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West Florida QB transfer Marcus Stokes commits to Memphis football
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- West Florida QB transfer Marcus Stokes commits to Memphis football
New Memphis football coach Charles Huff has his quarterback.
West Florida transfer Marcus Stokes has committed to the Tigers , he announced Jan. 7 on Instagram. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining and was one of the top Division II players in the country in 2025.
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The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Stokes threw for 3,297 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2025 and also ran for 367 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy, known as the Division II Heisman, and was the Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
Memphis needed a new quarterback after nearly the entire room is gone. Last year's starter, Brendon Lewis , is out of eligibility, while backups A.J. Hill and Arrington Maiden both entered the transfer portal. Hill followed former Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield to Arkansas .
Huff stressed at his introductory news conference that he wanted to have a mobile quarterback, and he has pulled that off with Stokes. Though the Tigers are almost completely rebuilding their roster heading into 2026, it's still likely that they'll be positioned to compete at or near the top of the American Conference.
Stokes was a four-star recruit out of Nease High School in Ponte Vedra, Florida , and was ranked the No. 33 quarterback prospect in his class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He was committed to Florida before his scholarship was pulled after a video appeared online of him using a racial slur while singing along to a rap song. He ultimately went to West Florida, redshirted in 2023 and became the starting quarterback during the 2024 season.
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After entering the transfer portal, Stokes visited Appalachian State and Syracuse before committing to the Tigers.
Memphis also has added former Southern Miss quarterback Denzel Gardner. But it's likely Huff and new offensive coordinator Kevin Decker will continue to build out the quarterback room more before the portal window closes Jan. 16.
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis football gets West Florida QB transfer Marcus Stokes
