harder look the second time around. So, we’ve searched the nation for some of the best possible transfer candidates. We are sticking with 3 stipulations to guide our search:

1) We are only considering graduate transfers. So, no one from the 2021 or 2022 recruiting classes. Even if you’re taking fake classes at UNC it’s virtually impossible to graduate within a couple years, even as an early enrollee.

2) Nearly half of our list is comprised of 2020 academic juniors and we cannot say for sure how many of those will be graduating any time soon. However, it’s becoming more prevalent throughout college football to finish in 3 years, especially with so many quarterbacks enrolling early.

3) We’re keeping this list somewhat realistic. Which means, no lateral or downward moves from major programs if the quarterback in question is starting, playing well, and/or under no pressure to be unseated.

Starter Rating: A number out of 10 with 1 being an absolute lock to be a backup quarterback where we rank the likelihood of a transfer coming in and starting for Notre Dame. We thought this would be more important to rank and not the likelihood of an actual transfer, because who knows with that decision on a player-to-player basis.

Quarterbacks are listed in alphabetical order.

Name: Brennan Armstrong
School: Virginia
Height: 6-2
Weight: 210
Eligibility: 1

One of the hotter names after totaling 4,700 total yards and 40 touchdowns in 2021, Armstrong has struggled big time in a new offensive system and with hindsight probably should’ve transferred a year ago. He’s played a ton of football at Virginia (1,064 pass attempts!) and offers a nice blend of passing and running ability. He’d be turning 24 next year and it’s not even clear if he’d be willing to return to college football for a 6th season after he’s been banged up a lot during his career. SR: 9.2/10

Name: Hank Bachmeier
School: Boise State
Height: 6-1
Weight: 210
Eligibility: 2

Bachmeier was one of the biggest recruits in Boise State history who showed decent promise in 2019-20 before having a pretty good 2021. However, he left school this past September after being unhappy with the direction the offense was going for the Broncos and the struggles protecting their quarterback.

Bachmeier has been in the portal for a while. 

Boise State ended up firing their offensive coordinator in late September but it was too late as Bachmeier announced his transfer only a few days later. His career numbers are solid (6,605 passing yards, 41 TD, 19 INT) and he’s had a long time to contemplate a new program. SR: 6.5/10

Name: Doug Brumfield
School: UNLV
Height: 6-5
Weight: 225
Eligibility: 2

Brumfield has missed extensive time with injuries in each of the past 2 seasons which is why we didn’t get to see him play inside Notre Dame Stadium recently. However, there’s no denying he’s a big and super talented kid who could be getting a lot of attention to move to a new school. Brumfield has totaled 1,702 passing yards, 283 rushing yards, 18 total touchdowns, and 3 interceptions in roughly half a year’s worth of starts. He is from Inglewood and probably grew up a USC fan, plus a transfer from UNLV could be a bit dicey with all due respect. SR: 6.7/10

Name: Zach Calzada
School: Auburn
Height: 6-4
Weight: 208
Eligibility: 2

A playmaker with consistency issues who helped Texas A&M beat Alabama in 2021 before transferring to Auburn this past off-season. Calzada is likely to be a bigger name to watch (thanks to that Alabama game fame) but his career numbers aren’t that great and he’s not that experienced, either. Since 2019, he’s totaled 2,318 passing yards with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He battled an off-season shoulder injury, didn’t win the starting job for the Tigers, and had shoulder surgery recently to shut down his 2022 season. SR: 6.3/10

Name: Hudson Card
School: Texas
Height: 6-2
Weight: 201
Eligibility: 2

A former high 4-star recruit from the 2020 class who is now playing in the shadow of Quinn Ewers and may have an eye on leaving Austin for more playing time. He’s made a handful of starts for the Horns since 2021 and has generally looked sharp and competent with 1,518 passing yards to go with 11 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Card will be one of the most sought after transfers in the country should he choose to leave Texas, but he’s also not very experienced (fewer than 200 career pass attempts) and brings some risk in that regard. SR: 8.3/10

Name: Jalon Daniels
School: Kansas
Height: 6-0
Weight: 215
Eligibility: 2

The current academic junior had a couple decent seasons for the Jayhawks before breaking out in 2022 with 17 total touchdowns and 1 interception in 7 games. He was thought to be out for the season with a shoulder injury but could be coming back in November if reports about him easing his way back into practice are true. If he were to leave Lawrence this is a high-ceiling dual-threat quarterback who will command a lot of attention. SR: 8.5/10

Name: Max Duggan
School: TCU
Height: 6-2
Weight: 210
Eligibility: 1

This one is a bit of a stretch for us, but we’ll include him just in case. Duggan has started 4 years at TCU and his production had gone unnoticed while the Horned Frogs struggled as a team. Now, he’s having an amazing senior season and in the thick of the Heisman race with TCU undefeated. In his career, Duggan has 8,132 passing yards, 63 touchdown passes, 22 interceptions, 1,709 rushing yards, and 23 more rushing scores. Through last week’s action he’s 4th nationally in 2022 passer rating.

