The QB who stayed: In this transfer portal era, Utah’s Brandon Rose became an outlier

University of Utah Athletics

Brandon Rose, a quarterback who has been waiting in line for playing time at the University of Utah for two years, doesn’t get it. He apparently doesn’t understand the way it works now. The transfer portal opened and closed in the fall, and he stayed put. The transfer portal opened and closed again in the spring, and he stayed put, again.

Who does that anymore?

What is this guy, loyal?

Committed?

Quarterbacks who were once three-star prospects and can’t get on the field don’t stick around. They hit the transfer portal and flee to another school, hoping to find playing time. That’s the modern way.

The Utes have given Rose every excuse to leave. As a freshman, he was stuck behind all-conference quarterback Cam Rising. As a sophomore, he played scout team quarterback while walk-on Bryson Barnes led the team. In the current offseason, the Utes signed freshman Isaac Wilson to compete with Rose just to be the backup. Then they signed another quarterback from the portal early this month — Sam Huard, the No. 3 quarterback recruit in the class of 2021, who has since made stops at the University of Washington and Cal Poly.

Any one of those events would have sent any other backup quarterback catching the first portal ride out of town. Not Rose.

“He’s stuck it out,” says Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham. “It speaks to his character and his drive and his confidence in himself. It’s refreshing to see that happen, especially at that position.”

Quarterbacks are the biggest vagabonds in the portal era game because only one can play at a time. They frequently shop for a new team. Kedon Slovis turned his eligibility into a tour of America, starting at USC, moving to Pitt, finishing at BYU — that’s three schools in three time zones in three years.

“It’s the position with the alpha…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/qb-stayed-transfer-portal-era-030000240.html

Author : Deseret News

Publish date : 2024-05-21 03:00:00

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