Connect with us

South Dakota

College football QB transfer tracker: South Dakota State QB Mark Gronowski commits to Iowa

Published

on

College football QB transfer tracker: South Dakota State QB Mark Gronowski commits to Iowa


It’s both transfer season and bowl season in college football.

The poor timing of the sport’s calendar means that players need to enter the transfer portal immediately after the end of the season to enroll at a new school for the second semester. That means players across the country have to leave their current teams before a bowl game to find a new school. And that coaches have to both prepare their current players for a bowl game while also recruiting transfers for the 2025 season.

Here’s our tracker of notable QB transfers across college football ahead of the 2025 season.

Iowa has landed a top transfer quarterback.

Advertisement

Former South Dakota State QB Mark Gronowski told ESPN that he’s committing to the Hawkeyes for his final season of eligibility. Gronowski entered the transfer portal after coach Jimmy Rogers became the head coach at Washington State following SDSU’s FCS semifinal loss to national champion North Dakota State.

Gronowski has been one of the best players at the FCS level over the past three seasons. In 2024, he was 206-of-338 passing for 2,721 yards and threw 23 TDs with seven interceptions. He also rushed for 10 touchdowns. In his career, Gronowski has thrown for 93 TDs to just 20 interceptions and has also rushed for 37 scores.

Iowa has been looking for an upgrade at quarterback in recent seasons. The team added former Michigan QB Cade McNamara ahead of the 2023 season, but McNamara suffered a season-ending knee injury a season ago and also dealt with injuries during the 2024 season before entering the transfer portal again for a potential seventh season of college football.

Overall, Iowa quarterbacks McNamara, Brendan Sullivan and Jackson Stratton were 163-of-260 passing for 1,711 yards and 10 TDs with eight interceptions during the 2024 season. The Hawkeyes finished the season 8-5 after losing to Missouri in the Music City Bowl.

Former five-star recruit Malachi Nelson is heading to UTEP.

Advertisement

Per ESPN, the former USC and Boise State quarterback will continue his college career with the Miners. Nelson was the No. 2 QB at Boise State this season after transferring from USC following his freshman season in 2023.

Through two seasons of college football, Nelson has played in four games. He threw three passes in one game at USC and was 12-of-17 for 128 yards and a pick in three games at Boise State. He’ll have three more years of eligibility remaining.

When he signed with USC, Nelson was the No. 4 pro style QB in the class of 2023 and the No. 14 player in the country.

Dequan Finn is heading back to the MAC.

The former Toledo star is transferring to Miami (Ohio) after spending the 2024 season at Baylor. Finn was the 2023 MAC player of the year with the Rockets as he was 201-of-317 passing for 2,657 yards and 22 TDs along with 563 rushing yards and seven scores on the ground.

Advertisement

However, he played in just three games at Baylor in 2024 as Sawyer Robertson emerged as the team’s starting quarterback during the season. In limited playing time at Baylor, Finn was 23-of-43 passing for 307 yards and three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed 21 times for 66 yards and two scores.

Finn will be in his seventh season of college football in 2025. He has an extra season of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic and also played in just three games in 2019 and reportedly applied for a medical waiver for the 2025 season.

After leaving Penn State ahead of the College Football Playoff, Beau Pribula has found his new home.

Pribula is set to transfer to Missouri, according to multiple reports on Sunday night. Pribula served as Drew Allar’s backup quarterback this season at Penn State, though Pribula announced that he was going to transfer away before the Nittany Lions’ blowout win over SMU in the first round of the playoffs. Allar announced he will return to Penn State next season, too.

Pribula will have two years of eligibility remaining at Missouri, where he’ll likely replace Brady Cook. Pribula, a former four-star recruit, went 26-of-35 for 275 yards with five touchdowns and an interception this season. He had 242 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 38 carries, too. Missouri also has Drew Pyne, who backed up Cook this past season, on its roster.

Advertisement

The Tigers went 9-3 this season, the fifth under coach Eli Drinkwitz. They will wrap up their season against Iowa in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl on Dec. 30.

Michigan was looking for a veteran quarterback who might provide a one-year bridge to five-star recruit Bryce Underwood. The Wolverines found one with Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene, who has one more year of eligibility.

As a two-year starter for the Bulldogs, Keene threw for 5,868 yards and 42 touchdowns, completing 68.7% of his passes. He is also familiar with Michigan’s new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, whom he played under at UCF in 2022.

Michigan’s QB play has major room for improvement after the 2024 season. The Wolverines ranked near the worst in the nation in passing offense, averaging 133.6 yards per game and 5.5 yards per attempt.

Davis Warren threw for 1,126 yards, six touchdowns and nine interceptions in eight games, while Alex Orji and Jack Tuttle also started games last season. Orji has entered the transfer portal while Tuttle retired from football due to injury. Warren has a fifth year of eligibility remaining and could return. Redshirt freshman Jadyn Davis will also be in the QB mix with Underwood and Keene.

Advertisement

After a huge season at Cal, Fernando Mendoza is headed to the Big Ten.

Mendoza committed to play at Indiana next season, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Mendoza, who was one of the top quarterbacks available in the portal this offseason, threw for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns at Cal. His younger brother is a freshman quarterback at Indiana, too.

