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FORT WORTH, Texas — Months before Josh Hoover informed coach Sonny Dykes he was transferring, TCU’s personnel staff had compiled a list of quarterback targets.
Not because they thought Hoover would transfer. Heading into the 2025 season, the hope was that Hoover would lead TCU to a Big 12 championship and the College Football Playoff and then move on to the next level.
“We thought there was real potential that he would go to the (NFL) draft,” general manager Ryan Dorchester said.
But that’s not what happened. After an up-and-down 8-4 regular season, Hoover departed — ending up at reigning national champion Indiana — and suddenly, TCU needed a new starting quarterback.
Eighteen days later, the Horned Frogs signed Jaden Craig, a former zero-star recruit who starred in relative anonymity at Harvard for the previous two seasons.
How does a team prepare for the unexpected — losing a multi-year starting quarterback — and still land its top target in the portal? By always having a plan.
In April 2025, after Nico Iamaleava and Tennessee parted ways, Hoover rebuffed overtures from the Vols to remain at TCU. So there was no expectation from the staff, at least at that time, that he would finish his college career anywhere other than Fort Worth.
Still, the front office began building a list of quarterbacks to scout in case Hoover declared for the 2026 draft.
“At no point was there a thought that he was gonna transfer,” Dorchester said. “We hadn’t even really considered it.”
TCU had a specific profile: an upperclassman with one year of eligibility left, not a multi-year option, because the staff envisions 2025 high school signee Adam Schobel as the quarterback of the future. Schobel has yet to take a collegiate snap, so they needed a bridge option until he’s more seasoned.
Dorchester said the staff first noticed Craig while watching film of former Harvard receiver Cooper Barkate when he entered the portal after the 2024 season.
“He played the game efficiently, didn’t put the ball in jeopardy,” Dorchester said of his first impression of Craig. “He was decisive, and you could tell he had a good arm.”
By the end of last spring, TCU had roughly 10 quarterbacks on the list, all would-be seniors. As the season progressed, others they liked popped up, but not many who fit their profile. As they continued the evaluation process, Craig remained high on their list.
It was still a backup plan, in theory. Hoover had a solid year, but wasn’t garnering the type of draft buzz that would make a jump enticing. As agents called and inquired deep into the season whether TCU would be in the quarterback market, Dorchester’s answer was still “no.”
But Dykes said he sensed a shift with Hoover, and by mid-November, he thought it was possible the Horned Frogs could be in the transfer quarterback market.
Dykes said there wasn’t one specific moment that triggered that feeling. “You just picked up on the vibe, and he picked up on the vibe from us,” he said. “You just know when things aren’t right.
“It was one of those deals where we were all kind of like, ‘Maybe it’s time for something else.’”
After the regular season concluded, Hoover remained with the team for the first handful of bowl practices. Kendal Briles, TCU’s offensive coordinator since 2023, took the same job at South Carolina on Dec. 8. Then on Dec. 17, the quarterback informed Dykes he was transferring.
As the news made its way through TCU’s Justin Athletic Center, Dorchester was on the phone with Lindsay Crook, an agent who represented one of TCU’s players the team was trying to retain. Dorchester mentioned to Crook that the Horned Frogs were also in the market for a quarterback.
“Who’s your target?” Crook asked.
“The guy we like the most right now is this kid at Harvard,” Dorchester said.
“Well, you’re talking to his agent,” Crook said.
Said Dorchester: “It was just random, dumb luck.”
Even as bigger names announced their intentions to enter the portal, like Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt or Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby, TCU kept Craig atop its list. The staff evaluated and vetted other options, including James Madison’s Alonza Barnett III (now at UCF) and UNLV’s Anthony Colandrea (Nebraska).
When TCU went to San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl, Dorchester said he missed two practices because he was holed up in his hotel room with his phone, laptop and iPad, working on retaining the current roster and preparing for the transfer portal. One day, he had 156 incoming calls.
“I’m not saying they were all answered,” Dorchester joked.
Still, Craig was priority No. 1.
“I liked that he was experienced,” Dykes said. “I liked that he played in an offense that was similar to what we were going to run. The biggest difference to me, though, was his presence in the pocket, his ability to shuffle, not panic and not put the ball in jeopardy.”
