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Joe Critchlow enters transfer portal as BYU’s depth at QB only continues to grow

BYU quarterback Joe Critchlow (11) throw a pass in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Hawaii, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Eugene Tanner)

BYU quarterback Joe Critchlow (11) throw a pass in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Hawaii, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Eugene Tanner)

Provo • BYU is one of only two FBS schools (UCF) with four quarterbacks on the roster who have started and won at least one game in their career with Zach Wilson, Jaren Hall, Baylor Romney and Joe Critchlow. But that may soon go down to three.

Critchlow entered the transfer portal Tuesday.

The 6-foot-4 quarterback came to BYU in 2017, after completing his church mission in Montreal. As a true freshman, Critchlow played in six games — starting in the final three.

At the time, as one of six true freshmen quarterbacks to start a game at BYU, Critchlow became the third true freshman to win his first start (31-21 at UNLV) and the first to do so on the road. He completed 55 of 101 passes for 642 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions his freshman season.

The Tennessee native then redshirted the 2018 season, when then-true freshman Zach Wilson arrived at BYU and took over the quarterback gig for the Cougars. This season, Critchlow found himself at the bottom of the quarterback depth chart.

Another pair of freshmen — Hall and Romney — emerged at BYU when Wilson went down to injury. Critchlow saw minimal action this season, completing 9 of 12 passes for 73 yards in two games.

Critchlow faced the possibility of going further down on the depth chart when BYU brings in three-star quarterback Sol-Jay Maiava next season and three-star quarterback Jacob Conover in 2021.

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