What Northwestern Transfer Quarterback Addition Means for Preston Stone

The Wildcats surprised many on Wednesday morning by adding Virginia transfer quarterback Gavin Frakes, who had previously committed to play for his hometown Oklahoma Sooners this fall.

Northwestern already has a very packed quarterback room, and SMU transfer Preston Stone has been the favorite to start since he stepped foot on campus in mid-December. Dual-sport athlete Jack Lausch started 10 games for the 'Cats last season, while redshirt freshman Ryan Boe has been pushing him for the primary backup spot. The Wildcats also have three inexperienced, young players in Aidan Gray (R-So.), Sean Winton (R-Fr.) and Marcus Romain (Fr.) on their roster.

In the new revenue-sharing era, where FBS football rosters are capped at 105 players, this begs the question of why Northwestern would bring in a second transfer quarterback and have seven passers on its roster. Perhaps head coach David Braun wanted to bring in a QB to compete with Stone for the starting job, or maybe he believes Lausch could switch to playing baseball full-time and look to enter the MLB Draft.

The first notion can be easily dispelled. Frakes has played one season of college football, appearing in 11 games at New Mexico State during his true freshman season in 2022. Frakes completed 50% of his passes that year for 736 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions, along with two scores on the ground. He did not play for the Aggies in 2023, nor the Virginia Cavaliers in 2024, before committing to Oklahoma in May.

Frakes' experience is vastly shadowed by Stone's, who threw for 3,197 yards, 28 touchdowns and six picks at SMU in 2023. Stone also has drawn major praise from Braun, Northwestern's coaching staff and his teammates this spring, making it highly unlikely that the addition of Frakes is any indictment of Stone's abilities.

An impending Lausch departure could be the primary reason for Frakes' transfer. At Brother Rice High School, Lausch was the No. 94 baseball recruit in the nation in the Class of 2022 and the No. 1 outfielder in Illinois, according to Perfect Game. He was originally committed to Notre Dame before receiving a scholarship offer to play football at Northwestern, which he focused on until joining the Wildcats' baseball team this spring.

Lausch had a slash line of .268/.345/.450 this season as he worked his way back into baseball after several years off, and it's unlikely that he will be selected in the MLB Draft next month. However, he could decide to transition to baseball entirely and prepare for 2026 if he loses out on the starting quarterback job to Stone.

The largest factor in Frakes' addition is that he has two years of eligibility remaining, making him a viable candidate to compete for the starting quarterback job in 2026 after Stone graduates. Northwestern has started a former transfer quarterback in each of the last six seasons via three graduate transfers, and giving Frakes an extra year to learn offensive coordinator Zach Lujan's offense could prove beneficial if he wins the job next season.

With that being said, it's incredibly unlikely that Northwestern keeps seven quarterbacks with the new roster limit being set at 105. The likeliest cut candidate would be Winton, a walk-on, but grandfather rules may not force the Wildcats to cut players until the athletes on its current roster have graduated in roughly four to five years.

In terms of what Frakes' transfer means for Stone, the answer is not much. The former SMU quarterback is still the shoo-in to win Northwestern's starting quarterback job, barring catastrophe, and the Wildcats' newest addition is likely just a depth piece to add to the team's QB room.

Read More Northwestern Wildcats Coverage