According to On3’s Steve Wiltfong, former Louisville quarterback Harrison Bailey is in the process of signing with Florida through the NCAA Transfer Portal. Bailey will have one season of eligibility left after serving as Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough’s backup this season.
Bailey started his collegiate career at Tennessee, where he spent two seasons. Bailey had perhaps the best season of his career as a freshman, completing 48 of 68 pass attempts for 578 yards and four touchdowns while throwing only two interceptions.
Bailey transferred to UNLV for the 2022 season after seeing limited action in his second season at Tennessee. Bailey completed 30 of 58 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns during his one season with the Rebels.
Bailey transferred to Louisville before the 2023 season. Bailey made six appearances for the Cardinals over the course of two seasons. He finished his time at Louisville with 278 passing yards and four touchdowns, completing 71% of his pass attempts.
Harrison Bailey was a four-star football prospect at Marietta High School in Georgia. He was the No. 66 overall player and No. 4 quarterback in the 2020 recruiting cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that includes all four major recruiting media outlets.
Harrison will compete with DJ Lagway for the starting quarterback spot at Florida. Graham Mertz suffered a season-ending injury last season, so Lagway took over as the Gators’ quarterback.
As a true freshman, Lagway completed 59.9% of his pass attempts, totaling 1,915 passing yards and 12 touchdowns to nine interceptions. Although Bailey has more collegiate experience than Lagway, taking the QB1 title away from the underclassman, who led UF to four consecutive wins to finish the season, will be difficult.
Harrison Bailey will not be the only newcomer hoping to succeed at Florida next season. This offseason, the team added standouts like wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant and EDGE Kofi Asare through the NCAA Transfer Portal.
The transfer portal officially opened on December 7 and closed on December 28, but players on postseason teams will have an additional five days to enter the portal after their season ends.