Dorchester made it clear to Craig that he was at the top of their list — a new dynamic for the 6-foot-3, 230-pound New Jersey product who mostly received offers from MAC schools and Ivy League programs coming out of high school. When Harvard offered him, it was a no-brainer.
He thrived for the Crimson as their starter the last two seasons, throwing for 5,299 yards, 48 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his last 21 games. He made first-team All-Ivy League twice and took Harvard to the FCS Playoffs in 2025. He got some draft buzz; Dorchester said scouts he talked to graded Craig as a Day 3 pick had he declared. Craig said NFL scouts attended “at least 80 percent” of Harvard practices last season, after rarely attending in 2024.
Craig debated whether to go pro or transfer. His original plan was to be four-and-done at Harvard and go pro because “I owe that place everything,” Craig said.
After talking to his agents and giving it plenty of thought, he opted for one more college season — and returning to Harvard wasn’t an option because the Ivy League does not allow graduates, even those with eligibility, to compete on athletic teams.
“I felt there was another level of development and attention in college that I wouldn’t be able to get in the NFL,” Craig said. “That’s what drove my decision to enter the portal.”
In the run-up to the portal opening, Craig preferred to stay above the fray. “I wanted no contact (with teams) and let my agents handle it,” he said. TCU showed enough interest that it earned the first visit.
Craig intended to take multiple visits and had no plans to make a quick decision. But the culture he sensed in his time on campus — TCU didn’t have much portal turnover — stood out. “It was a family-type environment,” he said.
After dinner on the day of his official visit, new offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis invited Craig back to his office to watch film. “I wanted to show him, ‘This is my vision for you,’” Sammis said. They spent more than two hours in Sammis’ office, mostly watching UConn tape, where Sammis ran the offense for a 9-4 team and a quarterback, Joe Fagnano, who threw for 3,448 yards, 28 touchdowns and one interception last year.
Sammis was showing off his plan to develop and prepare Craig for the NFL. It was music to the quarterback’s ears.
“There’s a lot of carryover from what we ran at Harvard,” Craig said. “Very pro-style in terms of concepts, schemes, verbiage. They’re throwing a lot for us to handle as quarterbacks, which is what they ask of us at the next level.”
After the film session concluded, Craig went back to his hotel and called his agents. They asked how it went, and he said: “This is kind of hard to beat.” TCU was making a push, and Craig felt that if they could finalize the deal quickly, there was no sense in wasting time.
The next morning, Craig made it official and rescheduled his flight home to a later date so he could stay in Fort Worth and hunt for an apartment.
Craig has been even better than the Horned Frogs staff expected. Dykes and Dorchester said his arm looks stronger in person than it did on tape.
As a sign of the impact Craig has made in his eight months on campus, teammates recently voted him one of TCU’s five captains for 2026.
🔺 Our 2026 Horned Frogs Captains 🔺
Ben Taylor-Whitfield, Jaden Craig, Jamel Johnson, Ansel Din-Mbuh, and Hudson Hooper have been voted by the team as this year’s captains!#GoFrogs 🐸 #ForTheWorthy pic.twitter.com/iqU69uZX3l
— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) August 21, 2026
His draft buzz continues to build. He’s sixth among Dane Brugler’s senior quarterback draft prospects, and Senior Bowl executive director Drew Fabianich recently said Craig “has all the tools to be an NFL starter.”
From the Ivy League to the Big 12.
Keep an eye on Jaden Craig this season 👀@crainandcone | @DfabeSB
🎙️ The Senior Bowl Show#TheDraftStartsInMobile pic.twitter.com/GuXKXXbNQ4
— Panini Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) August 22, 2026
Asked how Craig’s physical traits stack up to previous pro quarterbacks he’s had — Dykes has coached Jared Goff and Nick Foles — Dykes smirked and said: “He’s gonna be just fine.”
This afternoon, when the Horned Frogs meet Bill Belichick and North Carolina in Ireland, Craig will get a chance to show a national audience why scouts are bullish on him and why TCU prioritized him from the start of their transfer portal recruitment.
“We got the result we wanted,” Dorchester said.