After Kansas State lost to Tulane on Sept. 17, coach Chris Klieman and offensive coordinator Collin Klein met with transfer quarterback Adrian Martinez.

Their message: Let it rip.

"I don't think there was a confidence issue," Kleiman told ESPN. "We were playing really good defense early and he didn't want to put the defense in a tough spot. It was his ability to get more comfortable with what we were doing offensively and play fast, and if he makes a mistake, he makes a mistake, but do it aggressively."

Since the Tulane game, Martinez has been the quarterback Kansas State hoped he could be after a productive but turbulent four seasons at Nebraska. He has 350 pass yards, 319 rush yards and nine touchdowns (seven rush, two pass) in wins over Oklahoma and Texas Tech, propelling Kansas State to No. 20 in the AP Poll.

Martinez is among the many transfer quarterbacks around college football impacting the first half of the 2022 season. He's also in a smaller but notable group of older players — grown-man transfers, if you will — who have found new programs later in their careers, hoping to end on a strong note.

"The 40-plus games he's played has shown," Klieman said. "He's gotten us into so many good calls, has done a great job of making checks at the line of scrimmage. That's helped us, going to the tempo, no-huddle stuff where Adrian feels comfortable. He sees it and he's a step ahead of people and gets us in a really good call. That's a sign of somebody very mature, who has played a ton of football."

Transfers are once again shaping the college football season, and not just at the quarterback position. ESPN spoke to coaches from every Power 5 league about 25 standout transfers who changed teams this offseason — from opposing teams, and some on their own team. The list doesn't include every significant transfer, but I tried to identify those who have caught coaches' eyes, including a robust group of quarterbacks and some players flying under the radar.

QUARTERBACKS

JT Daniels, West Virginia

• Previous team: Georgia
• 2022 numbers: 1,209 pass yards, 8 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, 63.7% completions, 71.5 QBR

Breakdown: West Virginia is 2-3 but Daniels has performed well after arriving from Georgia. His reunion with offensive coordinator Graham Harrell — the two briefly worked together at USC before Daniels' ACL tear — has been good for both. After a so-so debut against Pitt in the Backyard Brawl, Daniels has completed 65.5% of his passes with six touchdowns and one interception in WVU's last four games.

What they're saying: "We thought he was a good player, throws a really, really good deep ball," an opposing coach said. "JT Daniels could possibly be an NFL quarterback. Obviously he's got to stay healthy. He could be playing at Georgia, or the NFL, if he could stay healthy."

Jayden Daniels, LSU

• Previous team: Arizona State
• 2022 numbers: 915 pass yards, 6 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 67.9% completions, 79.6 QBR, 60 carries, 321 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns

Breakdown: Despite LSU's opening loss to Florida State, Daniels has played well with his new team, looking more like the quarterback who impressed early in his ASU career. He has avoided major mistakes and shown good mobility, eclipsing 50 rushing yards in three of five games. His accuracy has been a bit choppy with three games at better than 73%, but only 40% in the come-from-behind win over Auburn.

What they're saying: "He's a very capable passer," an opposing defensive coordinator said. "He throws it well enough to get people's attention where I think he can get into an NFL camp. He's got a strong-enough arm, he's accurate enough, he can get out of sacks. Just from a skill set, he's a good player. He can kick out of tackles and create offense for them."