Like most big college football fans, East Carolina quarterback Gardner Minshew watched on TV six weeks ago as Alabama rallied past Georgia to win another national title, with true freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa coming off the bench in relief of sophomore starter Jalen Hurts to spark the second-half comeback.
On Friday, Minshew will make the two-and-a-half-hour drive from his home in Brandon, Miss., to Tuscaloosa for an unofficial visit with the Crimson Tide to explore a chance to join the most stacked quarterback depth chart in college football as a graduate transfer. Minshew, who threw for 2,140 yards and 16 touchdowns with seven interceptions during East Carolina’s 3–9 campaign last fall, told SI that the idea of being part of the Alabama program—and competing against those two QBs—was probably the furthest thought from his mind as the national championship game played out.