Report: Former ECU QB Gardner Minshew transferring to Alabama
Alabama has another good quarterback.
Former East Carolina QB Gardner Minshew told Sports Illustrated that he’s transferring to Alabama. Minshew was a starter for the Pirates in 2017 after taking over for Thomas Sirk and withdrew from school in January because of a family matter in his home state of Mississippi.
Minshew was 174-304 passing for 2,140 yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2017 and set an American Athletic Conference record for completions in a loss to Houston in November. As a graduate transfer, he’s eligible to play immediately.
He’s set to join Alabama as the summer begins and, at the moment, joins a quarterback group that includes Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa. As you know, Hurts was the team’s starter throughout the entirety of the 2017 season up to and including the National Championship Game. As Alabama’s offense was lackluster in the first half, Alabama coach Nick Saban inserted Tagovailoa into the game and the Tide came back for a 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia thanks to Tagovailoa’s touchdown pass.
In the aftermath of Alabama’s win, former Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin — who helped recruit Tagovailoa to Alabama — said he had “no doubt” Tagovailoa would have transferred from Alabama had he not played in the second half against the Bulldogs.
Will all three quarterbacks be on Alabama’s roster as preparations begin this summer for the 2018 season? We’ll see. If they are, Alabama’s quarterback depth certainly isn’t going to be an issue.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
