Week 1 of the 2025 college football season is in the books, featuring upsets, thrilling finishes and familiar faces in new places. Among them was Georgia transfer Carson Beck, who led Miami to a 27-24 win over Notre Dame at Hard Rock Stadium.
You can’t tell the story of the weekend without Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos. In his first game since transferring from Boston College, he engineered the shocker of the weekend — a 31-17 win over Alabama as a near two-touchdown underdog.
For Beck and Castellanos, it was a picture-perfect start at their new schools. The same can’t be said for others, including UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava. The No. 1 overall transfer in the 247Sports rankings sputtered in his highly anticipated debut, just four months after a high-profile exit from Tennessee. Iamaleava never found a rhythm with his receivers and failed to dig the Bruins out of an early hole in a 43-10 loss to Utah.
Not all transfer situations are created equal, but one stood out above the rest. Despite being a freshman, Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is technically considered a transfer. The four-star prospect from the 2025 recruiting class originally committed to Cal before flipping to Oregon on National Signing Day. He traveled with the Ducks to the Rose Bowl, entered the transfer portal days later and returned to Berkeley weeks after.
Sagapolutele validated the hype in his first start, beating out Ohio State transfer Devin Brown for the job and finishing with three total touchdowns in a 34-15 win over Oregon State.
Without further ado, here’s our report card on how some of the biggest quarterback transfers fared in Week 1.
Tomorrow’s Top 25 Today: Ohio State poised for rise to No. 1 in college football rankings, Alabama plummets
Chip Patterson
Nico Iamaleava, UCLA
Previous school: Tennessee
No transfer drew more attention this offseason than Nico Iamaleava. His high-profile exit from Tennessee, centered on NIL, became a defining moment for the sport. He landed at UCLA, a program in need of star power, and the move also brought him closer to home. You can’t fault him if geography played a role.
Iamaleava’s debut, however, fell flat. He finished 11 of 22 for 136 yards with one touchdown and one interception in a 43-10 loss to Utah. He overthrew open receivers, missed opportunities and couldn’t rally the Bruins back from an early deficit. Facing Utah’s relentless defensive front was hardly an ideal first test, but Iamaleava didn’t resemble a former five-star prospect. Grade: D
Carson Beck, Miami
Previous school: Georgia
After starting the game against a stout Notre Dame defense by completing just 7 of his first 14 attempts, Beck locked in by completing 12 consecutive passes.
Overall, he finished 20 of 31 for 205 yards and two touchdowns. While he didn’t necessarily light up the stat sheet, he was efficient. Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson did a nice job of dialing up quick hitters for Beck that helped him get into a rhythm.
This is a make-or-break year for Beck to repair his draft stock. So far, so good. Grade: A-
Previous school: Washington State
Mateer set an OU program record for the most passing yards in a debut (392) and scored four total touchdowns in a 35-3 win over Illinois State.
Sure, the performance was against an FCS opponent, but what Mateer did should excite OU fans. After a revolving door at quarterback last season, Mateer looks well-positioned to have a huge year with OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, who also served in the same role at Washington State last season. I wrote in January about how Mateer would play his way into the Heisman race. He currently has the fifth-best odds (+1600) to win the Heisman, according to Fanduel. The hype will only intensify if Mateer plays well against Michigan this weekend. Grade: A
Tommy Castellanos, Florida State
Previous school: Boston College
Castellanos called his shot against Alabama weeks before his team stepped onto the field. He told anyone who would listen that Alabama didn’t have legendary coach Nick Saban to “save them.” It was bold, but he certainly backed up his talk with the way he performed.
The former Boston College signal caller looked like a perfect fit for what offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn wants to do. Castellanos’ dual-threat ability can unlock FSU’s offense and bring it to new heights. He only attempted 14 passes but managed to finish with 152 passing yards. Castellanos also tallied 78 yards and a touchdown on the ground. After a disastrous 2024 campaign, FSU has its quarterback, and that development could shake up the ACC title race. Grade: A
Previous school: Oklahoma
After an up-and-down season at Oklahoma, Arnold hit the transfer portal and found a new home within the SEC. In his first start with the Tigers, he didn’t do a ton with his arm (11 of 17 for 108 yards), but the plays he made with his legs were enough to carry Auburn to a much-needed nonconference road win.
