5. Buffalo
At most power-five programs, Stevens would be facing an uphill battle to compete for the starting job after missing spring practice. That might make dropping down to the group-of-five intriguing, as he’s likely to have a talent edge at several programs.
Lance Leipold came agonizingly close to his first MAC championship with Buffalo in 2018, coming up just short in a conference title game loss to Northern Illinois. Even still, it’s hard not to be excited about the direction of the program under the guidance of the former immensely successful Division III coach.
There’s still a lot of talent at Buffalo, but they have a glaring hole at quarterback after the departure of star quarterback Tyree Jackson to the NFL Draft.
Junior Kyle Vantrease was Buffalo’s backup quarterback last season, and would figure to have the inside track at the starting job. He has been woefully inconsistent when given the opportunity to play, though, completing just under 44 percent of his throws over the last two years.
The Bulls will be young in 2019, but could search for a graduate transfer like Stevens to come in and potentially get them over the hump in the MAC. True freshman Trevor Bycznski is probably the future at the position, but allowing him a redshirt year to learn under an experienced player like Stevens could do wonders for his development.