The allure of #Pac12AfterDark seemed to have more appeal than the Southeastern Conference for Gardner Minshew, as the graduate transfer quarterback that was once thought to be enrolling at the University of Alabama in May committed to Washington State on Tuesday.
Minshew announced his decision via Twitter, choosing to spend his final year under Cougars’ head coach Mike Leach.
After taking Northwest Mississippi Community College to a National Junior College Athletics Association National Championship in 2015, the Mississippi native saw action in 17 games at East Carolina University. He played in 10 games last season, totaling 2,140 passing yards with 16 touchdowns to seven interceptions on a 57.2 percent completion rating.
Proud to announce that I’ll be playing my last year of college ball at Washington State! Thank you to God for His many blessings, Coach Leach for this opportunity, and my family for their unwavering support. Go Cougs! pic.twitter.com/il77UHco0T
— Gardner Minshew (@GardnerMinshew5) March 20, 2018
According to an article from Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports on Feb. 22, Minshew was very interested in joining the Crimson Tide. He expressed aspirations of being a coach at the next level and wanted to be a part of a championship atmosphere. Seeing how Alabama returned all three of its quarterbacks – Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones – from 2017, an uphill battle was already in place if Minshew thought he was going to earn playing time under center.
With him choosing Washington State and news surfacing on Tagovailoa’s thumb injury (sprain not break), it serves as a good thing for the Tide. Nick Saban can anticipate having the rising sophomore back at some point in spring practice, while Minshew has a good chance of being the starting quarterback for the Cougars. For a team that lost Luke Falk to the NFL Draft and Tyler Hilinski to a tragic suicide, Washington State just needs someone that can turn things around.
Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @Smsmith_TDALMag.
