Louisville transfer QB Harrison Bailey commits to Florida

Former Louisville quarterback Harrison Bailey is in the process of signing with Florida, via the NCAA Transfer Portal, per On3’s Steve Wiltfong. Bailey will have one season of eligibility remaining after serving as Cardinals QB Tyler Shough‘s backup this past season.

Bailey began his collegiate career at Tennessee, where he spent two seasons. Bailey had perhaps the best season of his career in his freshman campaign when completed 48-of-his-68 pass attempts for 578 yards and four touchdowns while only throwing two interceptions.

After seeing limited action during his second season at Tennessee, Bailey transferred to UNLV ahead of the 2022 campaign. In his lone season with the Rebels, Bailey completed 30-of-58 passes for 318 yards and two touchdowns.

Bailey transferred to Louisville ahead of the 2023 season. In his two years with the Cardinals, Bailey amassed six appearances. He finished his time in Louisville with 278 passing yards and four TDs, completing 71% of his passing attempts.

Harrison Bailey played high school football at Marietta (GA), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 66 overall player and No. 4 QB in the 2020 recruiting cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Harrison will compete with DJ Lagway for the starting quarterback position at Florida. Lagway became the Gators’ QB1 last season after Graham Mertz suffered a season-ending injury.

As a true freshman, Lagway completed 59.9% of his pass attempts for 1,915 passing yards, 12 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions. Although Bailey has more collegiate experience than Lagway, it won’t be easy to take the QB1 title away from the underclassman, who led UF to four-straight wins to conclude the season.

Harrison Bailey won’t be the only fresh face trying to find success at Florida next season. The team has also added standouts such as wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant and EDGE Kofi Asare via the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason.

The transfer portal officially opened on Dec. 7 and closed on Dec. 28, though players on teams still playing in the postseason will get an additional five-day window to enter the portal after their seasons end.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.