The transfer portal may not open for Division I players till January 2nd but there are plenty of players who are already declaring their intentions to enter the portal prior to it opening. There's also an expectation that you will see a decent amount of players commit almost immediately upon entering the transfer portal similar to what we see in the NFL and NBA.
James Franklin and Virginia Tech will certainly be busy in the transfer portal this offseason. That will most likely include the Hokies looking to add 1-2 quarterbacks this offseason with Kyron Drones graduating and Pop Watson showing some promise but not a whole lot to convince you that the Hokies shouldn't look elsewhere for their 2026 starting quarterback.
So with all that said, here are several transfer quarterback names to know as of December 9th.
Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt
Let's start with the biggest quarterback currently available in the transfer portal: Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt.
There was tons of hype surrounding Leavitt potentially being able to play his way into the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft after a strong redshirt freshman season in 2024. This season was injury-riddled and a slight step back production-wise but still very good as he threw for 1,628 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions with a 60.7% completion rate in only seven games.
Leavitt is a modern pass-first quarterback who can make plays with his legs, having ran for 743 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging 4.1 yards per carry. His usage as a pass-first guy who can make plays with his legs is similar to how James Franklin's quarterbacks were used as shown by how Drew Allar, Sean Clifford, and Trace McSorley were pass-first but all ran the ball 70+ times in a season at least twice in their careers. McSorley is a little more extreme version on the running front, but the style of Leavitt has statistical similarities to Allar and Clifford.
Leavitt provides a solid downfield threat, earning an 86+ PFF grade on passes 20+ yards down the field each of the past two seasons, but he did only complete 30-35% of those passes each of those two seasons. That is an area he will have to improve him if he wants to take those next steps, but the potential is definitely there. He also went from 54.7% to 44.2% on medium throws (10-19 yards) per PFF, but has shown upside in making those plays.
Leavitt also has a 70:30 split of non-play action to play action pass attempts this season per PFF that is similar to Allar and Clifford. Given new OC Ty Howle's background with Franklin, VT seems likely to use a QB that doesn't have to lean heavy on play action.
There's no doubt that Leavitt is a big-time quarterback and will rightly have suitors from across the country with his profile fitting that of what Franklin has often used in his offense. If Leavitt ends up being at the top of Tech's board, VT's pursuit will provide an early test as to whether the Hokies fully have the resources they say they will have moving forward, especially in NIL.
