It ended up being nearly half the conference, which seems like a lot because it is.
Seven of 16 SEC teams called on a transfer as QB1 in 2025. Mind you, that excludes guys like Diego Pavia, Blake Shapen and Taylen Green, all of whom were 2024 transfers. If we include those cases, a whopping 10 SEC teams started former transfer quarterbacks for multiple games in 2025. A team like Auburn even started 2 transfers.
It’s extremely likely that during this new lone transfer portal window (Jan. 2-16), roughly half the conference will hand-pick its next QB1. Some will fare better than others. If 2025 was any indication, we’ll have some complete failures and some remarkable success stories.
For today’s discussion, we’ll look back at the 2025 class of SEC quarterback transfers. Specifically, we’ll focus on the guys who started multiple games. That excludes guys like Air Noland and Luke Kromenhoek, who don’t factor into this discussion because they ended up being 3rd-string quarterbacks who have since hit the portal again.
Today, we’ll look back on the 8 total SEC quarterback transfers who got starts in 2025:
Jackson Arnold, Auburn — D-
Woof. Perhaps we should’ve been skeptical about Arnold when the fall camp discussion centered around building his confidence back up. The only reason that Arnold didn’t earn an “F” is because he did lead the Tigers to an important season-opening win at Baylor, and he gave his team a chance late in the reunion game at eventual-Playoff team Oklahoma. Perhaps it’s putting lipstick on a pig to say that Auburn’s 5th consecutive season could’ve been even worse. But yeah, the same issues that plagued his time in Norman resurfaced at Auburn. When he faced pressure, he took a sack 33% of the time, which was the second-worst rate among Power Conference quarterbacks. Arnold only attempted 23 passes that traveled 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage (T-15th in SEC). Mind you, he had Cam Coleman on his team. Hence, why he was benched during a dreadful start at 2-10 Arkansas.
Arnold’s shortcomings played a significant role in Hugh Freeze’s midseason firing. A savior, he was not.
Ashton Daniels, Auburn — C
Daniels is a tough grade because on one hand, the season was essentially lost by the time he came in for Arnold in the Arkansas game. He did lead a comeback victory there, and his legs were a huge reason why Auburn had chances to pull off upsets against 10-win teams like Vanderbilt and Alabama. But it’s hard to get past the Kentucky loss, which was ultimately the final straw for Freeze. Daniels couldn’t do anything in a favorable home matchup against a 5-win UK squad. The Stanford transfer was at least willing to cut it loose in ways that Arnold didn’t (he at least force-fed Coleman targets).
Still, though. If he had been an obvious success, Alex Golesh could’ve built his Year 1 offense around him. Instead, Daniels’ decision to sit the Mercer game and remain under the 4-game threshold means he’ll take his final year of eligibility elsewhere.
Zach Calzada, Kentucky — F-
A simple “F” didn’t seem harsh enough. Not for the guy who collected 7 figures, started 2 games and then had the audacity to brag about his NIL money on social media. Calzada somehow got another opportunity to be an SEC starting quarterback even though he had failed at 2 different programs (Texas A&M and Auburn) before putting up numbers at FCS Incarnate Word. For whatever reason, Mark Stoops brought Calzada in instead of building his offense around promising homegrown quarterback Cutter Boley and giving him all the QB1 reps. Calzada registered a single touchdown, and it was a rushing score in a 1-score win in the season opener vs. Toledo. Even worse, Calzada went 1-for-17 on passes 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Shoot, on passes that traveled 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, Calzada was 3-for-25 and when under pressure, he was 3-for-16.
If that’s not a complete failure, I don’t know what is.
Michael Van Buren, LSU — C-
What if I told you that Garrett Nussmeier would start into November, but that Van Buren would be the lone LSU quarterback to lead a 26-point effort vs. an FBS team in 2025? You’d assume that this year was a disaster and that Brian Kelly lost his job. You’d be correct. Van Buren took over for Nussmeier in a post-Kelly firing offense, so that context needs to be remembered. The Mississippi State transfer, who looked effective at times as a true freshman in 2024 when Blake Shapen suffered a season-ending injury, wasn’t exactly dealt a loaded deck. With the cards that he was dealt, Van Buren at least prevented LSU from becoming an even bigger punching bag.
But the clamoring for him to have an increased role in the offense early in the season wasn’t exactly vindicated by 13-point showings vs. Western Kentucky and Oklahoma. Van Buren only avoids a “D” because LSU had some offensive life against a 10-win Houston team in the bowl game.