The Hoosiers are coming off of their best season in school history. They won a program high 11 games and reached the College Football Playoff, though they fell to Notre Dame in the opening round. Kurtis Rourke led the Hoosiers in his final college season, and he racked up 3,042 yards with 29 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Former Texas and Duke quarterback Maalik Murphy is heading west.

Murphy committed to Oregon State on Thursday according to multiple reports. He joins the Beavers after one season in Durham following his transfer from Texas.

Advertisement

Murphy was 254-of-421 passing for 2,933 yards and 26 TDs with 12 interceptions in 2024. He spent the 2023 season as Texas’ No. 2 quarterback and started in Quinn Ewers’ absence when Ewers suffered a shoulder injury. However, due to the timing of the transfer portal, he left the Longhorns before the College Football Playoff.

Murphy will have two seasons of eligibility with the Beavers. Oregon State went 5-7 in 2024 as three different quarterbacks played in at least five games.

After Murphy entered the transfer portal at the end of the season, Duke moved quickly to secure a commitment from Tulane’s Darian Mensah.

One of the most productive QBs in college football during the 2023 season is heading to Colorado.

Liberty’s Kaidon Salter committed to Colorado on Wednesday for his final season of eligibility. Salter had 44 total touchdowns in 2023 as Liberty went undefeated and won Conference USA before losing to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. Salter returned to Liberty for the 2024 season after he briefly entered the portal following the Fiesta Bowl loss.

Advertisement

Former Maryland QB Billy Edwards said Monday that he was heading to Wisconsin. Edwards was 273-of-420 passing for 2,881 yards and 15 TDs with nine interceptions over 11 games in 2024. He also rushed for 148 yards and five touchdowns. Edwards appeared in 15 games over his first two seasons at Maryland before becoming the team’s primary QB in 2024.

Wisconsin is undergoing an overhaul at the QB position as the team made a coordinator change at the end of the season. QBs Braedyn Locke and Tyler Van Dyke have entered the transfer portal already. Locke was the team’s starter for most of the season after Van Dyke suffered a torn ACL against Alabama.

Washington State QB John Mateer was one of the most dynamic players in college football in 2024. He’ll be playing at a new school in 2025.

Mateer is entering the portal after leading college football with 44 total TDs. He threw for 29 scores and rushed for 15 others as he had at least one passing TD and one rushing TD in 10 of Washington State’s 12 games.

The Nittany Lions will have a new backup behind Drew Allar for the College Football Playoff.

Advertisement

No. 2 QB Beau Pribula announced Sunday that he was entering the transfer portal ahead of the postseason. Pribula lamented the timing of his announcement because of college football’s calendar, and his sentiments were backed up by coach James Franklin, who said he supported his QB’s decision to find a new school.

Pribula’s decision to transfer came a day before Allar announced he will return to Penn State for the 2025 season.

Pribula saw significant playing time in 2024 behind Allar. He was 26-of-35 passing for 275 yards and five TDs and rushed 38 times for 242 yards and four scores while appearing in all 13 of PSU’s games.

The Louisville Cardinals will likely have a one-year transfer starting at quarterback for a second straight season.

Former USC QB Miller Moss committed to the Cardinals on Saturday. Moss was USC’s starter for much of the season in 2024 before he was replaced by Jayden Maiava. Moss was 233-of-362 passing for 2,555 yards with 18 TDs and nine interceptions across nine games.

Advertisement

The Cardinals and coach Jeff Brohm got an up-close look at what Moss can do in the Holiday Bowl at the end of the 2023 season. With Caleb Williams opting out for the NFL Draft, Moss started the game and was 23-of-33 for 372 yards and six TDs.

Tyler Shough spent the 2024 season as Louisville’s starter after stints at Oregon and Texas Tech. In his seventh season of college football, Shough has completed 63% of his passes and thrown for 23 TDs and just six interceptions.

Auburn added a second starting QB in less than a week on Monday when Stanford’s Ashton Daniels committed to the Tigers. In 11 games in 2024, Daniels was 170-of-271 passing for 1,700 yards and 10 TDs with 12 interceptions. He also was the Cardinal’s leading rusher with 148 carries for 669 yards and three TDs.

Daniels has appeared in 33 games over his Stanford career and is 366-of-602 passing for 3,986 yards. His commitment came days after former Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold committed to Auburn. The Tigers will have a new starter in 2025 after Payton Thorne is out of eligibility and Hank Brown transferred to Iowa.

Dual-threat QB Devon Dampier is heading to Utah.

Advertisement

The Utes got a commitment from Dampier on Dec. 11 after the Utes hired former New Mexico offensive coordinator Jason Beck to call plays.

Dampier thrived under Beck in 2024 as one of the most underrated players in college football. Dampier was 226-of-390 passing for 2,768 yards and 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also rushed 155 times for 1,166 yards and 19 scores. He was the only player to rush for over 1,000 yards while throwing for over 2,500 yards this season.

