South Dakota
South Dakota’s inability to track soil erosion puts farmers at risk
Editor’s word: This story is a part of “100 Eyes on South Dakota,” an investigative initiative pushed by reader questions and information ideas to assist maintain public officers accountable and shine mild on fact inside the area, culminating impactful reporting and assets between three newsrooms: the Argus Chief, the Aberdeen American Information and the Watertown Public Opinion.
South Dakota might by no means perceive the complete scope of the injury the Might 12 derecho had on farmers.
Dr. Mark Sweeney, a soil scientist at College of South Dakota, estimated the mud storm stripped away 1-2 millimeters of soil from farms throughout the state. Nevertheless, he added South Dakota does not have the technological infrastructure to trace which fields had been impacted and to what diploma.
That derecho — a strong windstorm — introduced greater than 100 mph winds and nickel-sized hail in a matter of roughly half-hour throughout southeastern South Dakota, which depends closely as a complete on agriculture, the state’s No.1 financial driver. It additionally kicked up a haboob, or a significant mud storm, which is what most individuals noticed because the storm system rolled over the area.
However this one storm system factors to a bigger dilemma for South Dakota’s agriculture business: Topsoil — the uppermost layer of soil that’s wealthy in vitamins and nice for farming — is slowly being eroded by wind and water. And the state’s soil specialists say farming is accelerating the injury.
Extra:Sioux Falls Faculty District plans so as to add agriculture courses at CTE Academy for fall 2022
“The darkness of the mud cloud was brought on by organic-rich topsoil that was eroded.” Sweeney mentioned. “That was a sign to me that a number of topsoil was picked up by the storm.”
Extra: Sioux Falls NWS labels Thursday’s robust winds a ‘derecho,’ with damages just like a twister
However this can be a tough guess, at finest. Soil specialists like Sweeney and his colleagues at USD and South Dakota State College say the state lacks the tools to trace soil erosion, and the one device that would have given them some knowledge to work with malfunctioned proper because the storm arrived, an Argus Chief investigation discovered.
Meaning unchecked soil erosion can put farmers and even the bigger basic public as a complete in danger due to the widespread implications.
With out methods to trace (and fight) this downside, misplaced topsoil prices the agriculture business billions of {dollars} in potential income, and decreased crop yields can increase the value of meals. Public well being additionally suffers, in keeping with Laura Edwards, state climatologist for SDSU, when topsoil is tossed into the air — an incidence her USD colleague mentioned may occur extra typically due to the specter of local weather change — finally harming air high quality within the state.
And whereas a millimeter or two doesn’t appear to be a lot, Sweeney mentioned erosion is a sluggish however fixed course of, and climate occasions add up additional time.
Extra:Lax enforcement permits for unlawful conversion of wetlands into croplands
Sioux Falls’ air high quality sensor suffered energy outage throughout derecho, leaving scientists with out knowledge
When the derecho hit the Midwest, Sweeney was one in every of a number of soil specialists attempting to drag up air high quality readings to get a really feel for the way a lot mud was within the air.
Air high quality sensors can detect quite a lot of particles like smoke and mud, and they’re often used to find out day by day air high quality studies and potential well being dangers to the general public.
There are three different air high quality sensors in jap South Dakota — one in Brookings, Watertown and Aberdeen — however they didn’t get hit as squarely as the Sioux Falls sensor.
Nevertheless, Sioux Falls’ air high quality sensor, which is positioned within the northwest nook of the town, suffered an influence outage when the storm hit.
Due to the tools failure, Sweeney and his colleagues couldn’t precisely gauge the mud focus within the air.
In actual fact, the few measurements taken led to an absence of consensus between the scientists. Sweeney’s readings didn’t present any mud within the air, whereas Anthony Bly, South Dakota State College soil fields specialist, noticed measurements that indicated the mud within the air was truly rain.
Sweeney says mud concentrations can be utilized to provide a really tough indication of the severity of a mud storm.
Nevertheless, the quantity of mud within the air varies all through the cloud, so assessing air high quality — and, by extension, whether or not topsoil is being kicked up into the air — based mostly on a single sensor’s studying could be “a gross oversimplification,” Sweeney mentioned.
And the one Sioux Falls sensor that would have taken an air high quality pattern, Sweeney mentioned, will not be made to measure topsoil loss. Even when it may, the mud cloud, which Bly guessed was “hundreds of toes tall,” was too excessive for the sensor to get an correct studying.
