Northwestern QB transfers to Penn

Gavin Hoffman, who started for the Wildcats last season, is eligible to play for Penn immediately. Gavin Hoffman, who threw for 2,199 yards as the starting quarterback at Northwestern in 1998, announced in July that he would transfer to Penn. Eligible to play immediately, Hoffman will compete for the Quakers' starting role. Because Hoffman, a 6'6", 233-pound sophomore, is transferring from a Division I-A to a Division I-AA school, he will not have to sit out a year. Hoffman left Northwestern because he was dissatisfied with the program and the Wildcats offense, which became more conservative after head coach Gary Barnett resigned to take the coaching job at Colorado and Randy Walker took over Northwestern's reins earlier this year. "With the new coaches and the new offense and just the way things were, I just felt like moving on," Hoffman said. "It just wasn't a good situation for me anymore." With the graduation of second-team All-Ivy quarterback Matt Rader, Hoffman will have the chance to immediately assume the starting role. Sophomore Ed Mebs, who transferred from the University of Miami before last season, sophomore Tom DiMenna and freshman Mike Mitchell appeared to be the top candidates for the starting quarterback position prior to news of Hoffman's arrival. Hoffman threw for 13 touchdowns in 12 games as a redshirt freshman at Northwestern last season. The Wayzata, Minn., native completed 54.5 percent of his passes and threw 14 interceptions in 323 pass attempts for the Wildcats. Hoffman's arrival is reminiscent of Rader's in 1997. Two years ago, the Quakers landed Rader, who had started seven games for Duke as a sophomore before coming to Penn. "My initial interest [in Penn] was because I heard about the success Matt Rader had as a transfer here," Hoffman said. "A lot of times transfers kind of get lost in the shuffle and you never hear them again, and I didn't want that to happen to me." Hoffman said he would have been the starter at Northwestern this season had he chosen to stay. The Penn coaches have only told him he will be given the opportunity to compete for the starting spot, but Hoffman still welcomes the change of scenery. "The Northwestern situation wasn't a good one for me anymore," Hoffman said. "It affected my behavior outside football. It's tough giving up a scholarship, but I think the benefits being at Penn far outweigh that." Hoffman was contacted by Colorado, Georgia Tech, Harvard, Brown and Columbia prior to choosing Penn. Hoffman, who will be entering Wharton this fall, was a Prep Star and Super Prep All-American in high school and was named the Gatorade player of the year in Minnesota as a senior after throwing for 2,506 yards and 25 touchdowns. Hoffman's transfer is not the only major move for the Wildcats this past offseason. Since Walker replaced Barnett as coach in the winter, defensive lineman Craig Albrecht transferred to Stanford and offensive lineman Blake Henry left the team.