STARKVILLE — Mississippi State quarterback/wide receiver Garrett Shrader has entered the transfer portal a according to a report from Matt Zenitz of AL.com. Shrader later confirmed the news via an announcement on Twitter.
“I would like to thank my teammates, coaches and Mississippi State fan base that has supported me during my time at MSU,” he wrote. “I have had the opportunity to develop friendships that will last a lifetime. Starkville is a special place. This is not an easy decision, but I am a QB and it’s the skill set that got me here and fortunately I have been blessed to play in the SEC. With this being said I have 3 years of eligibility and have entered the transfer portal.”
Recruited by the Joe Moorhead regime, Shrader arrived at MSU as a four-star prospect in the class of 2019. As a freshman, the Charlotte native split time with Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens throughout his inaugural campaign in Starkville, completing 88 of 153 passes for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns. Shrader also added 587 yards and six touchdowns on 113 carries.
A natural fit for Moorhead’s RPO-based attack, Shrader was beat out by Stanford graduate transfer K.J. Costello and freshman Will Rogers for the top two spots on the quarterback depth chart this fall when new head coach Mike Leach took over the program. With no clear playing time to be had under center, he transitioned to receiver during fall camp. In four games this year, Shrader caught one pass for eight yards.
“He’s a really talented guy so you hate to leave his talent on the shelf,” Leach said of Shrader in September. “Those other quarterbacks, they don’t have some of the gifts that Garrett does and so the idea of moving them to another position, I mean that’s not really very doable. Their next position, some of them, is probably coach.”
Shrader is now the second quarterback to leave the program since Leach took over in January. Junior Keytaon Thompson announced his intentions to transfer to Virginia on May 1 via Twitter.
While Shrader can still return to MSU, the Bulldogs are likely to be left with just three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster in Costello, Rogers and junior Jalen Mayden. Leach and his staff did add Vanderbilt transfer Allan Walters and one-time Louisiana Tech quarterback Justin Stolberg over the summer. MSU also currently boasts commitments from four-star passer Sawyer Robertson and three-star signal caller Daniel Greek in the 2021 class.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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