5 possible landing spots for Stanford football quarterback Justin Lamson

Where will he end up?

Sep 7, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Justin Lamson (8) celebrates after a touchdown against the Cal Poly Mustangs during the second quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

Transfer portal season is in full effect. After the Stanford Cardinal ended their 2024 season against San José State, the offseason immediately began with some players announcing that they would enter their names into the portal. One of those players, quarterback Justin Lamson, went on X/Twitter to announce his decision to transfer for the second time and play out the remainder of his eligibility elsewhere.

With Lamson now expected to begin the process of finding a new school, here are five possible landing spots for the star quarterback.

Iowa Hawkeyes

The Cade McNamara experiment seems to not have worked out for Iowa as after landing the former Michigan standout prior to the start of last year, he has been unable to replicate his success with the Hawkeyes, suffering a season-ending injury in 2023 before finishing 2024 having thrown only six touchdowns against five interceptions in eight games started.

With McNamara struggling this year, the Hawkeyes gave a look to Jackson Stratton and Brendan Sullivan, neither of which really impressed enough to cement themselves as strong candidates to start next year. The Hawkeyes have always been competitive under head coach Kirk Ferentz and finishing ranked in four out of the last six years, the Hawkeyes will want to find that quarterback so they can return to their glory days.

Florida State Seminoles

What a season it was in Tallahassee. Coming off of a 2023 season that saw the Seminoles finish 13-1 with an undefeated conference record, expectations were high for the program in 2024, especially after landing former high school standout DJ Uiagalelei.

But a string of poor performances by Uiagalelei before he suffered a season-ending injury left the Seminoles really struggling to stay afloat, and after both Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek struggled, the Seminoles proceeded to finish 2-10 with only one ACC win, leading them to finishing dead last in the conference.

A team like Florida State is always expected to compete and after a very forgettable season, they will most likely be in the market for a big name quarterback, but Lamson could be a good fit if the biggest names are unable to land at FSU.

Colorado State Rams

Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi’s play can be attributed to the Rams’ 8-4 finish to the season. But while he is exceptional in the passing game, finishing 2024 with 13 touchdown passes to seven interceptions, Lamson’s experience playing Power Five football would provide an upgrade to the Mountain West school. With Lamson also being mobile, his skills in the Colorado State offense would really help them become a multi-faceted unit.

USC Trojans

Miller Moss was benched, leaving Jayden Maiava as the team’s starting quarterback for the rest of the year. And while Maiava showed that he is more than capable of leading the charge by showing off his tremendous playmaking ability, he also had big turnovers in key moments, such as a two interception game against Notre Dame in the final game of the season that led to a 49-35 defeat.

While the Trojans are expected to have five-star prospect Husan Longstreet out of Centennial for next year, the Trojans may want to rely on an experienced veteran to get them through next year. 

Syracuse Orange

This one is an interesting option. Starting his career at Syracuse, playing for the Orange in 2021 and 2022, Lamson then transferred to Stanford where he became a major fixture in the run game. But with Kyle McCord out of eligibility, that leaves a massive question mark at quarterback going into 2025.

After going 9-3 this year, the Orange will be in win now mode. McCord brought a strong arm that made Syracuse have a lethal passing attack, so Lamson’s play style would be somewhat opposite as he would bring exceptional mobility. But with how head coach Fran Brown’s offense is tailored, Lamson could be a good fit there and return to the school that started it all for him.