College football's leading passer seen as match for SEC program in transfer portal

Drew Mestemaker finished this season as the most-productive single passer in college football, and now the former North Texas quarterback is poised to enter the transfer portal, setting off a bonanza to secure one of the nation’s most consequential players.

What college football programs are expected to be involved in the bidding? When considering an ideal matchup pairing, one major SEC program currently sticks out.

On3 Sports analyst Kaiden Smith outlined what he thinks is the best destination for both parties.

Mestemaker to Rocky Top?

“If you’re Tennessee, you have this excellent track record with this offense, with transfer quarterbacks. Why not get a guy who you can get a couple years out of, as well?” Smith said.

“Parlay your offense and your transfer success with a guy who apparently is very early on his football journey in general,” he added.

What Mestemaker has done

Mestemaker led the FBS with 4,129 passing yards and was third in passer rating, placing behind just Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza and finalist Julian Sayin.

He completed 70 percent of his pass attempts with 31 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions, being named the American Conference Offensive Player of the Year, leading North Texas to an appearance in the league title game.

But head coach Eric Morris left the school and took the same position at Oklahoma State, so that program could emerge as a contender for the quarterback.

Tennessee's recent success

Recruiting transfer quarterbacks is something Tennessee has done well over the last several seasons, bringing on Hendon Hooker and then Joey Aguilar to lead productive offenses.

But both those players didn’t get to suit up for the Vols for too long. Bringing on Mestemaker would represent a longer-term investment in a very promising player.

“I think this is a guy that not only would fit perfectly with the scheme, with how quickly players have been able to understand the scheme,” Smith said.

He added: “You get a full offseason with him. But he can maybe build on that and build on that for years to come as just a redshirt freshman.”

Where the Vols are at QB

Aguilar is about to exhaust his NCAA eligibility and with precious little experience remaining on its quarterback depth chart, Tennessee is very much in the market for a signal caller with proven experience as a starter.

Aguilar is likely on the way out and redshirt freshman Jake Merlinger is planning to enter the transfer portal.

That leaves George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon on the Volunteers’ expected quarterback depth chart heading into 2026.

MacIntyre has played in just two games, going 7 of 9 passing with 69 yards, and Brandon was a five-star commitment in the 2026 class, but with no NCAA experience.

Tennessee could look at Mestemaker as a proven commodity worth going after now rather than waiting for their prospects to develop.

Mestemaker is only a redshirt freshman with three seasons of NCAA eligibility remaining. Tennessee going after him could potentially inspire both MacIntyre and ultimately Brandon to leave the program.

So the question for the Vols would be if he’s worth that risk.

How the college football transfer portal works

College football’s transfer portal officially opens on Jan. 2, but that hasn’t stopped a flurry of players from entering their names for consideration at a new school right now.

The new 15-day transfer portal window from Jan. 2-16 and the elimination of the spring transfer period has condensed the timeline for players and programs to make their moves.

The NCAA Transfer Portal is a private database that includes the names of student-athletes in every sport at the Division I, II, and III levels. The full list of names is not available to the public.

A player can enter their name into the transfer portal through their school's compliance office.

Once a player gives written notification of their intent to transfer, the office puts the player's name into the database, and they officially become a transfer.

The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player's request and NCAA rules forbid anyone from refusing that request.

The database includes the player's name, contact information, info on whether the player was on scholarship, and if he is a graduate student.

Once a player's name appears in the transfer portal database, other schools are free to contact the player, who can change his mind at any point in the process and withdraw from the transfer portal.

Notably, once a player enters the portal, his school no longer has to honor the athletic scholarship it gave him.

And if that player decides to leave the portal and return to his original school, the school doesn't have to give him another scholarship.

(On3)

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | Teams

Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Picks