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Which programs could be bidding on this rising QB star who could cash in through the transfer portal after the 2026 college football season? The Manning Passing Academy wrapped up its 30th year at Nicholls State in Louisiana, and the 2027 NFL Draft quarterback class dominated the conversation, but it didn't own all of it.
Todd McShay covered the event for his podcast and came away with Notre Dames CJ Carr as camp MVP.
Of course there's the camp's bloodline signal caller, Arch Manning, too.
But a name that caught my attention from McShays recap episode has nothing to do with the 2027 draft class and everything to do with the college football transfer portal arms race that could explode after the 2026 season.
Enter Maryland sophomore quarterback Malik Washington.
McShay said nobody at the camp has Washingtons arm.
Elite arm talent, elite physical tools, and a freshman season at Maryland that broke the freshman school records.
"If he builds off of what he did last year," McShay said.
"Just watching him physically, nobody had his arm, nobody.
And hes that big, and hes mobile.
Washington threw this ball, it was probably 50 something yards in the air, and it wasnt like it was too high, it was just the trajectory was so different, because hes able to with the arm, the energy, and youre watching..
It was my first wow moment of the week there was watching Malik throw a deep ball.
Hes got a different level of talent." The numbers back it up.
Washington is 6-foot-5, 230-plus pounds.
He started all 12 games on a 4-8 Maryland team, completed nearly 58% of his passes, threw for over 2,900 yards with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and added 300 rushing yards with four touchdowns on the ground.
He finished top five in the Big Ten in completions and yards per game as a true freshman.
Washingtons NIL value could skyrocket Maryland retained Washington for his sophomore season at a reported NIL valuation of roughly $2 million.
McShay, though, said he heard Washington could command $7 million in the transfer portal after the 2026 season.
"Talking to Pete Thamel, and some other people, theres a high anticipation that he could be, as someone said to me, upwards of maybe $7 million NIL quarterback a year from now going somewhere else.
So Maryland alumnus, I think its time to decide if were ready to pony up." That number is staggering, but it tracks with the trajectory of the position in todays NIL landscape.
The logic is straightforward, and we already know the 2027 NFL Draft quarterback class is loaded.
Arch Manning enters his second (and final) year as the starter at Texas.
Carr (Notre Dame), Julian Sayin (Ohio State), Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss), Darian Mensah (Miami), and Dante Moore (Oregon) are just the few headliners with first round pick buzz.
Don't forget, Brendan Sorsby is in the mix, too, who was reportedly around the $5 million number this past cycle at Texas Tech.
When that many high-profile quarterbacks leave for the draft after the 2026 season, the domino effect across college football will be massive.
Big time college programs will be losing their big time quarterbacks and will be desperate, with the portal being the fastest path to replacing them.
Thats where Washington could cash in.
Which top tier College Football programs could be portal QB hungry? Miami is the first name that jumps out to me.
Mario Cristobals program has been a high-end transfer portal revolving door at quarterback, going from Cam Ward to Carson Beck to Mensah.
If Mensah declares after 2026, Washington could be the next one in line.
Lane Kiffin at LSU is another obvious candidate because you can never rule out Kiffin.
A to Z Sports Ryan Roberts did remind that Kiffin signed three quarterbacks in the portal this cycle, not just Sam Levitt, so whether LSU actually needs another quarterback is a fair question.
But, I know as a sophomore at the University of Tennessee in 2009..
dont put anything past Lane Kiffin.
Then you expand the map.
Texas will need a quarterback after Manning leaves.
Auburn under Alex Golesh could be looking for an upgrade after year one.
Georgia and Kirby Smart cant go too long without competing for a national title.
Texas Tech, always playing big with oil money and venture capital NIL backing, needs to make up for the Sorsby debacle.
Oklahoma with John Mateer, Texas A&M with Marcel Reed (both were at the Manning Passing Academy) all make dollars and sense to pluck a kid from Glen Burnie, Maryland from the Terps.
Of course, the Terps could try to hold on to him.
Maryland is going to have to pony up and rally to see what their NIL donations look like.
But keeping a $7 million quarterback on a team fighting for bowl eligibility is an uphill battle.
Washington has to prove it first At this moment this is only a projection, but Washington has 12 games to play for Maryland this fall.
Can he get the Terps bowl eligible? Can he build on that record-setting freshman year with a sophomore campaign that forces blue-blood programs to open their wallets? If he does, Washington could be the under-the-radar Big Ten quarterback on a rebuilding program who becomes the most expensive portal acquisition in college football.
Again, he's gotta do it on the field first.
Thats the part that makes this worth watching all season long.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports.
Read the full story here: Todd McShay tabs under the radar potential $7 million QB who will break the transfer portal after Manning Passing Academy performance 2026 A to Z Sports.