In 2011, Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback, took advantage of the rule when he transferred to Wisconsin from North Carolina State. A three-year starter at N.C. State, Wilson lost his starting job after missing the team’s spring practice to attend the Colorado Rockies’ spring training (Colorado drafted Wilson in the fourth round in 2010).
“Russell’s a prime example,” said Alvarez, who was the Badgers’ athletic director when Wilson transferred to the program. “He was given an ultimatum there. They had a good young quarterback, and he made a decision to come here. Good situation for us. Good for Russell.”
Wilson’s transfer birthed opportunities for quarterbacks like Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts to take similar paths. Hurts lost his starting job at Alabama to Tua Tagovailoa and played for Oklahoma in his final season of eligibility. Burrow transferred to Louisiana State from Ohio State after Dwayne Haskins beat him out for the starting job in 2018.
Justin Fields, now the Chicago Bears quarterback, transferred out of Georgia in 2019 after sitting behind Jake Fromm for a year. Fields, a redshirt freshman at the time of his departure from Georgia, didn’t benefit from graduate transfer rules, but the N.C.A.A. granted Fields immediate eligibility via a hardship waiver.
Burrow, Hurts and Fields showed the potential for transfers to have a profound impact on a program after seeking a better opportunity: All three led their new teams to the College Football Playoff. Burrow’s 2019 L.S.U. team went undefeated on its way to a national title.
Could Coan be next in line?
He has Notre Dame off to a 4-0 start after Saturday’s win over the Badgers. He has thrown nine touchdowns with two interceptions this season. In his first start for the Irish, he threw for over 300 yards with four touchdowns against Florida State as Notre Dame staved off a Seminole comeback.
In Saturday’s game, despite pressure from a blitz-happy Wisconsin defense that sometimes forced him into errant throws, Coan did what he had done well in the team’s first three games: He limited turnovers and wasn’t afraid to take shots down the field.