Bowling Green just settled its quarterback competition, and the winner isn't the guy who spent 3 years in a Power Four building. Eddie George told ESPN's Pete Thamel that Jay Kastantin, a transfer from Division II Assumption College, has won the starting job and will debut against Tarleton State.
NEWS: Bowling Green has named Assumption College transfer Jay Kastantin the starter at quarterback, coach Eddie George told ESPN. He'll debut for Bowling Green against Tarleton State. He had 3,658 career passing yards and 28 TDs at Assumption.
The résumé Kastantin brings is legit for the level he came from. Per Thamel's report, he threw for 3,658 career passing yards and 28 touchdowns at Assumption, a Northeast-10 Conference program, and reportedly also added 710 rushing yards and 9 rushing scores over his career there while earning conference MVP honors last season. That's the kind of production that gets a coaching staff to bet on a small-school arm over a bigger name.
And the guy he beat out is a name college football fans actually know. Austin Novosad arrived at Bowling Green after 3 years at Oregon, where he was a former ESPN300 recruit who never really got on the field — he completed just 12 of 15 passes for 99 yards in Eugene while stuck behind Bo Nix, then Dillon Gabriel, then Dante Moore. He hit the portal after Oregon's offensive coordinator left for Kentucky and landed in Bowling Green looking for the reps he never got with the Ducks.
Kastantin beat out Oregon transfer Austin Novosad for the job.
It's a genuinely interesting bet for George, who's rebuilding a program that's still finding its footing in his second season as head coach. Instead of leaning on the Power Four pedigree, he went with production against lesser competition — a gamble that says more about what he saw in fall camp than what either guy did before Bowling Green.
The kickoff against Tarleton State will be the first real test of that decision. If Kastantin's numbers translate even partially against FBS competition, it's a win for scouting substance over résumé lines. If they don't, Novosad's still on the roster with 2 years of eligibility left and every incentive to make George regret the call.
