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For the second straight season, Rice football has made a splash in the Transfer Portal at the spot head coach Mike Bloomgren often refers to as “the most important position in sports”: quarterback.
Last winter it was JT Daniels, whom Bloomgren had recruited from the eighth grade before finally landing as a grad transfer. This year it comes in the form of a transfer from within the AAC. Former Temple quarterback EJ Warner has committed to the Owls.
Warner, the son of former NFL MVP and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner, will have multiple seasons of eligibility remaining when he arrives at South Main. He’ll bring with him a resume already overflowing with passing records.
As a true freshman in 2022, Warner completed 45-of-63 passes for 527 yards and five touchdowns against ECU, setting the high water mark for passing yardage in a game in the FBS that season. By the conclusion of the 2023 season, he’d set the program record for 400-yard passing games (3) and completed more passes in a single game (42) than any other player in the FBS that season.
Warner was a preseason nominee for the Maxwell Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm watchlists. He then proceeded to lead the AAC in passing yards per game. Now he leaving the Temple Owls for the Rice Owls. This is a massive addition and a slam dunk get for Rice and one that could secure them a surefire answer at the position for at least the next two years.
The first wave of transfers has hit the portal, with some AAC Football programs largely unaffected and others facing massive headwinds to find replacements by the time the Early Signing Period opens on December 20. The following numbers have been taken from 247 Sports Transfer Portal tracker, updated as of Wednesday, December 6.
| School | Portal Entrants |
| ECU | 21 |
| North Texas | 19 |
| Tulsa | 13 |
| Charlotte | 13 |
| FAU | 11 |
| UAB | 10 |
| Temple | 6 |
| USF | 5 |
| SMU | 4 |
| UTSA | 3 |
| Memphis | 3 |
| Tulane | 3 |
| Rice | 0 |
| Navy | 0 |
It’s no surprise the programs with the most turnover are the ones that aren’t making any postseason appearances. Of the seven teams with the fewest transfers listed, six are playing in a bowl while the seventh (Navy) still has one regular season game remaining and comes with its own extenuating circumstances.
It’s worth noting Rice does have one player who has announced he’s entering the portal, but not one that likely played into their future: CB Jordan Dunbar who did not play this season.
North Texas and ECU lead the pack and have been absolutely gutted by outgoing transfers so far. ECU’s demise makes some sense, following a dreadful 2-10 season filled with disappointment and frustration. The exodus in Denton, TX is more puzzling. Eric Morris’ built an impressive offense in year one and had the team on the fringe of bowl eligibility. He won’t be starting from scratch in 2024, but losing so many key pieces certainly won’t help.
More names could enter before the portal closes, but as of now there are a handful of AAC players that are likely to be coveted assets over the next few weeks:
UTSA DE Trey Moore – The reigning AAC Defensive Player of the Year and arguably one of the premier pass rushers in all of college football, Moore is going to be at the top of the list for Power 5 programs across the country and should have his pick of final destinations.
North Texas QB Chandler Rodgers – Rodgers didn’t get any AAC postseason accolades, but that was probably more to blame on the copious amounts of quality QB play in the conference than Rodgers’ abilities. The quarterback transfer market is already brimming, but Rodgers proved this season he can be a starter somewhere.
Temple QB EJ Warner – Injuries and terrible offensive play around Warner kept onlookers from seeing his true ceiling this season. That might allow him to fly a bit under the radar, but any programs that dig a little deeper and assess his skillset should jump at the chance to add him to their QB rooms. He has multiple years of eligibility remaining.
Charlotte LB Nikhai Hill-Green – The No. 2 tackler on a 49ers defense that had plenty of opportunities, the 6–foot-2, 232-pound Hill-Green put plenty on tape this season to earn another shot as a starter elsewhere and should receiver plenty of interest.