Timmy McClain has transferred from USF after losing the QB battle to Gerry Bohanon.
It didn’t take long for sophomore QB Timmy McClain to enter the transfer portal once head coach Jeff Scott announced McClain wouldn’t be the starting QB. The transfer portal has helped many college football players, but it also has created impatience among players who transfer out of the program if they don’t get to play right away.
After a horrible season last year, Coach Scott decided to retool the entire team. Even though he wasn’t in the transfer portal looking for a QB when Gerry Bohanon became available, Coach Scott knew he couldn’t let this opportunity go by. He was able to recruit Bohanon to come down to Tampa.
Bohanon had a terrific season last year, leading the Baylor Bears to the Big 12 championship. Bohanon was steady all season with 27 total touchdowns to go along with 2500 yards of offense. People may wonder, if he was so good, why would he transfer out of one of the best programs in college football?
A hamstring injury held out Bohanon late in the season, allowing freshmen Blake Shapen to come in and impress the coaching staff. Shapen played in the Big 12 championship game and absolutely balled out against Oklahoma State, completing 23 of 28 passes and throwing three touchdown passes. This led to a battle in the spring of 2022 between veteran Bohanon against Shapen, which Shapen ultimately won. With two more years of eligibility, Bohanon left and decided to transfer out and head to USF.
The minute Bohanon entered the transfer portal, he had SEC schools and ACC schools wanting him but ultimately chose the Bulls because of what he saw Jeff Scott building and could come in to provide steady QB play and mentor the young Timmy McClain. Bohanon has a legit shot at being in the NFL next season. He’s 6’3 with good arm strength and excellent mobility. Best of all, he makes good decisions with the ball. However, McClain was impatient and decided to transfer out immediately, not wanting to sit behind Bohanon and learn. Impatience reared its ugly head again as it becomes more common in college sports.
Some people will say, what if Bohanon didn’t want to help McClain? The one thing Bohanon brings to the USF program is leadership. He waited for his turn at Baylor, and when it was his time, he didn’t disappoint. Even when he got hurt, Bohanon still cheered on Shapen every step of the way, and even when Bohanon was healthy for the championship game, the coaches went with Shapen. Bohanon didn’t sulk, he cheered them on every play, and by the end, the first person he hugged was Shapen after they won the championship.
It’s not like McClain outplayed Bohanon in fall practice. Bohanon is the better player right now, and it’s not close. McClain has a bright future but to leave the football program so quickly proves he doesn’t really care about the team. He just wants to play. The bulls will be better off in the long run if that’s the type of player McClain ends up being.
To add more salt to the wound, McClain transferred to arch-rival UCF days later. The transfer is a head-scratcher as McClain is leaving USF because he won’t start, but UCF’s QB room is far more talented than USF’s, and it’ll be extremely tough to beat out two young QBs in Mikey Keene and Thomas Castellanos.
We may never know why McClain left USF for UCF. We won’t understand where he could have gotten this ego from. McClain had only had five passing touchdowns in 11 games and threw for seven interceptions. Even as atrocious as these numbers are, McClain did have moments of pure brilliance, but it was evident he’s not ready to be a starter at the collegiate level. It’s sad to see this occur, and USF fans have the right to be angry, but for this season, the Bulls are in a better position to win. Hopefully, McClain won’t regret his decision.