Beau Pribula, Mizzou — C
On one hand, Pribula was exactly what Eli Drinkwitz hoped that he would be when he made the polarizing decision to enter the transfer portal as Penn State prepared for a Playoff run. Pribula got Mizzou off to a 5-0 start that resulted in a top-15 ranking with a masterful showing against Kansas. The questions about his deep-ball prowess faded in the first part of the season, and the injury to Sam Horn in the season opener ruled out any possibility that Pribula could lose his job. Coupled with his proven mobility and it was fair to say that Penn State might’ve picked the wrong quarterback.
But like many first-time starters, Pribula’s decision-making was a liability. Ball security was an issue, and an injury in the Vandy loss forced him to miss multiple starts. Mizzou’s passing game never really took shape and Pribula had a 105.4 QB rating vs. SEC competition (last among qualified SEC QBs). He ultimately hit the portal again at season’s end.
John Mateer, Oklahoma — B-
Before Dr. Shin became a household name, Mateer was the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. We can’t forget that. Going into October, Mateer would’ve been considered an obvious “A.” The packaged deal with Ben Arbuckle had pushed Brent Venables off any hot-seat discussions. But post-hand surgery Mateer was a different player. In Mateer’s final 8 games, OU’s offense was held to 4.9 yards/play. It hit 27 points just once post-September, though it only did that because R Mason Thomas returned a fumble for a touchdown and Tate Sandell hit 4 field goals (3 from 50 yards) at Tennessee. Mateer showed remarkable toughness for an improved Oklahoma team that reached its first Playoff of the post-Lincoln Riley era. He deserves plenty of credit for that because he was certainly an upgrade from the Arnold/Michael Hawkins experience.
But he was No. 15 among 16 qualified SEC quarterbacks in adjusted completion percentage on 20-yard throws (35.3%) and he was No. 13 in NFL QB rating under pressure (51.6). Isaiah Sategna’s home-run play ability prevented those latter-half numbers from looking much worse than they were. Mateer ranked No. 16 in the SEC in adjusted completion percentage, and he also had the third-most turnover-worthy plays (20). That combination wasn’t what the defensive-minded Venables hoped it would be, but Mateer was still one of the better success stories in his class.
Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss — A++
From Division II to 8th in the Heisman Trophy voting and to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Sure. Just as we all predicted. Chambliss is 2 wins away from putting himself in the Cam Newton-Joe Burrow conversations of “best transfers in college football history.” Shoot, I’d argue he’s closer to that than many realize after leading Ole Miss to a remarkable comeback win against Georgia. Without Lane Kiffin, Chambliss showed that he wasn’t just the byproduct of that system. The off-script plays and accuracy downfield he made is off the charts. To think that Chambliss was a post-spring transfer who entered the season as a backup is beyond comprehension.
If Austin Simmons never gets hurt, does anyone even know who Chambliss is outside of diehard Ole Miss fans? That’s a fair question, though Simmons did struggle with turnovers at the start of the season, which was what helped Chambliss to have an opportunity to keep the starting job. Needless to say, he didn’t just keep the starting job. He put himself alongside the Mannings as one of the most impactful players in program history. There aren’t enough “A+” grades to hand out for Chambliss.
Joey Aguilar, Tennessee — B
Context is important. At this time last year, Aguilar was set to compete for the starting job at UCLA after transferring from Appalachian State. Then, of course, the Nico Iamaleava drama unfolded and after Tennessee whiffed on some more proven options, it ended up with a de-facto trade for Aguilar. As a post-spring transfer, Aguilar walked into a situation with 4 new starters on the offensive line. Plus, Tennessee’s top 3 receivers were gone, as was SEC Offensive Player of the Year Dylan Sampson. So yes, Aguilar leading a Tennessee team that averaged 40 points per game was no small feat. He had 3,565 passing yards and 24 passing touchdowns, along with 26 deep-ball completions, which was more than Iamaleava (16) and Joe Milton (18). On top of that, Aguilar went from having an FBS-high 25 turnover-worthy plays at App State in 2024 to having just 9 for Tennessee in 2025.
For those reasons, Aguilar helped Tennessee win the nasty Iamaleava breakup. But the Vols failed to beat an FBS team with a winning record and went 0-5 in those games. That “40 points per game” number also was inflated by 49 non-offensive points, and Aguilar’s costly turnovers vs. Alabama and Oklahoma loomed large. Aguilar provided a higher floor than we could’ve seen for Josh Heupel‘s squad this year, but he wasn’t as good as some of those early-season performances might’ve indicated.
Grading the SEC’s transfer quarterbacks of 2025 Saturday Down South.
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