“I used to be requested by the [U.S. Department of Agriculture] myself to see how a lot dust was moved by the cloud,” Bly mentioned over a cellphone name. “I mentioned, ‘Are you kidding me? We do not have the sensors to measure that.’”
“All of them wish to know this query, and we will not reply it. The unhappy factor is we do not have the aptitude to reply the query individuals are asking,” Sweeney mentioned.
Soil specialists say not sufficient analysis is being performed on soil erosion and topsoil loss
Even with a working sensor, Sweeney mentioned there is a bigger challenge at play: There may be not sufficient analysis being performed on soil erosion and topsoil loss.
Sweeney defined soil erosion has been tracked by researchers over a number of a long time. The ’30s Mud Bowl, for example, contributed to about 5 inches of soil loss, Sweeney mentioned. And a College of Massachusetts research from February 2021 exhibits the Corn Belt has misplaced about 35% of its topsoil general, lowering crop yields and leading to about $2.8 billion in annual financial losses to the agriculture business.
“It does are inclined to occur on a millimeter by millimeter scale — it is like watching paint dry — however these small scale occasions add up over time,” Sweeney mentioned.
In Sioux Falls, final April turned out to be the windiest month on file, averaging 16.1 mph sustained winds and a near-record breaking 187 wind advisors as of Might 31.
Extra: This weekend’s variety of extreme climate warnings by NWS Sioux Falls nearly broke the file
Sweeney predicts the third-straight 12 months of drought and the unusually windy spring will contribute to extra soil erosion than earlier years.
The underappreciated function of dust
Soil is divided into a number of layers referred to as “horizons”: a really skinny, uppermost layer product of leaves and different natural materials (O horizon), adopted by topsoil (A horizon) and subsoil (B horizon). Whereas the quantity can differ based mostly on the panorama, South Dakota has about 0-7 inches of topsoil (with farmland usually within the greater finish of the vary), in keeping with Northern State College.
Root techniques thrive in topsoil, as a result of it is wealthy in vitamins like carbon and nitrogen, which maintain crops wholesome, and it additionally captures water higher than subsoil.
“Topsoil supplies all of the life to the planet,” Bly mentioned.
Bly mentioned topsoil is “extraordinarily beneficial” and might even put a greenback quantity on this dust: He estimates 1 inch of topsoil per acre is sort of $3,000.
Topsoil is virtually a non-renewable useful resource, in keeping with Bly. As soon as it is gone, that land can’t be successfully farmed till it naturally regenerates — a course of that may take a long time and even centuries.
To that finish, Bly likes to exit into the nation and see the results of soil erosion for himself. He did simply that on Tuesday, together with Carl Eliason, a Minnehaha County farmer, and South Dakota Soil Well being Coalition member Austin Carlson.
Extra:Gov. Noem indicators government order geared toward serving to South Dakota farmers scrambling to plant crops
Fields the group noticed had apparent examples of soil erosion from each wind and water:
- lighter, tan patches of uncovered subsoil
- black strips of topsoil on high of slightly-less-dark earth which had been washed downhill by rain
- unnatural, 5-foot tall slopes between fields, indicative of poor land administration
- swimming pools of water sitting on the tops of hills, proof of eroding topsoil that may’t retailer as a lot water because it used to
Carlson noticed some farmers carried out some “band help” fixes, like forming terraces — strains of earth that served as a pure barrier to water run-off — utilizing drain tiles to divert extra rain away from fields and farming round wind-eroded soil, however he mentioned this can be a short-term resolution that does not handle the basis of the problem.
The results of tilling
Bly says the primary farms in South Dakota had been began within the late 1800s, however the agriculture business actually took off within the Nineteen Nineties. Since then, most farmers put together their fields for the following planting season by tilling the soil. This often entails utilizing a rotary tiller, a tractor attachment that makes use of a line of rotating blades to disturb the soil.
Tilling fields helps cut back weeds and pest issues earlier than the soil is seeded by turning over the earth and mixing plant matter collectively. This warms the soil up, which is useful for stopping chilly climate from damaging the crop.
“As a result of we have now a really slim planting window, you may solely plant as soon as the soil reaches a sure [temperature],” Bly mentioned. “In the event you wait too lengthy, you are going to lose potential crop harvest. So, farmers assume to themselves ‘I have to get into the sphere. I have to until it up.’”
Nevertheless, tilled topsoil can be extra prone to wind erosion, Bly mentioned, as a result of the tillers successfully break up the roots of crops and crop particles from earlier harvests.
