Honorable Mentions
Since Joey Gatewood ended up at Auburn, it’s logical to conclude he either wants to stay close to home, or play in the SEC. However, there might be some programs that could lure him away from the Southeast with the carrot of starting right away.
These are also teams that offered, but aren’t in the SEC (save Tennessee). Although they might not be front-runners, they are in the conversation at least.
The Ducks will have an opening at quarterback next season since Justin Herbert is off to the green pastures of the NFL. They do have four-star Tyler Shough on the roster as well as three-star Cale Millen. The Ducks are pretty high on Shough, who is listed as the back up to Herbert this season, so they might not dip into the portal.
However with Millen’s shoulder and nothing behind Shough, kicking the tires on Gatewood might not be a bad idea to have a competition to see who’ll start for the Ducks next season. Mario Cristobal would love a dual-threat guy like Gatewood behind the offensive line he’s building. It’s a long shot, but a call worth making and taking if you’re Gatewood.
Similar to the Ducks, the Michigan Wolverines won’t have a starting quarterback after Shea Patterson graduates. The Wolverines have six quarterbacks on their roster not counting Patterson and five that will be back next season. However, that doesn’t mean the quarterback they love is on their roster.
Like everyone else in the honorable mentions — and on the list, for that matter — Michigan was one of Gatewood’s 33 offers. The question for the Wolverines is, how much do they love former four-star Joe Milton and four-star Cade McNamara. Dylan McCaffrey was a four-star coming out of high school, but it’s unclear how high Jim Harbaugh and his offensive staff are on him.
We do know Gatewood is looking to start; he won’t get that guarantee anywhere. But he wants a quarterback room that gives him the best chance to play. It might not be Michigan.
The Volunteer quarterback situation is, well, bad. It’s not a stretch to say their quarterback of the future is not on their roster. However, like the Wolverines, the Volunteer quarterback room is quite crowded. Despite this, Tennessee makes the most sense of all the honorable mentions.
In fact, the only reason the Volunteers aren’t higher on the list is they are the SEC team furthest away from contending. Although Maryland transfer Kasim Hill is on the roster, he hasn’t played this season despite Jarrett Guarantano and J.T. Shrout playing sub-par. It’s unclear how high they are on Hill, head coach Jeremy Pruitt doesn’t seem super up on Guarantano or Shrout.
Other than Hill, his options are three walk-ons, so Tennessee might get more than just a peek from Gatewood.