When former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava hit the transfer portal earlier this spring, it unexpectedly made one of the top-ranked players from the 2023 recruiting cycle available. Iamaleava was the No. 1 overall player in the 247Sports transfer rankings, and on paper, it seemed like a good fit for him to get a fresh start close to home at UCLA.
Through the first month and change of the 2025 college football season, that decision hasn’t paid dividends for either side in hindsight. The Bruins fired their (former) coach DeShuan Foster after a disastrous loss to New Mexico and Iamaleava has been one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the FBS.
UCLA is 0-4 ahead of a matchup against No. 7 Penn State on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET on CBS), and the outlook for the remainder of the season looks bleak when trying to find a surefire win on the schedule. Iamaleava, obviously, hasn’t been the sole reason for the slow start, but UCLA had high hopes that the former blue-chip quarterback would bring new life to a program that was starving for success.
While Iamaleava is a cautionary tale of the grass not always being greener on the other side, in-state rival and former Pac-12 foe Cal has found success at the quarterback position via the transfer portal despite Heisman hopeful Fernando Mendoza transferring to Indiana. Despite a rollercoaster journey to get to Cal, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has been one of the best stories of the season and looks primed to be one of the top quarterbacks taken in the NFL Draft as early as 2028.
With that said, here are three transfer quarterbacks who have found immediate success at their new stop and three others who need to improve throughout the remainder of the season. Transfer rankings from Cooper Petagna of 247Sports are citing their overall ranking.
Transfer QBs who have hit big
John Mateer, Oklahoma
Transfer ranking from 247Sports: 6
Oklahoma’s season and CFP hopes ride on Mateer getting back to full health. Before last week’s slate of games, Mateer ranked second nationally with 351.3 yards of total offense per game and rushed for at least one touchdown and passed for one touchdown in each of his last 10 games dating back to his time at Washington State.
Mateer’s draft stock has also steadily improved this season, as CBS Sports’ Mike Renner had the Oklahoma signal caller going No. 7 to the New York Jets in his latest mock draft.
Mateer will miss this week’s game against Kent State, and his status for next weekend’s clash against Texas is in question after undergoing surgery on his hand. Mateer had the second-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy (per FanDuel Sportsbook) before the injury and looked like arguably the best transfer quarterback from his class through the first four weeks of the season.
Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
Transfer ranking from 247Sports: 22
In Mendoza’s debut at Indiana against Old Dominion, he didn’t have his best showing. He finished the day 18 of 31 for 193 yards with one touchdown on the ground. Since that moment, the Cal transfer has been lights out and has established himself as one of the top contenders to be QB1 in the 2026 NFL Draft.
After throwing for nine touchdown passes in games against Kennesaw State and Indiana State, his coming out party came in a highly anticipated showdown against No. 9 Illinois at home. Mendoza finished 21 of 23 for 267 yards and five touchdowns in the 63-10 win over Illinois and followed it up by throwing a go-ahead touchdown pass in the final minutes in a 20-15 win over Iowa last week. Mendzona is tied with Kansas’ Jalon Daniels for the second-most touchdown passes (16) in the FBS.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Cal
Transfer ranking from 247Sports: 23
You may be wondering how a true freshman is considered a transfer quarterback. In short, Sagapolutele flipped his commitment from Cal to Oregon on National Signing Day and traveled to the Rose Bowl with the Ducks. Days later, he entered the transfer portal and ended up back at the place where he originally committed.
Sagapolutele is a name to familiarize yourself with if your favorite NFL team is going to need a quarterback down the line. Sagapolutele has just five starts under his belt, but he plays an experienced veteran because of the throws he makes on Saturdays. He has Cal off to a 4-1 start and has injected new life into a program that saw massive turnover this past offseason. Losing Mendoza hurt in the moment, but Cal has an answer for the present and future in Sagapolutele.
Disappointing transfer QBs
Nico Iamaleava, UCLA
Transfer ranking from 247Sports: 1
Iamaleava was expected to bring new life into UCLA’s program after an ugly exit from Tennessee. The Bruins already had a transfer quarterback in place (Joey Aguilar) before pushing all their chips to the table to go all-in on Iamaleava.
The results, thus far, haven’t returned the investment the Bruins hoped for. UCLA is the only team in the FBS that hasn’t led in a game this season.
Iamaleava, as pointed out earlier, isn’t fully to blame. He is getting pressured at one of the highest rates in the FBS and has been sacked nine times in four games. Still, he hasn’t been able to uplift a program that needed star power at the position. There’s not much sugarcoating four touchdowns to three interceptions and a QBR that ranks No. 76 nationally. He’s been
Kaidon Salter, Colorado
Transfer ranking from 247Sports: 203
Colorado’s quarterback room has been a revolving door this season as the program seeks a concrete answer to replace former signal caller Shedeur Sanders. Salter, a former standout at Liberty, was considered the favorite heading into the season to succeed Sanders. He started Colorado’s first two games before getting benched in favor of Ryan Staub.
Salter started hot against BYU last week, but finished just 11 of 16 for 119 yards in a 24-21 loss. He looked sharp during Colorado’s win over Wyoming earlier this month. Still, the inconsistency at the quarterback position has been a big reason why Colorado ranks 14th in the Big 12 in total offense and scoring. Colorado coach Deion Sanders has already shown he isn’t hesitant to make a switch at the position. Salter will have to bring more consistency to Colorado’s offense to remain the starter.
Mark Gronowski, Iowa
Transfer ranking from 247Sports: 93
When Iowa landed Gronowski from the FCS ranks this offseason, it seemed like a great fit for a program that has struggled to find any juice at the quarterback position in recent years. Gronowski has thrown for under 100 passing yards twice this season and has a touchdown/interception ratio of 3-2. His best showing came during a 38-28 win over Rutgers, when he finished 12 of 18 for 188 yards.
Iowa ranks last (148.6 yards per game) in passing offense among all Big Ten teams.
It would be naive to say Gronowski was going to come in and immediately fix all of Iowa’s offensive woes. However, his previous experience at an FCS powerhouse like South Dakota State made expectations high coming into the year. Gronowski suffered a leg injury last weekend, and his status hasn’t been announced. With marquee games still on the schedule against Penn State, Oregon and USC, Gronowski still has ample opportunities to redeem himself.
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