Auburn football's five current portal options at quarterback
The worst kept secret in college football this year is that Auburn wants and needs a quarterback to come through in the portal. Sure, there has been a lot of ink given to Ashford’s “amazing” a-day game, where he went 1-of-3 for 39 yards. That is a 33% completion percentage for those of us who aren’t mathmagicians. He added 38 more yards of scampering in the rushing game. The sheer fact that those numbers have Auburn fans excited tells you the state of Auburn’s quarterback room.
Vanderbilt has a more solid quarterback situation than Auburn. I digress.
The transfer portal opens April 15th this year, and since Auburn is shopping it would be a good time to see what is out there. Keeping in mind that this is a reality-based article and will in no way predict who WILL be available. Who IS available currently? Glad you asked:
Slim picking’s
There are not many guys that have been hanging out in the portal or that have already announced for it. Those that are there won’t give any Auburn fans warm fuzzies. However, it is fair to say that beggars cannot be choosy and take a glance at what options we have.
Micah Bowens (transfer out of Oklahoma)
Bowens announced his intent to transfer on January 24 of this year. He was initially recruited to Penn State, red-shirted, then transferred to Oklahoma. Bowens, out of Las Vegas, Nevada, is a rather slight quarterback coming in at six-foot even and weighing in at 190 pounds.
He is a pro-style quarterback that has decent scrambling ability. He has a good arm, great velocity, and can make all the throws. He is not mechanically sound and would be a project for any quarterback coach. He is an outstanding scramble/rushing quarterback. The knock on him is that he doesn’t want to. He prefers to stay in the pocket and avoid contact. He has been noted to throw the ball away on designed quarterback runs.
He has only seen the field in the Oklahoma spring games, where his numbers over the past two years are similar to Robby Ashford’s. He did get credit for one ninety-five-yard completion in 2022 spring game. It was, however, a wide receiver screen.
With three years of eligibility left he is more of a project quarter back and wouldn’t add much to the current Auburn situation.
Haaziq Daniels (transfer out of the Air Force Academy)
Daniels, from the Air Force Academy, did enter the portal, but as of March 5 his application for a graduate transfer was denied by the academy. I mention him only as a possibility, as he is seeking recourse to finish his football career elsewhere. If there is an update on his situation, I will provide more information. For now, this is a non-starter.
He would be an interesting fit with his experience and maturity level, but with the ruling that he has gotten, his football career is more than likely over.
Kinkhead Dent (transfer from Ole Miss)
Dent is available for inter-SEC transfer immediate eligibility as he met the requirement of hitting the portal on or before January 18. Dent is six-foot four inches and currently tips the scales at 205 pounds. He is a pro-style quarterback out of Flowood, Mississippi. He chose Ole Miss over LSU out of high school to stay close to home.
He is a senior but has only seen the field twice in his collegiate career. Going 5-of-10 for 15 yards with a sub-seventy percent quarterback rating in those two games
He had no chance in an Ole Miss quarter back battle that already had him fifth or lower in the depth chart.
Dent doesn’t fit any qualities of what Auburn is looking for in a portal quarterback. He likely ends up in a lower division.
Chase Wolf (transfer from Wisconsin)
Wolf, out of Cincinnati, Ohio, is another slightly built pro-style quarterback coming in at six feet two inches and topping out at 195 pounds. Wolf, a senior, has started two games for the Badgers, including a bowl game. He has a win in one, versus Oklahoma State, where he went 16-of-26 for 116 yards, one touchdown, one interception and a total quarterback rating of 33.1. He also tossed around 2-of-6 for 21 yards before getting the hook and replaced in the Bowl game loss versus Minnesota.
Wolf is another guy that was staring at the front from the back end of a depth chart going into the 2023 season. He is available and has some experience, but there isn’t much chance that he is SEC caliber, nor will he ever be at this point in his career.
Chance Nolan (transfer from Oregon State)
Nolan is six feet two inch pro-style quarterback out of Menifee, California. He has been sitting in the portal since it opened originally in December of 2022.
Nolan, a junior, is the one player on this list that could move the needle for a larger school. He has fifteen games as a starter under his belt, which is experience that would be welcomed on a lot of teams. He has thrown 270 completed passes over the last two years for over 3,000 yards. With that came 26 touchdowns to 18 interceptions and an average quarterback rating of around 140. He also added 286 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. The caveat here is that bulk of that came the season before last.
Last season, he was playing well when a concussion in the fifth game ended his season. His career completion rate is only 59%. The concussion was brutal, but he has the talent and experience that will land him somewhere as a starting quarterback.
Is that at Auburn? Possible but not probable.
That’s all, folks
That is an exhaustive list of who has listed for the Portal as a quarterback. No one stands out as being “better” than what Auburn currently has. There is no one on this list that would render the consideration of Hugh Freeze or his staff.
The real Auburn prospect(s) will have to come from the batch of quarter backs that WILL enter the portal starting this Saturday. That’s when this will kick off and we can start tracking all the incoming and outgoing players for Auburn.
Keep it locked on Auburn Daily for all your crootin' needs!
Related A-Day Stories
Can the Auburn quarterback question be solved on A-Day?
Hugh Freeze looking to add transfer quarterback during spring portal window
Auburn football's projected 2023 depth chart
Holden Geriner "taking big strides" in practice since Auburn's Pro Day
Tigers may be looking at different opponent for future spring games
Auburn's A-Day listed as one of most important spring games to watch
Engage with Auburn Daily on Socials!
Follow Auburn Daily on Twitter
