ACC football transfers: Dynamic QBs at Florida State, Miami among players ready to make a splash in 2024

Like the other Power Four conferences, the ACC is expanding in 2024 with the addition of Cal, SMU and Stanford. However, that’s not the only off-season development that will change the complexion of the league. Strong transfer classes – headlined by a group of high-profile quarterbacks – have a chance to shake up the conference pecking order as they enter the first year of expansion College football Pay.

Florida State and Miami brought transfers ranked in the top 10, according to 247Sports. On the other end of the spectrum, Clemson was the only academic non-service FBS program that didn’t add a single transfer.

FSU signed former Clemson and Oregon State DJ Uiagalelei, while Miami also went west to capture Washington State’s Cameron Ward. Both players have one more season of eligibility to boost their stock before 2025 NFL Draft.

Keeping with the quarterback theme, NC State brought in former Coastal Carolina standout Grayson McCall. McCall missed most of last year with a head injury but threw at least 24 touchdowns in each of his first three seasons.

Syracuse and Duke also signed big-name quarterbacks in Kyle McCord (Ohio State) and Maalik Murphy (Texas). Here are some players poised to make an immediate impact this season in the ACC.

Miami QB Cameron Ward

Ward’s journey to South Beach was a rollercoaster. Ward entered the transfer portal at the end of the 2023 season, then declared for the 2024 NFL Draft and ultimately revoked his draft declaration to commit to Miami. It was a big win for Hurricanes coach Mario Cristobal, who is under immense pressure to win in Year 3. Ward was the 15th player overall and the 4th quarterback available on the portal. He is also the top rated player to transfer to an ACC school.

Ward lit up defenses to start 2023, but hit a snag as the season wore on. After throwing for 1,393 yards with 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions in his first four games, he has completed just 63.3% of his attempts for 2,342 yards with 17 total touchdowns and seven interceptions in his last eight contests. Ward already has NFL advantage thanks to its dynamic dual threat capability. If he can find more consistency, he could significantly increase his draft stock in 2024.

Florida State QB DJ Uiagalelei

ACC fans already know Uiagalelei. He began his career at Clemson, but his time with the Tigers came to an end after he was replaced by Cade Klubnik. He took his talents to Oregon State last year and helped guide the Beavers to an 8-5 mark. Uiagalelei will now don the uniform of a former conference rival, where he hopes to take the place of the departing Jordan Travis.

In 2023, Uiagalelei passed for a career-high 2,638 yards but finished with a career-low completion percentage of 571%. Former five-star recruit Florida State hopes this is the year DJU finally puts it all together and taps into its enormous potential. With FSU losing receivers Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman to the NFL, it will be up to former highly touted recruit Hykeem Williams and Alabama transfer Malik Benson to emerge as reliable targets for Uiagalelei

Duke QB Maalik Murphy

Murphy is a former four-star recruit who made two starts at Texas last season. With Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers returning and Arch Manning waiting in the wings, Murphy saw the writing on the wall and decided to hit the portal after the season ended. He’s found a landing spot at Duke, where he projects as a surefire starter in the first year of the Manny Diaz era. It’s up to Blue Devils offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jonathan Brewer to refine Murphy’s skills and take advantage of his stellar arm talent. Murphy was the #6 quarterback available on the transfer portal.

Syracuse QB Kyle McCord

New Syracuse coach Fran Brown made a splash by hiring McCord from Ohio State. The former OSU starter had an up-and-down post-CJ campaign. He was Stroud and finished with 3,170 yards, 24 touchdowns and just six interceptions in 2023. Although McCord’s statistics indicated proficient play, he was often plagued by slow starts.

Despite Syracuse bringing in former FAU and Penn State quarterback Michael Johnson Jr. late in the cycle, McCord is expected to be the starter in 2024. It will be interesting to see if the former four-star recruit flourishes away from the spotlight he came in as a quarterback for the Buckeyes. McCord was the 14th quarterback available on the transfer portal.

North Carolina State QB Grayson McCall

NC State signed former Virginia starting quarterback Brennan Armstrong into the transfer portal last offseason, but it didn’t go as planned. Armstrong finished with 1,785 yards with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions and was benched midseason in favor of MJ Morris.

When he’s at his best, McCall is one of the best defenders in the country. He recorded three consecutive seasons with at least 2,400 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and fewer than three interceptions from 2020-22. If he can recover from a brutal injury in 2023, NC State will be on the market. McCall was the 20th quarterback available on the transfer portal.

Top Transfers to Remaining ACC Teams

Boston College RB Treshaun District: New Boston College coach Bill O’Brien found a veteran playmaker in Ward, who rushed for 643 yards and five touchdowns while splitting carries at Kansas State last season. He will have a chance to take on an expanded role in BC’s offense this fall.

Cal CB Marcus Harris: After spending his first two seasons at Oregon State, Harris transferred to FCS-Idaho, where he played in 40 games over the last three years. He was selected to the All-Big Sky first team in 2023 after racking up 51 tackles with three interceptions. Harris was ranked as the 36th player overall in the transfer portal and will give the Bears a boost in the secondary before the transition to the ACC.

Clemson N/A: Clemson was one of four FBS programs that did not make a single transfer this cycle. The Tigers will rely on their 2024 recruiting class (Image: Getty Images)ranked 15th) for immediate contributions.

Georgia Tech EDGE Romello Height: Height began his career at Auburn and appeared in 10 competitions before transferring to USC. After suffering a season-ending injury just two games into the 2022 season, he rebounded by recording 20 tackles and four sacks last year.

Louisville WR Ja’Corey Brooks: The former Alabama standout will look for a bounce-back season in a new place after recording just three catches for 30 yards last fall. Brooks had his best season in 2022, finishing with 39 receptions for 674 yards and eight touchdowns.

North Carolina TE Jake Johnson: UNC went two-for-one by signing Jake and Max Johnson from Texas A&M. While the latter is in a quarterback competition to replace former star Drake Maye, Max should be an immediate contributor at tight end. He finished with 24 receptions for 235 yards and four touchdowns as a sophomore with the Aggies.

Pitt EDGE David Ojiegbe: The former four-star singer transferred to Pitt after spending his true freshman season at Clemson. Ojiegbe played just 11 total snaps and will have four seasons of eligibility remaining. He was Pitt’s son best ranked transfer.

SMU OT Savion Byrd: It’s rare for quality offensive linemen to make it to the transfer portal. SMU managed to nab one of the best players available at the position, Byrd, who was ranked as the #6 player in his position. Byrd has spent the past three seasons at Oklahoma and has played in nine games (with four starts) in 2023.

Stanford LB Jahsiah Galvan: Stanford signed one of the best linebackers in the FCS in Galvan. He appeared in all 11 games in 2023 and led Northern Iowa with 77 tackles. The Cardinal only accepted four transfers this year – largely due to the university’s rigorous academic standards – but everyone has the opportunity to help the team.

Virginia WR Chris Tyree: Tyree showed his versatility throughout his four seasons at Notre Dame, putting up numbers as a running back, wide receiver or returner. He is coming off a career high in receiving yards (484).

Virginia Tech DL Aeneas Peebles: Peebles recorded career-highs in tackles (44) and sacks (five) last season at Duke. He ranked as the #21 Defensive Lineman Transfer and should give the VT defense a boost as a pass rusher and run stop.

Wake Forest QB Hank Bachmeier: Bachmeier threw for 2,058 yards and 10 touchdowns in his lone season with Louisiana Tech last year. The former Boise State signal-caller should be in the running to win the starting job at Wake Forest after throwing for more than 300 yards in the Demon Deacons’ spring game.