12/17/2020 football Edit

Arizona sophomore QB Grant Gunnell enters the NCAA transfer portal

Matt Moreno • GOAZCATS

Senior Editor

Matt Moreno is the senior editor at GOAZCATS.com. He joined the staff in August of 2011 and began as senior recruiting editor with the site before becoming senior editor in June of 2014.

Arizona fans might have seen the last of Grant Gunnell.

Less than a week after the program decided to part ways with head coach Kevin Sumlin, the sophomore quarterback entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal on Thursday.

Gunnell played in eight games as a freshman splitting time with senior Khalil Tate before taking over the job full time heading into the 2020 season. Overall, Gunnell made seven starts for the Wildcats in his two seasons to end up with with 1,864 passing yards and 15 touchdowns over that span.

A standout at St. Pius X in Houston, Gunnell is one of the most prolific passers to come out of the Lone Star State as he finished his high school career with over 16,000 passing yards and nearly 200 touchdowns making him one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in Texas high school history.

Gunnell was at one point considered among the top prospects in the 2019 recruiting class and was a member of the Rivals100 before dropping down the rankings entering his career with the Wildcats. Still, he held offers from some of the top programs in the country including LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon and Ohio State among many others.

He was committed to play for Sumlin and Noel Mazzone at Texas A&M before changing his commitment and following both coaches to Arizona. Sumlin was fired as UA's head coach Saturday bringing and end to his three-year stint with the program.

The Wildcats have lost their last 12 games, a program record, and ended the season with a 70-7 loss to rival Arizona State. Gunnell started the game but was replaced by freshman Will Plummer after only passing for 78 yards.

Gunnell passed for 625 yards and six touchdowns during his sophomore season.

Arizona receiver Boobie Curry, who was high school teammates with Gunnell at St. Pius X and was the highest-rated recruit to sign with the Wildcats under Sumlin, is also reportedly planning to transfer from the school according to Michael Lev of the Arizona Daily Star. Curry has not yet entered the transfer portal but that is expected to take place soon.

Entering the NCAA transfer portal does not mean a player has to leave his current program, but it does allow other schools to contact him while making a final decision about his future. There is a belief that the Wildcats will push for both players to return to UA under the next head coach.

• Could the Wildcats bring Grant Gunnell back when a new coach is hired? We address that topic on our premium message boards.

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