Utah starting quarterback Charlie Brewer has elected to leave the program after just three games with the Utes, the university announced on Tuesday. "Charlie has decided to move on and we wish him the best," a statement from coach Kyle Whittingham read.
Brewer was the first four-year starter at Baylor since JJ Joe in 1993, appearing in 40 games in a Bears uniform. After a poor senior season, he entered the transfer portal in search of playing time. Utah materialized as a place where he could compete for the starting job after incumbent starter Jake Bentley transferred to South Alabama.
Brewer was named the starter out of preseason camp following an offseason battle with redshirt sophomore Cam Rising. The senior completed 60.8% of passes for 484 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions during his short stint with the Utes. However, his short tenure featured the first loss to bitter rival BYU since 2009 and a 1-2 start. Brewer was benched after the Utes went down 24-10 against San Diego State in favor of Rising. The latter led a major comeback to force triple-overtime in a 33-31 loss.
Rising's performance led to questions as to who would be the starting quarterback moving forward. Sure enough, Rising was listed as QB1 in the latest depth chart for Utah ahead of is Week 4 game against against Washington State. Fellow Texas transfer Ja'Quinden Jackson was listed as the backup.
While Brewer started games across five seasons and thrown nearly 1,400 collegiate passes, he has not used his redshirt year. That could leave the door open for Brewer to enter the transfer portal and play somewhere new in 2022. The redshirt rule – typically used for underclassmen – allows a player to participate in up to four games without using a year of eligibility.
For his career, Brewer has completed 63.3% of passes for 10,184 yards, 68 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,055 yards and 22 touchdowns.