QB Gubrud wins appeal; gets 6th year at WSU … Washington State got an early Valentine’s Day gift from the NCAA when the otherwise grinch-like organizations confirmed that former Eastern Washington QB Gage Gubrud had won his appeal and will be granted a medical redshirt year that will make him eligible to play for the Cougars next fall as a grad transfer. The 6-1, 205-pound Gubrud, an FCS All-American and two-time Walter Payton Award finalist at Eastern Washington, is expected to replace Gardner Minshew running the Cougars’ high-octane offense which should be an easy adjustment for him after throwing for almost 10,000 yards, while running for another 1,000-plus on the ground in three years at Eastern Washington. The sidebar to the story is the speed at which the NCAA came to its decision. In the past, these issues could take months to resolve with no one ever being exactly sure what the criteria were; however, the Gubrud decision came down just a week after his initial request was denied which will allow him to participate in spring practice which gets underway in a couple of weeks. In fact, the NCAA has been in a very forgiving mood these day. Literally hours before the Gubrud decision came down, the NCAA had announced that former Georgia QB Justin Fields had been granted a waiver transfer that will make him eligible immediately at Ohio State where he is expected to replace Dwayne Haskins who is off to the NFL. Fields was one of the top recruits in the country last fall, but wasn’t going to beat out incumbent UGA starter Jake Fromm for at least another season. In fact, it has been like the wild west out there when it comes to QB transfers this year. Jalen Hurts, who once led Alabama to a national championship, but has moved to Oklahoma where the senior will try and replace the last two Heisman Trophy winners, is probably the biggest name QB to change addresses the winter, but he is just the tip of the iceberg in what at times looks a game of musical QB chairs. Indeed, with the arrival of Hurts at OU, junior Austin Kendall, who looked to be the heir apparent for the Sooners transferred to West Virginia where he will replace Will Grier. At the same time, other QBs who moved on this off-season include senior Shane Buechele, who just announced that he is leaving Texas for SMU; Brandon Wimbush moves from Notre Dame to Central Florida for his senior season; senior Ben Hicks moved from SMU to Arkansas; senior Riley Neal goes from Ball State to Vanderbilt; and senior Tom Stewart goes from Harvard to Rice. Two others veteran QBs: Virginia Tech junior Josh Jackson and California senior Ross Bowers will also transfer but have yet to settle on a destination. They will also be eligible for the 2020 draft. Meanwhile, with the arrival of Fields at Ohio State, former Buckeye redshirt sophomore Tate Martell announced he was moving to Miami, although his eligibility for 2019 is still to be decided. GBN Investigative College Football Reporter Larry Parker contibuted mightily to this report.
