North Texas star quarterback Drew Mestemaker plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, he told ESPN's Pete Thamel on Monday.
Mestemaker, the nation's leading passer with 4,379 passing yards and 34 passing touchdowns, is expected to be one of the top quarterbacks available in the portal when it officially opens Friday and has three more years of eligibility.
The American Conference Offensive Player of the Year shined in his first season as a starter, leading the No. 1 scoring offense in FBS at 45.1 points per game and a Mean Green team that reached its first-ever American Conference title game and achieved a school-record 12 wins.
The 6-foot-4, 211-pound redshirt freshman passer also earned the Burlsworth Award, presented to the nation's most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on.
Before he emerged as North Texas' starter, the Austin, Texas, native hadn't started a game at quarterback in high school since his freshman year. Mestemaker was a safety and all-district punter at Vandegrift High School.
After North Texas starting quarterback Chandler Morris transferred to Virginia last December, Mestemaker got an opportunity to start in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl in January against Texas State and put up 448 total yards and three touchdowns in his first college start.
He built on that debut with a prolific season operating Mean Green coach Eric Morris' offense, accounting for 4,468 total yards over 14 games and breaking the school single-game record with 608 passing yards against Charlotte on Oct. 24.
Oklahoma State hired Morris as its next head coach on Nov. 25, resulting in a mass exodus of North Texas players entering the transfer portal. All-America running back Caleb Hawkins and wide receiver Wyatt Young, the nation's third-leading receiver, joined the growing list of departures on Sunday.
North Texas closed out its 12-2 season with a 49-47 victory over San Diego State in the Isleta New Mexico Bowl and hired former West Virginia and Troy coach Neal Brown to take over for Morris.
