Dante Moore UCLA Sep 2, 2023; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Dante Moore (3) scrambles in the pocket to throw a complete pass in the first half against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The end of the college football regular season marks the beginning of the Transfer Portal season. This window is currently filled with talented quarterbacks who are seeking a new team.

The Comeback has compiled a list of the top five quarterbacks currently in the NCAA Transfer Portal. But before we dive into the list, let’s take a look at some honorable mentions who didn’t make the cut. You might be surprised by some of the names on this list.

Honorable Mentions:

Aidan Chiles (Oregon State), D.J. Uiagalelei (Oregon State), Brock Vandagriff (Georgia), Kyle McCord (Ohio State), Tyler Van Dyke (Miami), Will Rogers (Mississippi State), and Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina). We chose to leave out several names — not for any particular reason — but the number of talented quarterbacks in the portal increases by the day.

While he didn’t quite make our honorable mentions list, Temple transfer E.J. Warner is certainly a name worth remembering. Though the two-year starter isn’t ranked high among many transfer lists, he’s worthy of consideration for Power Five programs that are looking for a player to potentially leap the American Athletic Conference.

Warner, who took over the starting quarterback position from D’Wan Mathis early in his freshman season at Temple, had limited options when it came to choosing a school. However, Temple was one of the few schools that offered him a spot. Warner proved his worth by finishing his first year at Temple with impressive stats, going 268-for-443 for 3,028 yards and 18 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. He became the first Temple player to win AAC Rookie of the Year and joined Bernard Pierce and Tyler Matakevich as the only players in school history to win a Freshman/Rookie of the Year award in any conference.

In 2023, Warner continued his impressive performance by completing 256 out of 445 passes for 3,076 yards, with 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. This outstanding performance set a new single-season record for Temple with 23 touchdown passes. Additionally, Warner broke several school records, including the most 200-yard games, 250-yard games, and 300-yard games in a season, as well as the most pass attempts in a season. He also achieved the milestone of having three 3000-yard seasons in his school career.

Warner is one of my talented passers in the portal, but he didn’t quite crack our list. Check out to see who The Comeback has the five best quarterbacks in the transfer portal as of Monday, Dec. 4. Remember, this list is always subject to change with the ever-growing nature of the transfer portal.

5. Dillon Gabriel

Monday saw Oklahoma’s starting quarterback enter the portal, and perhaps a surprising addition at that.

Gabriel, who is 22 years old, has one year of eligibility remaining. This will be his second transfer from a program. He transferred from UCF to Oklahoma after his head coach, Josh Heupel, left for Tennessee. Gabriel was on his way to becoming a first-round draft pick while at UCF. He started 12 games as a true freshman in 2019 and threw for 3,653 yards, 29 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. In 2020, he followed that up with 3,570 yards, 32 touchdowns, and four interceptions.

Gabriel missed his junior season in Orlando due to a season-ending injury. He later joined Jeff Lebby — who’s now the head coach at Mississippi State — in Norman. During his first season with the Sooners, Gabriel threw for 3,168 yards, 25 touchdowns, and six interceptions. This season, he has improved his performance by throwing for 3,660 yards, 30 touchdowns, and six interceptions.

4. Dante Moore

Perhaps the most surprising inclusion in the portal thus far is the former five-star prospect. Given his talent and potential, Dante Moore may become the most sought-after quarterback in the portal. He was an elite quarterback prospect not too long ago, with two teams at the forefront of college football chasing after him.

Moore’s limited playing time this past season and being passed on the depth chart by Ethan Garbers are the reasons why he couldn’t make it higher on this list. Despite throwing for 1,610 yards with 11 touchdowns against nine interceptions, the Detroit native struggled to fit in with UCLA. Moore, who was ranked as the No. 3 overall recruit in the 2023 class, completed 53.5 percent of his passes, going 114-of-123.

3. Riley Leonard

Last week, Leonard entered the portal with a “do not contact” tag next to his name, which suggests that he may have already decided on his next destination. There are rumors that Notre Dame might be interested in bringing in an ACC transfer quarterback for the second year in a row, but Auburn is also reportedly in the mix.

Leonard spent three seasons at Duke, but he was mainly a backup in 2021. However, in 2022, he had a breakout season. He completed 250-of-392 passes for 20 touchdowns, which tied him for the fourth-most in a single season by a Duke quarterback. Leonard’s impressive performance was crowned by being named the MVP of the 2022 Military Bowl. He rushed for a pair of touchdowns, leading the Blue Devils to a 30-13 victory.

2. Will Howard

Howard was a four-year starter at Kansas State. However, his time in Manhattan seemed to be coming to an end with the emergence of Avery Johnson. In limited appearances as Howard’s backup this year, Johnson has gone 23-for-35 for 301 yards and three touchdown passes. As a 19-year-old, Johnson is considered to be the future of the quarterback position for the Wildcats, which likely led to his decision to enter the transfer portal last week.

During his time at Kansas State, Howard led the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship in 2022, when they pulled off an upset victory over the TCU Horned Frogs with a score of 31-28. During his four seasons at Kansas State, Howard completed 458-of-779 passes for a total of 5,786 yards, which is the fifth-highest in the school’s history. Moreover, Howard holds the record for the most career touchdown passes by a Kansas State quarterback with 48, surpassing Josh Freeman’s 44 earlier this season.

1. Cameron Ward

Ward is considering transferring to another program or entering the NFL Draft to increase his chances of playing early and competing for a starting role. He’s the top option in the portal and will be heavily pursued by high-profile programs, along with Moore.

Ward began his career at Incarnate World. After a successful freshman season, Ward passed for 4,648 yards and 47 touchdowns against 10 interceptions as a sophomore and was later honored with the Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Year award.

Subsequently, he entered the transfer portal, leading to his eventual transfer to Wazzu. In his first season in Pullman, Ward had an impressive performance, completing 64.4% of his passes for 3,231 yards with 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Additionally, he also rushed for five touchdowns.

This past season, Ward completed 66.7% of his passes for 3,732 yards with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for eight touchdowns.

Across his time in Pullman, Ward totaled over 6,900 passing yards and over 60 total touchdowns.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.