On Wednesday, a reverse quarterback transferred from one Group of 5 conference to another. For most it's not even a blip of a blip on the news radar.
But Grant Gunnell's transfer from North Texas to Sam Houston is far more than a player trading one school for another. Within that move is a little bit of everything: a tale on the pitfalls of the modern recruiting industry, of how the cold business of college football affects kids' careers, of how the transfer portal at once keeps careers afloat.
This story dates back nearly a decade now with stops at four different FBS institutions. We'll start at the very beginning.
-- Oct. 16, 2015: Gunnell throws for 403 yards and scores seven touchdowns in his first start as a freshman for Houston's St. Pius X High School. It's safe to say coaches and recruiting analysts noticed.
-- Spring 2016: Gunnell formally begins the recruiting process, with camp visits to places like Texas A&M and TCU, and fields offers from Central Arkansas, Texas State and Oklahoma State, per his 247 profile.
-- June 14, 2016: Texas A&M, at the time led by Kevin Sumlin and coordinated by Noel Mazzone, offers.
-- 2016 season: As a sophomore, Gunnell throws for 4,973 yards and 65 touchdowns in leading St. Pius X to an 11-1 season and the TAPPS Division I state semifinals.
-- June 5, 2017: After visiting campus a reported eight times over the previous 16 months, Gunnell commits to Texas A&M. At the time, 247 ranks him as the No. 2 pro-style quarterback and the No. 54 overall player in 2019.
"On Monday, Gunnell, who is thought to be one of the top quarterback recruits in the country in the Class of 2019, committed to Texas A&M," the Houston Chronicle reports.
"One of the nation's elite quarterback prospects in the junior class, Grant Gunnell, committed to Texas A&M on Monday afternoon over Florida State, LSU and Michigan, among others," ESPN writes, adding that Gunnell's commitment was so momentous that it could sway 2018 recruits toward the Aggies.
-- 2017 season: Gunnell accounts for 69 touchdowns and 5,326 total yards as a junior. He's named first-team all-state and a second-team All-American by USA Today.
-- Nov. 26, 2017: Texas A&M fires Kevin Sumlin.
-- Dec. 1, 2017: Texas A&M hires Jimbo Fisher.
-- Jan. 14, 2018: Arizona hires Kevin Sumlin.
-- Jan. 25, 2018: FootballScoop reports Noel Mazzone's formal hiring as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks is imminent.
-- Jan. 28, 2018: Arizona offers Gunnell.
-- Feb. 4, 2018: Gunnell attends a Texas A&M junior day.
-- Feb. 13, 2018: Gunnell de-commits from A&M. On the same day, Ohio State offers.
-- March 8, 2018: Gunnell officially visits Ohio State.
-- April 20, 2018: Gunnell officially visits Arizona.
-- April 27, 2018: Gunnell officially visits Ohio State.
-- June 6, 2018: Gunnell commits to Arizona.
-- 2018 season: Exits St. Pius X with 16,108 yards and 195 touchdowns, both Texas state records.
-- Dec. 19, 2018: Gunnell signs with Arizona.
-- 2019 season: Plays in eight games (three starts) as a true freshman. Highlights include a 9-of-11, 151-yard, 3-touchdown debut against Northern Arizona, as well a win over UCLA in just his second game and first start. He completes 101-of-155 passes for 1,239 yards with nine touchdowns against just one interception.
-- 2020 season: Exits fall camp as Arizona's QB1. The Wildcats end a total dud of a season 0-5, but not due to quarterback play. In three games, Gunnell goes 64-of-93 for 625 yards with six TDs and two INTs.
-- Dec. 12, 2020: Arizona fires Kevin Sumlin.
-- Dec. 17, 2020: Gunnell enters transfer portal.
-- Dec. 24, 2020: Gunnell commits to Memphis.
-- 2021 season: Gunnell is injured in fall camp, so true freshman Seth Henigan wins the QB1 job and never relinquishes it. Gunnell does not throw a pass.
-- April 29, 2022: Gunnell enters transfer portal.
-- May 12, 2022: Gunnell transfers to North Texas.
-- 2022 season: Austin Aune, UNT's 29-year-old incumbent quarterback, retains his job out of camp. Gunnell is his backup, along the way going 4-of-9 for 75 yards and an interception.
-- Dec. 4, 2022: North Texas fires Seth Littrell.
-- Dec. 13, 2022: North Texas hires Eric Morris.
-- Feb. 1, 2023: North Texas announces a 12-man signing class, including ULM transfer quarterback Chandler Rogers.
-- April 22, 2023: Gunnell does not throw a pass in UNT's spring game.
-- April 24, 2023: Gunnell enters transfer portal.
-- Wednesday: Gunnell commits to Sam Houston. He joins a roster with five quarterbacks, including incumbent Keegan Shoemaker, who took most of the reps last season but did not exactly light the world on fire (95-of-204 for 1,122 yards with six TDs and five INTs). Clearly head coach KC Keeler is looking for help as the Bearkats embark on their first FBS season.
So, what's the lesson here? How can we boil this near decade-long journey across four FBS universities into one definitive declaration?
Honestly, I'm not sure we can. There's bits of everything here.
On the one hand, it's a story of the recruiting industry over-inflating and over-hyping a kid who simply did not have the talent to back up its initial projections. Note that while 247 at one time rated him the No. 2 quarterback and a borderline top 50 player in 2019, by the final ranking of 2019 they had Gunnell a mid-tier 3-star, the No. 15 quarterback and No. 438 overall player in the class.
On the other, here you have a prospect who produced in a major way throughout his Texas high school football career (playing private school ball, but still). St. Pius X was good, too, going 30-4 in his final three years. Gunnell's gaudy stats weren't empty calories racked up on a bad team constantly in comeback mode, they were the protein that fueled the club's success. (For what it's worth: SPX went 2-9 the year after Gunnell graduated.) In a state that gave us Drew Brees, Patrick Mahomes and Kyler Murray, Gunnell out-produced them all. It's also not a case of a diminutive backyard baller clearly maximizing his limited potential, either: At 6-foot-5 and over 200 pounds, Gunnell possessed ideal size for his position.
Clearly Sumlin and Mazzone believed in Gunnell at a level beyond their peers, but Urban Meyer and Ryan Day also thought enough of him to bring him on an official visit.
On the one hand, since leaving Arizona, three different staffs (Ryan Silverfield at Memphis, Littrell and Morris at North Texas) have taken a long look at Gunnell, and in the process he's thrown nine total passes.
On the other, the evidence shows us that -- in Mazzone's offense, at least -- Gunnell is actually a pretty good college quarterback when he gets on the field. At Arizona he went 165-of-248 for 1,864 yards with 15 touchdowns and three interceptions, with about two-thirds of those attempts coming as a true freshman. That 147.2 passer rating would have placed him among the top third to top quarter of FBS quarterbacks in 2022. Dozens of teams would've been better with 147.2-rated QB play last season. Who's to say where Gunnell's career goes if Sumlin sticks around at Texas A&M or Arizona? Maybe Gunnell's clearly evident skill set simply isn't a fit for modern college football, or maybe he just hasn't found the right offense since leaving Tucson.
Grant Gunnell's story is a lot of things, but it's also a story of perseverance. As a high school freshman back in 2015, Gunnell undoubtedly pictured himself a multi-year starter at Texas A&M and likely one of the first names called in last week's NFL draft. Reality has him battling to win a starting job in Conference USA. But there he is, five years and four schools later, still grinding to realize his dream.
For his and his new team's sake, here's hoping 2023 is the year and Sam Houston is the place for Grant Gunnell. After all, he's just a redshirt sophomore.