Former Indiana QB Peyton Ramsey transfers to Northwestern

An already crowded Northwestern quarterback room somehow just got even fuller.

Hunter Johnson, Andrew Marty, TJ Green, and Aidan Smith will all have a little more company this spring, as former Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey announced his intention to transfer to Northwestern on Monday afternoon. He is a graduate transfer and will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Ramsey was a three-year starter for the Hoosiers. He appeared in 32 games and started 24 of them, passing for 42 touchdowns and 6,581 yards. The Cincinnati native lost the starting job in Bloomington last fall to upstart freshman Michael Penix, Jr., but made occasional appearances in wins off the bench as Penix fell to injury multiple times.

A season-ending surgery thrust Ramsey back into the starting role during the Hoosiers’ 34-3 beatdown of Northwestern in November. Ramsey went 7-for-10 with 108 yards passing and a touchdown against the ‘Cats while overall completing 68 percent of his passes for 2,454 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions in 2019.

Ramsey is noted for his dual-threat ability, surely needed on a Northwestern team which ranked last in the Big Ten in passing, completion percentage, and touchdowns last season.

Transfer quarterback rumors had circulated around Evanston all spring with the arrival of Mike Bajakian, and it was reported last week that former USC quarterback Jack Sears might be lining up a transfer to Northwestern after visiting last week. Now we know that the ‘Cats have their transfer in Ramsey, adding another element to what is already shaping up to be a juicy 2020 quarterback battle.

With eight quarterbacks now on the roster for the next fall, the competition is wide open.