Jack Sears transfers to Boise State, but will former USC quarterback win starting job?

Former USC quarterback and four-star recruit Jack Sears has transferred to Boise State but will he win the starting job for the Broncos over Hank Bachmeier?

When he fell to No. 4 on the quarterback depth chart at USC last year, Jack Sears entered the transfer portal before the season started. On Monday, the former four-star recruit transferred to Boise State where he’ll be in an intriguing quarterback competition.

Sears visited Oregon State early in his process, but he ultimately committed to San Diego State in December. After Rocky Long stepped down as head coach on Jan. 8 and was replaced by Brady Hoke, Sears backed off that commitment. He visited Northwestern and NC State in March before coronavirus shut down in-person recruiting. Now, Sears has landed elsewhere in the Mountain West.

Sears will be able to play immediately as a graduate transfer, with two years of eligibility remaining.

Sears played in just one game in three seasons at USC. It was a start against Arizona State in place of an injured JT Daniels in 2018, where he went 20-for-28 for 235 yards with two touchdowns in a 38-35 loss to the Sun Devils.

In Boise Sears will enter another competition for depth chart position, but with theoretically a far better shot at the starting job.

Hank Bachmeier started eight games for Bryan Harsin as a freshman last year, and he had 1,879 yards and a 62.6 percent completion rate with nine touchdowns and six interceptions. He missed the last five games of the regular season and the conference title game with a hip injury, before returning to start the Las Vegas Bowl. He was also benched in that 38-7 loss to Washington.

Fifth-year senior Jaylon Henderson started four of the games Bachmeier missed last year, with third-year sophomore Chase Cord starting two. Henderson is obviously gone now, while Cord remains on the periphery of the competition to start.

Based on talent alone, Sears would probably be anointed as Boise State’s starting quarterback from the start this year. Waiting to make a decision on a landing spot until May did not hurt his chances to start as much as it might have in a normal year, as he would have missed the entirety of spring practice at this point. But with most schools not having any sort of on-field practice this spring, any looming competition at fall camp may also tilt toward Bachmeier and his experience in the system.

After being pushed down the depth chart and ultimately out at USC, Sears should find a lot to like at a stable, successful program like Boise State. It’s just a matter of what kind of chance he’ll get to play and/or start this year, with the status of the 2020 college football and any preseason preparation up in the air.

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