This loosens the soil, which might help encourage short-term root progress within the subsequent crop, however with out roots to carry soils in place, it turns into simpler for wind and water erosion to take away topsoil from the land.
To that finish, farmers like Eliason observe “no-till” farming, which is an agriculture approach the place seeds are planted instantly into the earth with minimal disturbance to the soil. Secondary crops and particles from earlier harvests, like leftover corn stalks, stay within the fields, which helps stop soil from eroding.
“[In April], there was a fairly robust wind. No person had actually planted something but, and there was fairly extreme mud within the air,” Eliason mentioned. “I observed a number of tilled fields that had been shedding soil, and I observed on the identical day mine had been fantastic.”
Extra:Derecho brought on greater than $900,000 in storm damages to Minnehaha County
Eliason was not a direct convert to the observe. Whereas on a tour of his farm, he mentioned he began farming 12 years in the past, however solely began no-tilling about three years in the past.
Eliason grew up on his farm, which his household tilled for 80 years. He understands why his household ran by way of the soil — tilling was the most effective methodology of farming for its time.
Nevertheless, the observe has come again to chunk the Minnehaha County farmer. An excessively-tilled part of one in every of his fields developed a 3-foot slope and fully misplaced its topsoil.
That space can not be farmed.
“You’d occur to get 2 inches of rain, it washes down into the waterways, and it is gone,” Eliason mentioned. “Subsequent 12 months, you come again and also you until it once more, and for those who get one other rain, it washes out once more. Slowly, however absolutely, it washes away. The water simply cannot soak in quick sufficient, so it floods the dust and washes away.”
Extra:Sioux Falls set a file for windiest April in historical past. Will that wind proceed in Might?
It wasn’t an in a single day change for Eliason, both. He mentioned that, whereas he is spending much less on gas and spending much less time micromanaging his fields in the present day, it was slightly costlier to farm when he first began to transition to no-till and he needed to steadily adapt his fields to the system.
“I do not wanna ever inform folks to do it all of sudden. It is a several-year course of,” Eliason mentioned. “Possibly, in three to 4 years, you begin seeing the advantages of no-tilling. It does not occur in a single day.”
As for why no-till hasn’t caught on among the many ag neighborhood, Eliason mentioned most farmers typically work on land handed right down to them by their mother and father and sometimes observe conventional strategies that labored for them. Getting them to see one other perspective would require a “change in philosophy.”
“Tilling has all the time been the accepted observe,” Eliason mentioned. “I feel lots of people simply have not taken the plunge to adapt to a brand new process.”
What will be performed to enhance soil well being?
Whereas one derecho is not sufficient to wreck South Dakota’s topsoil and farming as a complete, it’s indicative of a long-term affect on soil well being within the state.
“Local weather change projections counsel drought circumstances may affect the northern Plains, and we may have a rise in mud storms within the Midwest,” Sweeney mentioned.
Sweeney mentioned having extra air high quality sensors within the jap a part of the state may assist researchers higher perceive how a lot topsoil is perhaps eroding because it’s taking place, relatively than a decade after it is already been gone.
The SDSU soil knowledgeable added he want to see extra farmers contemplate changing to a no-till operation. He added it might assist if extra folks had been typically conscious of the significance of soil well being.
“[Topsoil] one thing we acquired to maintain on to or we’re in bother,” Bly mentioned.
Have a query or information tip for “100 Eyes on South Dakota?” E mail Watchdog coach Shelly Conlon at sconlon@argusleader.com or undergo our tip line right here.
South Dakota
Noem’s former opponent heading back to Pierre as she prepares to leave • South Dakota Searchlight
SIOUX FALLS — Three years ago, Kristi Noem kept her job in Pierre, and Jamie Smith left. Now the situation is reversed.
Kind of like Smith predicted.
“Everyone knew she had national ambitions,” he said Wednesday.
Smith, a Democrat, gave up his legislative seat in 2022 and ran against Noem, a Republican, who wound up winning a second term as governor.
Now Noem is preparing to leave South Dakota for Washington, D.C., where she is nominated to serve as secretary of Homeland Security under President-elect Donald Trump. Her nomination hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday.
Smith, meanwhile, won a state Senate seat in a Sioux Falls district during November’s election. He’ll go back to Pierre on Tuesday for the start of the annual legislative session, where he’ll serve as Senate assistant minority leader.
Addressing members of Change Agents at a Sioux Falls library, Smith acknowledged the challenges he and the other Democrats face in the Legislature. They’re outnumbered 96-9 by Republicans.
