Arizona saw Houston quarterback Kyle Allen for the first time last month, though coach Rich Rodriguez has known him for years.
Rodriguez recruited Allen out of Scottsdale’s Desert Mountain High School. Allen, then a five-star recruit, considered Arizona briefly before signing with Texas A&M. After a couple of years of ups and downs in College Station, Allen transferred to Houston.
Allen’s case is increasingly common. A January FoxSports.com article said half of the 200 top quarterbacks from 2011-14 had transferred away from their original programs.
“Half!” Rodriguez said. “Which is unbelievable and tells you that a lot of them don’t want to sit around and be backups. You gotta have a large number of quarterbacks because they get injured, some might get disenchanted and leave.”
Since 2013, Arizona has offered scholarships to 57 quarterbacks. Of that group, nine signed with the Wildcats and 32 players — including four from UA — either left or transferred elsewhere. Two switched positions and one chose professional baseball over college football. Another two-sport star, Donavan Tate, recently enrolled at the UA following a minor-league baseball career. He is a walk-on, however, and doesn’t count toward the 57.
Here’s a look at every quarterback Arizona has offered since 2013, and how their careers have panned out. The players are listed by year and in order of their composite rating according to 247Sports.com. All stats are as of Friday, and all Arizona signees are in bold.
Class of 2013
1. Cooper Bateman (four stars, signed with Alabama): Salt Lake City native was a backup for four years at Alabama. Transferred to Utah as a walk-on in 2017.
2. Troy Williams (four stars, signed with Washington): Spent two years at Washington and one at Santa Monica College before ending up at Utah.
3. J.T. Barrett (four stars, signed with Ohio State): Buckeyes starter has compiled 7,347 passing yards, 2,639 rushing yards and 112 total touchdowns in 40 games.
4. Hayden Rettig (four stars, signed with LSU): Redshirted in Baton Rouge before transferring to Rutgers, where he barely played for three seasons. Transferred again to Tennessee Tech, then left team before start of 2017 season.
5. Aaron Bailey (four stars, signed with Illinois): Spent two years with the Fighting Illini before transferring to Northern Iowa.
6. Malik Zaire (four stars, signed with Notre Dame): Spent four seasons at Notre Dame. Was the Fighting Irish starter as a junior, then got injured. Lost battle with Deshone Kizer as a senior. Transferred to Florida this year, where he’s now a backup.
7. Kenny Hill (four stars, signed with Texas A&M): Started eight games for Aggies, then transferred to TCU.
8. Cord Sandberg (four stars, signed with Mississippi State): Was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies and never enrolled at MSU.
9. Tyler Bruggman (four stars, signed with Washington State): Lost quarterback battle to Luke Falk at Wazzu, transferred to Louisville, sat for a season, moved on to Scottsdale Community College and then Montana State. Is now at Texas A&M.
10. Tra’von Chapman (four stars, signed with Pittsburgh): Kicked off the Panthers’ roster before his freshman season. Transferred to Ashland University, and is now at Akron.
11. DeVante Kincaid (four stars, signed with Ole Miss): Spent two years at Mississippi, then transferred to Grambling State. Nearly helped the Tigers upset Arizona in 2016.
12. Anu Solomon (four stars, signed with Arizona): Started 26 games at the UA before transferring to Baylor. Has since lost the starting job to Zach Smith.
13. Jesse Scroggins (three stars, signed with Arizona): Transferred to UA from El Camino College after starting his career at USC. Scroggins appeared in three games for the Wildcats, then finished his career at Lindenwood.
14. Brandon Cox (three stars, signed with Utah): Is transferring to Hampton University after two years with the Utes.
15. Brayden Scott (three stars, signed with Memphis): Transferred to Missouri Southern State after one year.
16. Khari McGee (three stars, signed with Arizona): Spent one season at Arizona, then left the program.
17. Michael Julian (three stars, signed with Toledo): Still at Toledo, where he has started one game.
18. Thomas Woodson (three stars, signed with Akron): Starter at Akron, where he has thrown for 5,026 yards and 38 touchdowns in 24 games.
19. Connor Brewer (three stars, signed with Arizona): Sat out 2013 season after transferring at Texas. Left the UA after 2014 for Virgnia.
Class of 2014
20. Kyle Allen (five stars, signed with Texas A&M): Spent two years as the Aggies’ starter before transferring to Houston.
21. Deshaun Watson (five stars, signed with Clemson): Won a national championship at Clemson and finished second in Heisman Trophy voting. He’s now the Houston Texans’ starter.
22. Keller Chryst (four stars, signed with Stanford): Has started 10 games for the Cardinal. Recently lost his starting job.