We’ll say technically a move to Notre Dame in 2023 is a move up in stature, although a move to the NFL or staying at TCU for a 5th year using the Covid eligibility are heavily more likely. SR: 9.3/10

Name: Dequan Finn
School: Toledo
Height: 6-2
Weight: 210
Eligibility: 2

Notre Dame almost lost to Toledo last year but Finn played sparingly that day before eventually taking over the starting job later in the season while throwing 18 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions with 505 rushing yards to boot. If you recall, He did come in and scamper for the 26-yard go-ahead touchdown that nearly beat the Irish.

Great contain, guys. 

This year he’s 3rd in the MAC in passer rating, although 8 of his 9 interceptions have come in Toledo’s 3 losses. He also missed this past weekend’s game with an injury in Toledo’s comeback win over Eastern Michigan. While not a finished product as a passer, you could be convinced taking Finn would be like adding a more veteran and prepared version of Tyler Buchner. Plus, he has a cool name. SR: 5.9/10

Name: Sam Hartman
School: Wake Forest
Height: 6-1
Weight: 210
Eligibility: 1

Hartman has popped up as a discussion point in many Notre Dame corners of the internet but is probably an extreme long shot to move to Notre Dame. He’s already played a ton of college football (well over 11,000 passing yards and approaching 100 touchdowns) and since he took a redshirt as an academic sophomore in 2019 we’d be looking at a potential 6th year of eligibility in 2023 due to the Covid year.

However, with his health scare earlier this year and current age you’d think Hartman would be ready to move to the NFL, even if he’s not a prototypical quarterback in the league. It also seems unlikely that after 5 seasons at Wake Forest in the Warren Ruggiero offense he’d suddenly want to leave for Notre Dame. SR: 9.3/10

Name: Grayson McCall
School: Coastal Carolina
Height: 6-3
Weight: 215
Eligibility: 2

The NFL could come calling this off-season but if it does not McCall could be one of the top transfer candidates in the country, especially if rising star coach Jamey Chadwell finally takes another job somewhere. McCall has been fantastic over the last 2+ seasons with 72 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions, plus he can make plays with his feet (1,028 rushing yards and 15 career rushing touchdowns). If he stays in college a move up to the Power 5 level would be a smart idea. SR: 9.2/10

Name: Tanner McKee
School: Stanford
Height: 6-6
Weight: 230
Eligibility: 2

Here’s a name that has been thrown around in the Notre Dame media, so we’ll include him. McKee has great tools as a big, pro-style pocket passer and could use a boost of surrounding talent to improve his chances at the next level. Through this past weekend, he’s thrown for 4,361 yards with 26 touchdownd and 14 interceptions. Would he really want to leave Stanford? Remember, he went on a mission and he’ll be turning 23 during the off-season. I doubt he’d want to leave Stanford (plus he’d have to uproot his married life that NBC talked about during this year’s game!) and would probably test the NFL anyway. SR: 8.4/10

Name: Cade McNamara
School: Michigan
Height: 6-1
Weight: 206
Eligibility: 2

Name: Graham Mertz
School: Wisconsin
Height: 6-3
Weight: 216
Eligibility: 2

We’ve made it to the best worst quarterback in the country. Needless to say, things have not gone to plan for Mertz after being touted as the savior for the Wisconsin program. Now, his head coach is fired and who knows which direction the Badgers will be taking with their offense next year. If you squint hard, and think about his recruiting pedigree, maybe there’s something worth taking a shot with for 2023. Plus, a Wisconsin transfer worked out last time! But then you also see 22 career interceptions in a system where you shouldn’t be throwing 22 interceptions and I don’t know. SR: 7.2/10

Name: Michael Pratt
School: Tulane
Height: 6-3
Weight: 220
Eligibility: 2

Now is a good time to do some research on Pratt. He led all true freshmen in 2020 with 20 touchdown passes and followed that up with 21 more touchdown passes last season. His improvement in 2022 is a big reason why Tulane is currently ranked in the polls.

Would he want to leave these beautiful uniforms??