“We are very limited in what we can do this year, with the number of Democrats that we have in the Legislature,” Smith said. “We are essentially left playing defense.”
Democrats lose ground in Legislature, but pick up seat in longtime Republican district
Members of Change Agents, formed in 2021, say they support pragmatic candidates and oppose extremist rhetoric and policies. Founders include former Sioux Falls Mayor Rick Knobe, financial planner Mike Huber and entrepreneur Craig Brown.
After the meeting, Smith told South Dakota Searchlight why he came back to politics.
“Because I truly believe that I have the skills to try and help people,” he said. “I do believe that one person can make a difference for the people of South Dakota.”
Smith said finding ways to build relationships across the aisle will be crucial for Democrats this session, like the one he said he built with incoming Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, based partly on a simple starting point.
“We share a birthday,” Smith said.
Outlining his priorities, Smith said he plans to introduce a bill that would end incarceration for drug ingestion in South Dakota. South Dakota’s ingestion law is the only one in the nation that allows prosecutors to charge people with felony drug possession for a failed drug test.
Instead, he advocates for expanding treatment programs and diversion efforts, calling incarceration for ingestion punitive and ineffective.
Smith also addressed his desire to amend the state’s abortion ban, his opposition to Noem’s $4 million proposal to fund private and homeschool education, and his resistance to raising sales taxes as a means of lowering property taxes.
South Dakota’s near-total abortion ban allows an exception only to save the life of the mother and lacks clear definitions, said Smith, who called the ban “cruel and unusual.”
“We need to stop it,” he said.
Smith said women’s health care is a top priority for Democrats, but they don’t currently have a bill to increase access to abortion. He said some members want to introduce bills to expand exceptions beyond the life of the mother, while others are arguing for a broader abortion access ballot measure. Voters rejected an abortion-rights measure in November.
Smith also criticized a proposal from some Republicans to reduce property taxes by increasing sales taxes, calling it a potentially unfair shift that could disproportionately impact low-income people.
Smith attacked Noem’s $4 million plan for education savings accounts, calling it a voucher program that would divert public dollars to private schools and homeschoolers. Smith said the program would lack accountability, because alternative schools and homeschoolers are not required to follow the same transparency, testing and other standards as public schools.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
YANKTON S.D. (KTIV) -Court documents are now revealing more details about the man accused of murdering his girlfriend, last week.
In December of 2021, 32-year-old Craig Allen Nichols Jr. of Yankton, South Dakota was charged with four counts of felony aggravated assault and four counts of simple assault in Minnehaha County.
Documents say Nichols reportedly used a taser to assault another man, resulting in injury. Nichols was found not guilty by reason of insanity in June of 2023 and then committed to the Human Services Center, located in Yankton, for treatment.
Records report Nichols was released from the center in August of 2024.
As previously reported, Nichols is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and two counts of contempt of court, after he was taken into custody by Yankton officials and accused of murdering 41-year-old Heather Bodden on Thursday, January 2.
The investigation began after three women told police they found Heather Bodden’s body inside the East Meadow Apartments at 1001 Memory Lane.
As of now, the case remains under investigation.
A GoFundMe has been started for Bodden, which can be found online.
Copyright 2025 KTIV. All rights reserved.
South Dakota
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.
SDSU’s Mark Gronowski commits to Iowa
Iowa has landed a top transfer quarterback.
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.
Malachi Nelson transferring to UTEP
Former five-star recruit Malachi Nelson is heading to UTEP.
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 transferring to Miami (Ohio)
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.
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.
Beau Pribula to Missouri
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.
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 adds Fresno State’s Mikey Keene
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.
Fernando Mendoza to Indiana
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.
Maalik Murphy transferring to Oregon State
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.
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.
Liberty’s Kaidon Salter heads to Colorado
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.
Billy Edwards commits to Wisconsin
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.
Wazzu QB John Mateer enters portal
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.
Penn State QB Beau Pribula leaves team before playoff
The Nittany Lions will have a new backup behind Drew Allar for the College Football Playoff.
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.
Miller Moss will spend final season at Louisville
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.
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.
Ex-Stanford QB Ashton Daniels joins Jackson Arnold at Auburn
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.
Utah adds New Mexico QB Devon Dampier and OC
Dual-threat QB Devon Dampier is heading to Utah.
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.
Thomas Castellanos goes to Florida State
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.
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.
Texas A&M QB Conner Weigman heads to Houston
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.
Maalik Murphy transfers from Duke, Darian Mensah commits
Duke effectively made an early transfer portal QB trade once the 2024 season ended.
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.
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