23. Jerrod Heard (four stars, signed with Texas): Spent one season at QB, then switched to wide receiver.
24. K.J. Carta-Samuels (four stars, signed with Washington): Lost QB battle to Jake Browning in 2015 and has remained his backup.
25. Manny Wilkins (four stars, signed with Arizona State): Has made 13 career starts for the Sun Devils.
26. D.J. Gillins (four stars, signed with Wisconsin): Spent two years with the Badgers before transferring to Pearl River CC. He’s now at SMU.
27. Rafe Peavey (four stars, signed with Arkansas): Spent two years at Arkansas before transferring to SMU.
28. Zack Darlington (four stars, signed with Nebraska): After two seasons as a backup QB, switched to wide receiver.
29. Brandon Dawkins (three stars, signed with Arizona): Has started 13 games for UA, and is the Wildcats’ all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks.
30. Marcus McMaryion (three stars, signed with Oregon State): Spent three seasons at OSU before transferring to Fresno State.
31. Cade Apsay (three stars, signed with Colorado): Dismissed by the Buffs and couldn’t qualify academically at Glendale CC.
32. JaJuan Lawson (three stars, signed with New Mexico): Left the Lobos in April, and is now at Rhode Island.
33. A.J. Long (three stars, signed with Syracuse): Transferred to Wagner College after two years with the Orange.
34. Jerrard Randall (two stars, signed with Arizona): Came to Arizona from Northeast Mississippi CC after starting at LSU. Split time at QB with Anu Solomon in 2015.
35. Alin Eduoard (three stars, signed with Syracuse): Never enrolled at Syracuse, went to Garden City CC, and is now at UTSA.
Class of 2015
36. Brady White (fours stars, signed with Arizona State): Is Wilkins’ backup with the Sun Devils.
37. Torrance Gibson (four stars, signed with Ohio State): Arizona made Gibson’s final five. OSU moved him to wide receiver. Transferred to Mississippi Gulf Coast CC, and is back at quarterback.
38. Travis Jonsen (four stars, signed with Oregon): Transferred to Riverside CC in June.
39. Blake Barnett (four stars, signed with Alabama): Played in three games at Alabama. Transferred to ASU this year.
40. Sheriron Jones (four stars, signed with Tennessee): Planned to transfer to Colorado in 2016, but wound up at Mt. San Jacinto College.
41. Brian Lewerke (four stars, signed with Michigan State): Current starter at MSU.
42. De’Andre Johnson (four stars, signed with Florida State): Kicked off FSU’s roster, Johnson went to East Mississippi CC before transferring to Florida Atlantic.
43. Bryce Perkins (three stars, signed with Arizona State): Chandler native transferred to Arizona Western in June.
Class of 2016
44. Shea Patterson (five stars, signed with Ole Miss): Committed to Arizona in 2012, decommitted in 2014. Is now the Rebels’ starter.
45. Jalen Hurts (four stars, signed with Alabama): Nearly guided the Crimson Tide to a national title as true freshman.
46. K.J. Costello (four stars, signed with Stanford): Recently overtook Chryst as the Cardinal’s starter.
47. Dwayne Haskins Jr (four stars, signed with Ohio State): Is No. 2 behind Barrett on OSU’s depth chart.
48. Brandon McIlwain (four stars, signed with South Carolina): Transferred to Cal after one season.
49. Khalil Tate (four stars, signed with Arizona): Played in seven games as freshman and is now Dawkins’ backup.
50. Devon Modster (four stars, signed with UCLA): Verbally committed to Arizona before flipping to UCLA one month before signing day. Is now Josh Rosen’s backup.
51. Victor Viramontes (three stars, signed with Cal): Arizona recruited him as a linebacker. Viramontes transferred to Riverside CC last offseason.
Class of 2017
52. Tua Tagovailoa (four stars, signed with Alabama): Arizona was in his final eight. Is redshirting at Alabama.
53. Jack Sears (four stars, signed with USC). Was committed to Duke, then flipped to USC. Is redshirting.
54. Braxton Burmeister (four stars, signed with Oregon): Verbally committed to Arizona in 2015 and backed out in 2016 before recommitting to the Cats. Burmeister flipped to Oregon at the last minute and is now the Ducks’ second-stringer.
55. Nick Tronti (three stars, signed with Indiana): UA offered him late in process after Burmeister decommittment. Is redshirting for the Hoosiers.
56. Rhett Rodriguez (three stars, signed with Arizona): Rich Rodriguez’s son had one major offer.
57. K’Hari Lane (two stars, signed with Arizona): Late signee whose only other offer came from Grambling State.