Pratt’s completion percentage is up 10 points, he currently leads the American Conference in passer rating, and after throwing 16 interceptions during his first 2 seasons he’s improved to just 3 interceptions on 194 attempts this season. In 28 career games, Pratt has 5,905 passing yards, 598 rushing yards, and 71 total touchdowns. SR: 8.0/10

Name: Kurtis Rourke
School: Ohio
Height: 6-4
Weight: 216
Eligibility: 2

Rourke, a Canadian from the Toronto suburb of Oakville, quietly started off really well for the Bobcats during the Covid-shortened 2020 season then didn’t build off that much in the first year of new head coach Tim Albin’s tenure in 2021. This season, he’s been tearing up the MAC leading the conference in passer rating (20th nationally) and at 6’4″ he can offer some decent running ability, too.

In 21 career games, he has 4,595 passing yards, 30 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions, plus 549 rushing yards and 7 more scores. Rourke and Ohio have a big game tonight against Buffalo if you’d like to have some Tuesday MACtion and a look at this quarterback. SR: 7.7/10

Name: Garrett Shrader
School: Syracuse
Height: 6-4
Weight: 228
Eligibility: 1

The idea of Shrader transferring to Notre Dame probably seemed like a much better idea before this weekend’s game where he was apparently not fully healthy and played really poorly. Given his pre-2022 struggles and question marks about his production outside of new offensive coordinator Robert Anae this likely isn’t a top priority for Notre Dame if he entered the portal.

However, he is a big athlete that could be enticing if you feel he’s a good program and system fit. In 30 career games, Shrader has 4,244 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, with 1,741 rushing yards and 26 more scores on the ground. SR: 8.7/10

Name: Jeff Sims
School: Georgia Tech
Height: 6-4
Weight: 219
Eligibility: 2

At one time, Sims was viewed as a budding young star in the ACC and he’s finishing 2022 with an interim head coach while continuing to deal with injuries (he didn’t play this weekend in Tech’s blowout loss at Florida State). His passing game hasn’t improved much (4,464 yards, 57.5% accuracy, 30 touchdowns, 20 interceptions in 25 career games) which is probably going to keep a lot of other Power 5 programs away if he enters the transfer portal. However, he’s a great athlete (1,152 career rushing yards) who could flourish in a different system with better talent around him. SR: 6.1/10

Name: Taulia Tagovailoa
School: Maryland
Height: 5-11
Weight: 200
Eligibility: 1

This is my pick for the Power 5 quarterback a little off the radar to transfer in 2023 and have a big year. Tagovailoa originally followed his older brother Tua to Alabama but left after 1 season (he did little more than hand off in 5 games, I’m assuming he lost a year of eligibility) and was ruled immediately eligible after a transfer to Maryland.

He could do some damage at a top 15 program. 

He still needs to improve on his turnover rate (23 interceptions on 832 attempts) but he’s getting better and can undeniably sling the ball all over the field. In just 24 career games with the Terps, Tagovailoa has totaled nearly 7,000 passing yards and 46 touchdown passes. SR: 8.6/10

Name: DJ Uiagaleilei
School: Clemson
Height: 6-4
Weight: 235
Eligibility: 2

Half of the people may say, “no way this is happening” and the other half may say “this is the best-case scenario for 2023 it could work!” We’ll know more about DJU’s situation after Clemson’s visit to Notre Dame this weekend. He has true freshman 5-star Cade Klubnik nipping at his heels quite a bit and has taken a seat for the younger player a few times this year. Will DJU actually lose the job?

No doubt, his 2021 was quite bad but his 2022 numbers are back up to his 2020 levels and he’s 5th in the ACC in passer rating, higher than a few others on today’s list. In 30 career games, DJU has 4,963 passing yards, 718 rushing yards, 43 total touchdowns, and 14 interceptions.

You’ll remember Notre Dame taking Drew Pyne 20 months(!) before Early Signing Day in the 2020 class without putting in any work for 5-star DJU. Perhaps he’ll want a change of scenery for 2023 and the Irish will pick up the phone to gauge his interest. I wouldn’t say no to a package deal with brother Matayo (5-star edge rusher for the 2023 class) either! SR: 9.1/10

Name: Tyler Van Dyke
School: Miami
Height: 6-4
Weight: 224
Eligibility: 2

Last year’s ACC Rookie of the Year exploded on to the scene as a redshirt freshman finishing with nearly 3,000 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, and the league’s second best passer rating behind first-round pick Kenny Pickett. The 2022 season hasn’t been a complete disaster for Van Dyke but his numbers are down, Miami has lost 4 games already after big expectations, and now he’s banged up while missing this weekend’s game against Virginia.

A prep school kid from Connecticut, it’s possible Van Dyke will be considered a good fit at Notre Dame and someone whose passing abilities would bring an instant upgrade to the program. SR: 8.5/10