The 2024 college football season is off and running but some players who transferred in the offseason might be wishing they could rewind the clock and make some different decisions. Most teams have only played one game so far but some transfers are learning the hard way that the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere.
Here are 10 players who transferred in the 2024 cycle who are off to a rough start to the season and might wind up regretting their decision to leave for another program.
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WR JALEN BROWN, Florida State
There is so much talent that Florida State trots onto the field on offense that it’s shocking how poor its production has been so far this year. Brown was a coveted high school prospect and transfer prospect coming over to Tallahassee from LSU. The speedy Florida native might as well be at a track meet because he hasn’t caught many passes yet. Through two games the redshirt freshman has run 46 routes but only been targeted five times with three catches for 26 yards, according to PFF.
QB AIDAN CHILES, Michigan State
Chiles told us to “take the over” before his first start as Michigan State’s new quarterback. The Spartans did get the win but certainly did not score enough points to hit the over against FAU. Chiles had a less than stellar outing, posting a stat line of 10-for-24 with 114 passing yards and two interceptions, but there is still an entire season to go and it is just his first season as a starter.
There’s plenty of potential that he brings to the field and, while he may not be regretting his decision to transfer from Oregon State and follow head coach Jonathan Smith to East Lansing, he might think about turning down the overconfident persona as the Spartans begin Big Ten play at Maryland this weekend.
LB SOLOMON DESHIELDS, Texas A&M
In his four years at Pittsburgh, DeShields played in 41 games and recorded a total of 85 tackles. After transferring to Texas A&M in the offseason, it had to come as quite a shock to lose his position battle and not play a down in the season opener against Notre Dame.
At Pitt, DeShields was one of the more reliable defenders and an important contributor for the defense. Unless things change quickly, it doesn’t look like DeShields will be seeing the field often in College Station.
DE MARVIN JONES JR., Florida State
Not much has gone right for Florida State so far this season and, after an 0-2 start, everybody should be looking themselves in the mirror. Jones has a massive opportunity in front of him this season with plenty of playing time to be had and impressive pass rushers such as Jared Verse to replace, but so far the Seminoles legacy has not made the most of this chance.
Jones transferred from Georgia after not seeing the field very much in his two years in Athens. He had just two tackles in the Georgia Tech game and then none against Boston College.
QB GRAHAM MERTZ, Florida
Florida and Mertz literally and figuratively took it on the chin against Miami. Mertz had some bright spots last year after transferring to Florida from Wisconsin in the 2023 offseason. His 2024 season really did not get off to a good start on Saturday. He went 11-for-20 with only 91 passing yards, one interception and was sacked three times.
Then Mertz was diagnosed with a concussion late in the third quarter, opening the door for five-star freshmen DJ Lagway to see action. Now Lagway is going to start Florida's upcoming game against Samford.
WR KRIS MITCHELL, Notre Dame
Notre Dame revamped its receiver room this offseason and Mitchell was one of its big additions. It looked like he would be a major target in its passing game this year. In the first game that proved not to be the case and Mitchell didn’t even crack the starting lineup. Instead, it was Beaux Collins catching most of the big passes from Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard.
Notre Dame’s schedule gets a lot easier going forward and the injury to Jordan Faison, who started ahead of Mitchell in week one, is out with an injury this week so Mitchell has a chance to make a larger impact.
QB MALACHI NELSON, Boise State
In a somewhat surprising move, Nelson left USC at the end of last season. He looked like the heir apparent to Caleb Williams but things clearly didn’t work out. Transferring to Boise State, it seemed as if Nelson would walk in and become the starter for the Broncos.
That turned out not to be the case as he ended up losing a quarterback battle with Maddux Madsen. Now Nelson, a redshirt freshman, sits at No. 2 on the depth chart after being one of the more highly regarded quarterback prospects in recent recruiting cycles.
QB DJ UIAGALELEI, Florida State
It feels like we’re all having déjà vu again while watching Uiagalelei at Florida State. The former Clemson and Oregon State quarterback is certainly not playing at a high level right now and the Seminoles sit at 0-2 with a long season ahead of them.
Yes, Florida State lost a lot of talented players after last year‘s undefeated season but it also brought in plenty of talent in the transfer portal. Uiagalelei has the tools to be a standout quarterback but it doesn’t seem like he’s able to put it all together on the big stage.
So far he’s completed just 56.5-percent of his passes with one touchdown and one interception for an average yards per attempt of 6.7. For a frame of reference, Uiagalelei’s average yards per attempt last season at Oregon State was 8.3.
DL QUENCY WIGGINS, Colorado
Wiggins hasn’t found his groove at the college level yet. A former five-star high school prospect and coveted transfer prospect, Wiggins has only played in nine college games so far and posted just seven tackles. He played in Colorado’s season opening game against North Dakota State but did not record a stat.
TE BENJAMIN YUROSEK, Georgia
Yurosek got a lot of praise from the coaching staff in the offseason and in training camp. The Stanford transfer missed a chunk of last season due to injury but in the past he has shown impressive athleticism. Maybe it was the first game jitters or perhaps it was the game plan against Clemson but Yurosek’s career at Georgia did not get off to a good start.
The Bulldogs have relied on the tight ends a lot over the last few years and many expected that trend to continue this year, but that was not the case against Clemson. Yurosek played just 18 snaps and finished the game with zero catches and one penalty.
There’s plenty of time left this season for Yurosek to turn it around, but he certainly does not want to have another performance like he did in week one.
