Texas Football: Could transfer QB Jamie Newman land in the Big 12?

While he’s not likely to land with the Texas football program, Wake Forest transfer QB Jamie Newman could be impactful by still landing in the Big 12.

As long as to-be senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger returns, as expected, to the Texas football program in 2020 and doesn’t declare early for the NFL Draft then this team should be set behind center. There’s little to no reason for head Texas football coach Tom Herman to hit the NCAA Transfer Portal right now to land a quarterback, unless he feels like it could be one for the future that would be coming in as a redshirt freshman or true sophomore.

Yet, there’s always going to be bigger name quarterbacks in the transfer portal that could land in the Big 12 and thus have a profound impact on the Texas Longhorns football program in the following season. That could be the case with the former Wake Forest Demon Deacons breakthrough starting quarterback Jamie Newman.

https://twitter.com/jlmn12_/status/1212074916733997056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1212074916733997056&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2F247sports.com%2Fcollege%2Fwake-forest%2FArticle%2FBREAKING-Wake-Forest-redshirt-junior-quarterback-Jamie-Newman-to-enter-NCAA-Transfer-Portal–141367951%2F

Apparently Newman felt that he could find a better fit elsewhere as he might be the biggest surprise name in the portal thus far. Granted more dominos are sure to fall heading into college football’s long offseason among crucial transfer prospects.

Newman could be looking to play for a legitimate national title contender in 2020, which makes sense given his rise to stardom in 2019. He had around 3,400 total yards from scrimmage, 32 total touchdowns, and just 11 interceptions during his junior campaign.

Moreover, Newman did fade a bit down the stretch during the regular season and in their bowl game. Wake Forest wound up falling short to the Michigan State Spartans in the Pinstripe Bowl by the final score of 27-21 on Dec. 27.

And while the Longhorns aren’t likely to be a landing spot for Newman, he could be headed to another Big 12 program that is set to lose their starting quarterback from the 2019 season. The first teams that come to mind in the Big 12 includes the Oklahoma Sooners, West Virginia Mountaineers, and Texas Tech Red Raiders, as far as teams that could use an upgrade behind center.

Oklahoma is set to lose a Heisman finalist and former Alabama transfer behind center in senior quarterback Jalen Hurts. Could head coach Lincoln Riley and Oklahoma take on yet another graduate transfer quarterback in 2020?

Oklahoma getting yet another highly touted quarterback like Newman could mean trouble for competing top Big 12 programs like the Longhorns and Baylor Bears. But Newman’s production did fade off down the stretch, so that might be a concern that keeps the Sooners away from pursuing him in the transfer portal.

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, the favorites to land Newman after he announced his intentions to put his name in the transfer portal are the Oregon Ducks. After their Rose Bowl win by one-point over the Wisconsin Badgers, the Ducks will be looking for a new quarterback to replace the star senior Justin Herbert who will be making his way into the 2020 NFL Draft.

Oregon and Oklahoma might be the two most high-profile landing spots that are getting tossed around for Newman at the moment. But Oklahoma would be about the only program out of the Big 12 that could offer a starting spot on a potential title contender for next season.

Furthermore, even thought the Longhorns likely don’t have the intentions of pursuing a quarterback in the transfer portal, they can look for other positions.

The idea of the Longhorns hitting the transfer portal to fill various positional needs already surfaced with the struggles of groups like the offensive line and secondary in 2019.

We’ll have to wait and see for what other high-profile names fall into the transfer portal heading into the 2020 offseason. The months of January and February tend to be when all that news surfaces.