Breaking Down the 2017 Transfer QB Market in College Football

Winning a quarterback job in college football is only a small part of an ongoing battle. For some players, falling short of a No. 1 role or losing that starting job leads to a transfer.

During the 2017 offseason, several signal-callers will leave their current schools in favor of places they believe offer a better chance at playing time. And thanks to the graduate transfer rule, a select group of QBs could play immediately at their new destinations.

Several of the coveted options are already off the market, but one standout transfer remains, along with a recent top recruit.

What varies most for the final transfers is the amount of previous experience and eligibility each player has left.

Committed Quarterbacks

Former Baylor gunslinger Jarrett Stidham was almost exclusively considered the No. 1 transfer option. He's picked a new home.

A 5-star recruit in the 2015 class, Stidham appeared in 10 games with Baylor as a true freshman. He completed 68.8 percent of 109 passes for 1,265 yards, 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

Stidham is considered the favorite to start for Auburn in 2017, though he'll need to overtake incumbent Sean White.

Blake Barnett was once pegged as Alabama's quarterback of the future, but Jalen Hurts swiped that title early in 2016. From a football perspective, there was little reason for Barnett to stick around.

He sure took that to heart. Barnett left the program in late September, which was actually a shrewd decision on his part.

According to Matt Zenitz of AL.com, the quarterback needs to wait one calendar year before taking the field. Since he started taking classes at Palomar College, Barnett will be eligible to play for Arizona State near the beginning of the Pac-12 slate next season.

But the conference will no longer contain Max Browne, who ceded his starting job to Sam Darnold during the 2016 campaign and wouldn't have regained it. Instead, Browne elected to play his final collegiate season at Pitt—which loses onetime grad transfer Nathan Peterman.

Anu Solomon accumulated 6,448 yards and 48 touchdowns through the air while tossing just 14 interceptions during the 2014 and 2015 seasons combined. However, injuries derailed his latest two campaigns and led to Solomon transferring to Baylor.

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David Cornwell moved on from Alabama and chose Nevada. Michael Casagrande of AL.com noted that the graduate transfer has two years of eligibility remaining. That makes Cornwell even more valuable despite having not thrown a pass in college.

That's not exactly the case for Shane Morris, who left Ann Arbor for Mount Pleasant. But while the southpaw has notable experience, it came in 2013 and 2014. After taking a redshirt in 2015, the Wolverines used him as a package player this year.

Five more round out the committed bunch.

Dwayne Lawson, who played one JUCO season at Garden City Community College in Kansas after transferring from Virginia Tech, is headed to Illinois. Tommy Stuart didn't see a future at Boise State behind rising junior Brett Rypien and picked Duquense.

Mississippi State lost a pair of quarterbacks in Damian Williams (Texas State) and Nick Tiano (UT-Chattanooga). Shuler Bentley, the brother of South Carolina QB Jake Bentley, decided to transfer from Old Dominion in favor of Murray State.

Uncommitted Transfers

DeShone Kizer is off to the NFL, but Notre Dame will not hand Malik Zaire the reins. According to Tom Loy of 247Sports, the two favorites to land Zaire are Wisconsin and North Carolina—the latter of which saw Mitch Trubisky leave for the pros.

Pete Sampson of Scout notes Zaire is currently training in Arizona and will make a decision in mid-April.

Although Zaire is the last standout option available who can play immediately, there's a former top prospect changing locations.

Josh Newberg of 247Sports broke the news that Malik Henry, a 4-star recruit in the 2016 class, would no longer be at Florida State. Newberg later reported Henry has enrolled at Independence Community College in Kansas.

The junior college ranks will likely be a temporary stop before Henry picks an FBS school during the upcoming cycle. UNLV's Dalton Sneed plans to follow a similar path.

According to Ryan Dunleavy of NJ.com, Hayden Rettig and Chris Laviano are departing from Rutgers. Rettig graduated in December, while Laviano is on track to obtain his degree in May and will then transfer. Mike Dare is also moving on.

Rettig and Laviano are one-year patches for a desperate school, and two other options have two seasons of eligibility left. Marvin Zanders is leaving Missouri, and Central Florida's Tyler Harris will pursue a graduate degree elsewhere.

The transfer market has dwindled quickly, so programs still looking for a new quarterback are running out of options.

All recruiting information via Scout. Stats from CFBStats.com or B/R research. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.