Dampier is set to be the presumptive starter for the Utes as they attempt to rebound from a poor 2024. QB Isaac Wilson was the team’s primary starter after Cam Rising’s multiple injuries. Wilson was briefly in the transfer portal before recommitting to Utah.

After an ignominious end to his Boston College career, Thomas Castellanos is heading to Florida State.

The former BC QB entered the transfer portal at the end of the season after he lost his starting job in November. Through eight games in 2024, Castellanos threw for 1,366 yards and 18 TDs.

Advertisement

But Castellanos’ season was effectively over after Grayson James replaced him in a win over Syracuse. Castellanos stepped away from the team after BC coach Bill O’Brien announced that James would remain the team’s primary QB and announced he was heading into the portal a short time later.

Conner Weigman decided to stay in Texas after transferring from Texas A&M.

The former Aggies starter committed to Houston after putting his name in the portal. Weigman was the team’s starting quarterback but lost his job to Marcel Reed during the Aggies’ comeback win over LSU.

A former four-star recruit, Weigman has dealt with injuries during each of the past two seasons. He missed time in 2024 because of a shoulder injury and played in just four games in 2023 before a foot injury sidelined him for the rest of the season.

Duke effectively made an early transfer portal QB trade once the 2024 season ended.

Advertisement

Starter Maalik Murphy entered the portal after one season with the Blue Devils. Just days after Murphy said he was transferring, Duke added former Tulane QB Darian Mensah.

Mensah was one of the top-rated QBs in the portal since he announced he was leaving Tulane two days after the AAC title game. He threw for over 2,723 yards and 22 TDs as a redshirt freshman in 2024.





Source link

South Dakota

Retired Air Force four-star general Maryanne Miller speaks at South Dakota Mines

Published

on

Retired Air Force four-star general Maryanne Miller speaks at South Dakota Mines


RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Students at South Dakota Mines heard Wednesday from retired four-star general Maryanne Miller about her journey to the highest ranks of the U.S. military.

Miller is a retired four-star U.S. Air Force general. She is the only member of the Air Force Reserve ever to be promoted to this level.

She spoke about finding greatness and living a life of fulfillment. Her stories came from her time in the Air Force and as a volunteer for Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity.

“We so much get focused on what is our next step in life, what’s the next career move, how do we make ourselves better in our career, and we forget about how do we make ourselves better as a human being,” Miller said. “Because they have to go tandem. If it’s not tandem, you’re going to get off track.”

Advertisement

Miller was commissioned in 1981 and rose through the ranks before becoming a four-star general in 2018. She was the only woman serving as a four-star officer in the military at the time. She retired in 2020 after serving for almost 40 years.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

South Dakota

USDA to offer distaster assistance to South Dakota agriculture producers impacted by winter storms

Published

on

USDA to offer distaster assistance to South Dakota agriculture producers impacted by winter storms


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering financial and technical assistance to South Dakota farmers and livestock producers who may have been impacted by the recent winter storms.

“I encourage impacted producers to contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure, and livestock losses and damages.” said Richard Fordyce, Production and Conservation Under Secretary.

FSA’s Emergency Conservation Program and Emergency Forest Restoration Program can assist landowners with financial assistance to restore damaged land and conservation structures or forests.

“Our staff will work one-on-one with landowners to make assessments of the damages and develop methods that focus on effective recovery of the land.” said Jessica Michalski, Acting NRCS State Conservationist in South Dakota.

Advertisement

For more information about the disaster assistance program, click here.



Source link

Continue Reading

South Dakota

Plaque unveiled at South Dakota Capitol for 100-year-old Medal of Honor recipient

Published

on

Plaque unveiled at South Dakota Capitol for 100-year-old Medal of Honor recipient


South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, left, and Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen unveil a plaque for retired U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams in the Hall of Honor at the Capitol in Pierre on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight)

By:Meghan O’Brien

PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) — There’s a new name in the South Dakota Hall of Honor at the state Capitol building.

Advertisement

One-hundred-year-old South Dakota native and retired U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams was celebrated at a Wednesday ceremony where a plaque honoring him was unveiled, although Williams did not attend.

“In spite of being outnumbered and facing incredible danger, Captain Williams engaged the enemy with courage and skill,” said Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden. “Our state has always had a strong tradition of service, and Captain Williams is the very best of that tradition.”

President Donald Trump awarded Williams the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest military honor, at the State of the Union address earlier this year. The medal honors actions by Williams that had been classified for decades.

“His story was secret for over 50 years, he didn’t even want to tell his wife, but the legend grew and grew,” Trump said during the speech in February. “But tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves.”

On Nov. 18, 1952, over Korean coastal waters during the Korean War, then-Lt. Williams, from Wilmot, South Dakota, led three F9F Panthers against seven Soviet MiG-15s. He disabled three enemy jets and damaged a fourth.

Advertisement

The Soviet jets, according to the U.S. Naval Institute, were “superior to the F9F in almost every fashion.” The mission was the only direct overwater combat between U.S. Navy fighters and Soviet fighters during the Cold War.

Williams, one of 11 Medal of Honor recipients from South Dakota, now lives in California. The Hall of Honor at the South Dakota Capitol is located in the hallway that visitors enter immediately after going through security.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending