Midseason transfer decisions left UNLV preparing for Fresno State in September 2024 without the quarterback who had led its unbeaten start. Matthew Sluka had stopped playing after three games. Hajj-Malik Williams would make his first start for the Rebels, with their conference opener days away.
On September 28, Williams scored UNLV’s first touchdown on a six-yard run. By the finish, he had completed 13 of 16 passes with three touchdowns, according to the university’s official game report. His 119 rushing yards helped drive a 59–14 win. The replacement quarterback had given Fresno State problems through the air and on the ground.
That result makes the change look cleaner than the task itself. Before a replacement can run an offense, he needs the center to recognize his cadence and receivers to anticipate his throws. Coaches must decide which calls he can execute under pressure, then prepare the rest of the unit around those choices. Midseason transfer decisions reach much further than the top line of a depth chart. The difficult work starts with everyone who stays.
Texas had two jobs to fill before Kentucky
Texas had just beaten Oklahoma 23–6 at the Cotton Bowl on October 11, 2025. The Longhorns would travel to Kentucky the following Saturday. Between those games, running back Jerrick Gibson and kickoff specialist Will Stone left the team.
Speaking during the October 15 SEC coaches teleconference, Steve Sarkisian gave a blunt explanation: “They wanted to redshirt and transfer.”
His next answer concerned the football work they left behind. According to On3’s account of the call, Gibson had carried 37 times for 152 yards that season. Sarkisian identified several backs who could absorb the short-yardage carries, including Quintrevion Wisner, Christian Clark and James Simon. He also said Mason Shipley would continue taking kickoffs.
Those replacements faced different demands. On third-and-two near the goal line, a back needs to press the intended gap, read the block and finish through contact. A different assignment might require him to identify a blitzing linebacker before releasing into a route. Carrying the ball well does not automatically qualify him for every responsibility in the package.
Stone’s departure created a separate handoff. The kickoff team needed to work with the replacement kicker’s placement and flight, then coordinate its coverage around the call.
Midseason transfer decisions can leave a coach solving both problems in the same week. Four running backs on the roster offer limited comfort if the available combinations leave a protection assignment uncovered.
Tuesday exposes the real depth chart
A quarterback promotion becomes tangible when the first offense breaks the huddle at practice. The center reaches for the ball. Receivers check the formation, and the new quarterback starts making adjustments before the snap.
Consider a defense showing pressure from both edges. The quarterback and center must agree on the protection, while the back needs to know which threat belongs to him. One uncertain exchange can send a free rusher through the middle.
Giving the reserve those repetitions helps the entire group rehearse its answers. However, the starter also needs work against that week’s opponent. Coaches cannot assume that every extra possession for the backup comes without a cost elsewhere.
That preparation needs to start before midseason transfer decisions force an emergency. A staff can give its reserve a defined series with the first offense and evaluate the whole operation. Does he get the play called promptly? Can the group adjust when the defense changes its look?
Answering those questions helps coaches choose what to keep in the game plan after a departure. A smaller set of calls that the replacement understands can serve the offense better than familiar complexity that produces hesitation.
USC lost rotation snaps before it lost a starter
USC’s problem sat in its defensive tackle rotation. As The Associated Press reported in September 2024, Bear Alexander chose to redshirt after a reduced role through three games.
The Los Angeles Times counted 69 snaps for Alexander through three games and later reported Jide Abasiri’s promotion to the second team. According to USC’s official pre-Wisconsin game notes, Alexander had not started, while the freshman Abasiri had appeared in just one game.
That promotion brought an experience gap. Coaches now had to prepare a freshman for a larger place in the interior rotation.
For a defense confronting that situation, the danger can emerge several plays into a possession. An offense stays at the line, preventing an easy substitution. A tackle must hold his ground against a double-team, then reset his feet for the next snap.
Moving a freshman up the chart does not establish whether he can repeat that work. Coaches must assess his technique as fatigue builds and decide which assignments let him play decisively. Asking him to attack one gap may simplify his read, while limiting the movement the coordinator can call.
Midseason transfer decisions therefore can alter the defensive plan without removing a starter. The missing reserve matters when the next series arrives and the first group needs relief.
A Saturday assignment can change a player’s future
Moving that reserve into the rotation starts another conversation before he ever pulls on his practice jersey. The coach needs help for Saturday. His player needs to understand what answering that call could mean for the football he has left. Midseason transfer decisions can begin in that gap between an urgent assignment and a longer career.
Under the earlier four-game redshirt exception, a fifth regular-season appearance could cost a qualifying player the season he hoped to save. Asking him to take another series could therefore mean asking him to surrender an opportunity somewhere else.
That discussion needs particular care in 2026. Under the Division I age-based model announced by the NCAA in June, eligibility generally runs for five continuous years. Sitting out does not preserve a redshirt season for a player using that model. The NCAA’s transition guidance lets qualifying current players and 2026–27 newcomers receive whichever framework benefits them more.
Before a coach offers reassurance about another appearance, compliance staff must establish which rules cover the player. He deserves a clear answer alongside the explanation of his role.
A player can decide to leave long before the next ordinary transfer window opens. The NCAA’s October 7, 2026 update established a ten-day football notification window beginning on the first business day after January 1. When the conversation ends, someone already available still has to take the practice snaps.
Keeping the next reserve involved takes specifics
A reserve watching another player move ahead of him deserves more than reassurance that his chance will come. Coaches need to show him the assignment he has not mastered and explain what improvement would earn.
For a running back, that conversation might begin with a paused practice clip. The linebacker enters the protection late; the back looks elsewhere. Correcting that read gives him a concrete route toward more responsibility.
Midseason transfer decisions make those conversations harder because the staff also needs an answer for Saturday. Still, manufacturing a few carries cannot substitute for a credible role. A player can recognize that coaches value him and conclude that another program offers a better opportunity.
The staff’s responsibility remains practical: develop the next option, describe the opportunity honestly and prepare for the possibility that the player leaves.
The depth chart has to survive the next snap
Next week’s depth chart should reflect what happened during practice. Which quarterback handled pressure without a sideline rescue? Who replaced the kickoff specialist during team work? Can the young tackle maintain his pad level after consecutive snaps?
Those answers identify combinations a coach can trust when an absence forces a change. If the only dependable pass protector also inherits extra carries, the staff must account for both jobs. Promoting him on paper does not lighten either workload.
Midseason transfer decisions will keep testing that preparation, even as eligibility rules change the reasons players stop competing. Clear explanations can reduce misunderstanding, but they cannot make every player accept the same future. Coaches still have to prepare the group that intends to take the field.
After UNLV beat Fresno State in 2024, Barry Odom praised the performance in the university’s official game report. “I thought we played fast and with a lot of confidence.”
Williams had backed that confidence with decisions, throws and rushing yards. His teammates could run an offense with him when the original starter no longer took the snaps.
The test arrives when the replacement tightens his chinstrap and ten teammates turn toward him. They have spent their week blocking, running routes and learning how to work with him. He has to make their preparation count, too.
Real depth gets off the bench knowing what to do.
READ MORE: 15 Most Powerful NCAAF Recruiting Pipelines That Consistently Feed Elite College Programs
FAQs
Q1. How do midseason transfer decisions affect college football depth charts?
A. They redistribute practice reps, carries, protection duties and defensive rotations. Coaches must prepare replacements while keeping the rest of the team ready.
Q2. Why did Hajj-Malik Williams become UNLV’s starting quarterback in 2024?
A. Matthew Sluka stopped playing after three games. Williams took over before UNLV’s conference opener against Fresno State.
Q3. What did Texas change after Jerrick Gibson and Will Stone left?
A. Steve Sarkisian planned to spread Gibson’s short-yardage carries among several backs. Mason Shipley would continue handling kickoffs.
Q4. Does sitting out preserve a redshirt season under the NCAA’s age-based model?
A. Players using the age-based model do not preserve a redshirt season by sitting out. Qualifying players may benefit from transition rules.
Q5. Why do backup quarterbacks need first-team practice reps?
A. They need to work on timing, cadence and protection calls with the starters. Those repetitions help teammates execute together after a quarterback change.
