Harrison Bailey transfers to UNLV

Another transferring Tennessee quarterback has found a new home via the transfer portal. Harrison Bailey, a former top prospect out of Georgia, announced that he will move on to UNLV on Tuesday.

Bailey entered the portal two months ago, before Tennessee finished their regular season. He started the year battling for the starting job, but was beaten out by Michigan transfer Joe Milton for the gig. Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker won the backup role, eventually prompting Bailey to move on.

The former five-star quarterback saw playing time in 2020 under Jeremy Pruitt, splitting time with JT Shrout. Of course, Hooker went on to grab a hold of the starting job in 2021 under Josh Heupel, following an injury to Joe Milton early in the season.

Bailey joins the UNLV program, which is looking to take a step forward after a 2-10 season in 2021. Clearly playing time was a huge factor for Bailey, who shouldn’t have much resistance to the starting job in Las Vegas this coming fall. He should have four seasons of eligibility remaining.

Bailey lit up the spring game just nine months ago for Tennessee, but that was basically all we saw of him in Heupel’s offense. He saw time against Tennessee Tech, but was limited to mop-up duty only. He now will get a fresh start for UNLV, with a chance to lead the Runnin’ Rebels out of the darkness.

Brian Maurer landed at Sam Houston. Kaidon Salter moved to Liberty. JT Shrout ended up at Colorado. Now Bailey transfers to UNLV. College football quarterback depth charts have turned into a massive game of musical chairs, with each participant simply looking for a path to playing time.