The No. 3 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class, Julian Sayin, committed to play for Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide. However, after Saban surprisingly retired following the 2023 season, Sayin, shortly after arriving in Tuscaloosa as an early enrollee, transferred to Ohio State. Two years later, he’s a Heisman Trophy contender and leading the No. 1 team in the country into the Big Ten Title game.
It’s not the exact scenario, but now that he’s at Penn State, Matt Campbell could orchestrate a similar move for 2026 four-star Alabama QB commit Jett Thomalla.
4-star 2026 QB Jett Thomalla is one to monitor for Penn State
Early in the recruiting cycle, when Thomalla was just a three-star out of Omaha, Nebraska, not the No. 7 quarterback in the country and a top 100 recruit, Thomalla committed to Iowa State. Over this past summer, as his stock rose heading into the Elite 11 Finals, Thomalla gained four-star status and flipped his commitment from Campbell’s Cyclones to Kalen DeBoer’s Crimson Tide.
Iowa State didn’t have anywhere near the resources to compete with Alabama on the recruiting trail, but for the first time in his career, Matt Campbell will be able to swim in those four and five-star waters. With Campbell’s history of development with quarterbacks like Brock Purdy and Rocco Becht, and the ability to match Alabama’s financial incentives through revenue sharing and NIL, Thomalla could consider a similar move in this year’s transfer portal or next.
It’s a long shot that Thomalla would transfer just a month into his time at Alabama. For Sayin, it made perfect sense with Saban leaving and DeBoer coming to town with his own quarterback, Austin Mack, following him from Seattle. For Thomalla, though, Penn State could also present a much quicker path to the field.
Alabama starting quarterback Ty Simpson is regarded as a first-round pick in the 2026 draft, but even if he leaves, Thomalla will still be stuck behind Mack and 2025 five-star Keelon Russell, who would presumably compete for the job. Thomalla was also one of two QBs that the Tide brought in this cycle.
At Penn State, Campbell could stick with Ethan Grunkemeyer at quarterback heading into his redshirt sophomore season, but more likely, Iowa State QB Rocco Becht will follow Campbell from Ames for his final year of eligibility. If that’s the case, Thomalla, who has familiarity with Campbell, would be the ideal successor.
If it doesn’t happen this winter, Thomalla will continue to be a name to monitor for Penn State heading into next season’s transfer portal window with a crowded QB room in Tuscaloosa and uncertainty in Happy Valley.