Brandon Wimbush leaving Notre Dame as grad transfer after playoffs
After being replaced by Ian Book this season, Brandon Wimbush is expected to leave Notre Dame as a grad transfer.
As the Notre Dame Fighting Irish prepare to play Clemson in the first College Football Playoff semifinal on Saturday, a looming player departure will linger in the background. As first reported by Brett McMurphy of Stadium, redshirt junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush will transfer. ESPN and others have since added confirmation Wimbush will stay with the Fighting Irish through their playoff run.
After starting 12 games in his first year starting in 2017, Notre Dame quarterback Brandon Wimbush was seen in some circles as a dark horse candidate to win the Heisman Trophy — flaws (49.5 percent completion rate) and all. He started the first three games this season, including narrow wins over Ball State and Vanderbilt, before being replaced by Ian Book.
Book sparked Notre Dame’s offense in a big way when he took over, and he sits fourth in the country in completion percentage (70.4 percent) and eighth in passer rating (162.5). Wimbush made a fourth start this season against Florida State in November, when Book was injured, and he neared 200 total yards with three passing touchdowns (and two interceptions) in a 42-13 win.
Book isn’t going anywhere as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback looking toward next year, so Wimbush would be relegated to backup duty again barring a serious injury.
Notre Dame is the third of this year’s playoff teams that’s either lost or is set to lose a quarterback as a grad transfer. Kelly Bryant announced he was leaving Clemson after being benched for Trevor Lawrence early in the season, ultimately choosing Missouri after surveying a lot of options. While Jalen Hurts has been the good soldier this year for Alabama, he’s still lined up to leave after the season as a grad transfer.
Wimbush was a top-50 player in the 2015 recruiting class, and he was ranked in the top-five among dual threat quarterbacks. That running ability was shown off fully when he got an opportunity in 2017, as he rushed for 804 yards and 14 touchdowns, but it’s clear he has work to do as a pure passer.
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Hurts will surely still be seen as the top prize among grad transfer quarterbacks when the offseason hits. But once Wimbush is officially available, he should have no trouble finding a good landing spot that suits him.