After Jalen Milroe declared for the NFL Draft, Kalen DeBoer and his staff at Alabama didn’t show much interest in attracting a transfer portal quarterback to Tuscaloosa, at least not outwardly. However, On3’s Billy Embody, who covers SMU, recently claimed on social media that Alabama attempted to lure Mustangs’ starting quarterback Kevin Jennings into the transfer portal.
Alabama tried to recruit Kevin Jennings into the transfer portal to take over for Milroe, but sure, Ty Simpson deserves a notable mention over Kevin Jennings. https://t.co/rZGdYGMNLZ
— Billy Embody (@BillyEmbody) June 6, 2025
The tampering allegation hasn’t generated much buzz with an Alabama fanbase that is ready for DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who reunited with DeBoer this offseason after a one-season stint with the Seattle Seahawks, to hand the reins of the offense over to redshirt junior and former five-star Ty Simpson in Week 1. However, if Embody’s claim is true, then going with an inexperienced QB may not have been the only choice for DeBoer.
It’s fair to argue how much of an upgrade Jennings would have been over Simpson, or if he would have been one at all after his disastrous performance against Penn State in the first round of the College Football Playoff, but these five QBs who did hit the transfer portal would have been intriguing options for the Crimson Tide to consider and likely upgrades against the unknown of a first-year starter.
5 transfer QBs Alabama could have targeted instead of trusting Ty Simpson
Sure, it was primarily against Mountain West competition, but John Mateer led one of the most efficient offenses in the entire country last season. Mateer finished the year ranking sixth in EPA/dropback (according to gameonpaper.com), and his 52.2 percent passing success rate also ranked inside the top five. With creative play-caller Ben Arbuckle, whom Mateer followed to Norman this offseason, Washington State’s passing offense produced a 99th percentile explosive play rate of 13.2 percent, nearly four percent better than Alabama’s with Milroe in 2024.
Mateer is a creative playmaker and effective scrambler, rushing for nearly 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns. And though his athletic gifts may not be quite as big of a strength against SEC competition, which he’ll face with Oklahoma this season, his decisiveness and accuracy will.
Nico Iamaleava made a big splash when he fled Tennessee in the spring transfer portal amid an NIL dispute with the program to return to LA. However, his status as a former five-star and eight-million-dollar man from his massive NIL package out of high school has at times overshadowed his weaknesses on the field.
Iamaleava is oozing with talent, but he lacks touch on his deep ball, has shown questionable accuracy, and has yet to come through in late-game situations. The 6-foot-6 rising redshirt sophomore was hugely aided by Josh Heupel’s veer-and-shoot offense and a heavy dose of RPO play-action, but while DeBoer and Grubb would need to scheme it up if Iamaleava flipped his allegiance for the Third Saturday in October, his one year of starting experience and immense physical gifts are enough to represent an upgrade over the inexperienced Simpson.
Speaking of experience, after two years as the starting quarterback for Kirby Smart in Athens, Carson Beck left for Miami this offseason. Beck will enter 2025 off a devastating elbow injury and a season riddled with turnover issues, but he’s still a proven passer who has led the Bulldogs to back-to-back SEC Championship Games. Beck needs to improve his ball placement, but when he’s in rhythm and throwing with anticipation over the middle of the field, he’s one of the best in the country.
Darian Mensah was throwing to a lot of wide-open receivers with Tulane last season, but even considering the talent and scheme advantage that the Green Wave often had in the AAC, the freshman was sensational. He’s a physically imposing athletic presence in the backfield at 6-foot-3 with a big arm, but he throws with exceptional touch, especially when layering the ball to the second level. That’s a skill few young quarterbacks arrive at college football with.
Mensah made the jump from the AAC to the ACC, heading to Duke this offseason, and while he may not be ready for SEC football just yet, his 2024 season was stellar, averaging 8.44 yards per dropback, and maybe most impressively, Tulane was 93rd percentile in late-down success rate, converting at over a 50% clip.
It feels like a lifetime since College Gameday made the trip out to Berkley for an anticipated matchup between Cal and Miami. The Golden Bears faded down the stretch and saw a mass offensive exodus this offseason, including their starting QB.
Fernando Mendoza is a bit stiff and almost robotic, but his quick and easily repeatable mechanics make him an accurate thrower from a clean pocket. He makes quick reads in the RPO game and drives the ball over the middle of the field. The Cal passing game failed to create many explosive plays, and that has to do with his lack of second-reaction playmaking and off-platform throws, so his receivers need to help with yards after the catch, but with well over 600 career pass attempts heading into his true junior season, his experience is valuable.
Mensah and Mendoza may not be clear upgrades over Simpson, and the former five-star could have a better year than all five of these transfer QBs. Still, it’s worth wondering if Alabama missed out on a talent-rich QB market this offseason, and DeBoer’s offseason inaction will certainly be revisited if Simpson struggles and the Crimson Tide miss the CFP for the second-straight season.