TCU’s Josh Hoover explains why he spurned the SEC & Tennessee
TCU quarterback Josh Hoover was confronted this spring with the scenario that makes a lot of people around TCU nervous, the same as every other program in the Big 12 and the ACC.
If a school in the Big 12, or ACC, has a top player who is being “recruited” by a good team in the SEC or Big 10, would the appeal of playing in one of those two conferences be too great to reject?
Hoover, who is one of the best returning passers in the Big 12, passed on the chance to enter the transfer portal to join Tennessee earlier this spring. This qualifies as TCU coach Sonny Dykes’ biggest recruiting win since he became the head coach.
On Tuesday, Hoover explained his decision for the first time publicly.
“I love Fort Worth. I love TCU. This is the place I want to be,” he said to a small group of reporters inside TCU’s athletic facility. “I see TCU as a top program, and that’s why I came here. I came here to win a Big 12 championship, and I told my teammates I was going to be the quarterback here this year; the way I grew up your word means something. That’s all there is to it.”
According to reports, Tennessee offered Hoover more than $2 million to join the team. According to people familiar with this situation, TCU increased what its currently paying Hoover but did not match Tennessee’s offer.
He said turning down Tennessee was not a hard decision.
“This is where I want to be. My family is close,” he said. “I love the people here. I love my teammates. I love my coaches. I want to go win the Big 12 championship.”
Hoover earned his degree in May, but he has two years of eligibility remaining. He is likely not done hearing his phone buzz with offers to leave TCU to transfer with the promises of bigger money, puppies, beach front condos, cars, and the chance to win the national title, Super Bowl title, and an Academy Award, too.
Hoover fell into this position when Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava unexpectedly entered the transfer portal in the spring, just a few months after he led the Vols to their first appearance in the playoff.
In early April, Iamaleava and “his team” couldn’t come to an agreement over money, so he left Knoxville. He would eventually transfer to UCLA.
Tennessee immediately went after established quarterbacks. Hoover was atop the list.
“It says to me that it really starts with Fort Worth,” Dykes said Tuesday of his team losing only three players during the offseason in the transfer portal. “People enjoy living in this community, and it carries over to TCU. Guys love going to school here. It says a lot about our program that guys are being developed.”
TCU was in a similar position during, and after, the 2023 season with defensive lineman Dominic Williams. He was a proven two-year player, and he was repeatedly contacted by other schools, most notably Texas A&M.
According to multiple sources, every time he was approached with an offer for more money, he would ask the TCU coaches to match. Finally, Dykes had had enough and TCU was out of the bidding process.
Williams transferred to Oklahoma in the spring of 2024, and was a starter for the Sooners last season.
An interior defensive lineman is not going to command the type of attention, and priority, as a good starting quarterback. TCU is building its entire team around Hoover, who has been the starting quarterback since the middle of October in 2023.
In 2024, he passed for 3,949 yards with 27 touchdowns. He averaged more than 300 yards per game passing. That type of production will draw an audience, and attract potential suitors.
Unlike this time one year ago, when people were hopeful Hoover would be a good quarterback, there is no suspense now. He’s good, and everyone knows it.
“I feel not expectations from the outside but internally. I want to get better,” he said. “That’s a big expectation for me, is to get better. I think it’s going to be a great year.”
That TCU’s starting quarterback turned down a heavy offer from Tennessee to return to Fort Worth qualified as a great year.
This story was originally published June 17, 2025 at 4:43 PM.
