Clifton McDowell has had one of the most unusual careers in college football history and it just became even more strange. He is set to transfer to his sixth school in less than six years.
However, his new team may also be one of his old teams!
McDowell was a three-star recruit in the Class of 2019. Barring unforeseen circumstances, this upcoming season will be his last.
As of March 24, he was slated to exhaust his final year of eligibility at Temple. That is no longer the case.
McDowell transferred from Montana to Temple back in January. It appears as though McDowell is transferring from Temple back to Montana.
The 6-foot-4 quarterback reposted his original post from when he originally committed to play for the Grizzlies last year. Three hourglass emojis seemed to indicate “it’s time.”
His post was just one day after a report from Colter Nuanez of ESPN Missoula that hinted at a return.
As I reported yesterday on this show, he is sniffing around Montana and perhaps trying to make his way back onto the Griz football team. The last we had heard, sources say that they were going to have a team vote to see if McDowell could come back to the Griz roster.
— Colter Nuanez
The team vote must have gone in McDowell’s favor. However, there has yet to be a formal annnouncement.
If things go as they are trending, it will mark the end of a truly wild saga for McDowell.
His career timeline is rather unique—
- 2019: Louisiana-Lafayette
- 2020: Louisiana-Lafayette
- 2021: Kilgore College (JUCO)
- 2022: Central Arkansas
- April 30, 2023: Commit to Southern
- May 12, 2023: Decommit
- May 15, 2023: Commit to Montana
- January 2024: Transfer to Temple
- March 2024: Enter transfer portal
- April 2024: Return to Montana?
The Grizzlies reached the FCS National Championship with Clifton McDowell at the helm last season. They lost just one game during the regular season, beat North Dakota State in double overtime during the FCS Semifinals. South Dakota State beat them by 20 in the Championship.
All of the signs point toward McDowell making a triumphant return. It seems like he wants to run it back with his team from a year ago!