Arnold finished with 137 yards rushing on 16 carries and two touchdowns — including a 27-yard score with 4:32 remaining to put the game away. There will be a point where he has to air it out for Auburn to win a game, but overall, this was an encouraging performance for the former blue-chip recruit. Grade: A-
Previous school: UCLA/Appalachian State
Few players endured a more chaotic offseason than Joey Aguilar. After transferring from Appalachian State to UCLA, he was forced to find another landing spot once the Bruins brought in Nico Iamaleava from Tennessee. The move was as close to a “trade” as you will find in college football.
Aguilar arrived late at Tennessee but quickly won the starting job. In his debut against Syracuse, he started slow before settling in with 247 passing yards and three touchdowns. Early returns suggest Aguilar is an ideal fit for Josh Heupel’s offense. Grade: A
Previous school: Tulane
The former Tulane quarterback’s high-profile transfer was one of the biggest talking points of the offseason. Mensah received an NIL package of $8 million across two seasons, a source told CBS Sports.
Although Elon wasn’t a powerhouse opponent, Mensah did everything you could’ve asked. He finished 27 of 37 for 389 yards and three touchdowns. He was accurate and efficient, and flashed why he was worth the hefty price in the transfer portal. We’ll find out a lot more about both Mensah and the Blue Devils in a tough test against Illinois on Saturday. Grade: A
Previous school: South Dakota State
After ranking 130th and 129th nationally in passing offense the past two seasons, Iowa turned to FCS transfer Mark Gronowski in hopes of balancing an attack that has long been one-dimensional. Early signs suggest the Hawkeyes may once again have to lean on their defense and run game to win.
Gronowski went 8 of 15 for 44 yards in the opener against FCS UAlbany. After three career seasons of more than 2,700 passing yards, his FBS debut left more to be desired. The challenge only grows this week with in-state rival Iowa State on deck. Grade: D+
Previous school: Liberty
One of the top Group of Six quarterbacks last season, Salter won a battle over highly touted freshman Julian Lewis to replace former starter Shedeur Sanders. His debut proved to be a mixed bag.
On the opening drive, Salter looked sharp, working through his progressions and moving comfortably in the pocket. From there, Colorado’s offense sputtered and failed to capitalize on multiple Georgia Tech turnovers. Salter finished 17 of 28 for 159 yards while adding 43 rushing yards and a touchdown. For the Buffaloes, this new era still looks like a work in progress. Grade: C+
Previous school: New Mexico
While most of the buildup to Utah’s game against UCLA centered on Iamaleava’s debut, it was Dampier — a transfer from New Mexico — who stole the show in the Utes’ 43-10 win. A proven dual-threat at the Group of Six level, Dampier showed his skill set translates to the Power Four.
Dampier turned in a near-flawless performance, completing 21 of 25 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 87 yards and another score. The game was effectively over by the middle of the third quarter, leaving him little to do down the stretch. After Rising’s availability cast a constant shadow over the program last year, Utah appears to have found its answer at quarterback — one that could make the Utes a Big 12 favorite following their 5-7 collapse in 2024. Grade: A+
Previous school: Penn State
The former Penn State backup elected to enter the transfer portal while his team was preparing for a College Football Playoff run last year. Pribula battled with Sam Horn for the starting job in fall camp, and Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said both quarterbacks would see time in the opener against Central Arkansas.
However, Horn was injured on the first series, giving Pribula the bulk of the work as starter. He finished 23 of 28 for 283 yards, rushed for 65 more and accounted for four total touchdowns in the 61-6 win. After that performance, the quarterback battle appears settled. Grade: A
Previous school: SMU
Stone’s receivers didn’t do him any favors, but debut at Northwestern was still a disaster. The SMU transfer turned the ball over five times (four interceptions and one fumble) and the offense finished with just 237 total yards. Stone finished 19 of 36 for 161 yards.
Stone was benched less than a month into the 2024 season in favor of Kevin Jennings at SMU and transferred to Northwestern for a fresh start. Stone and Northwestern’s offense should hope this is a one-off. Otherwise, things could get ugly quickly. Notably, Northwestern has a matchup against Oregon on Sept. 13. Grade: D-
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Cal
Previous school: Oregon
Cal should be thrilled Sagapolutele went back to the place he first committed as a high school prospect. He was simply fantastic during his first start against Oregon State.
His stats were solid (20 of 30 for 234 yards and three touchdowns), but it was the kind of throws he made that impressed. His accuracy, timing and ball placement looked like someone who had 30 career starts under his belt. Sagapolutele should become a household name in college football, if he hasn’t already. Grade: A+
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