College Football Recruiting 2011: 10 Recruits Who Will End Up Transferring

You never want to see a player leave a program, ever. We follow these players for sometimes years and when they finally make a choice, we wish them the very best and much success. Yet, transferring is part of the culture of college football.

Many different factors play into why a recruit would want a release from their scholarship. Playing time/depth chart, academics, relationship with coaches, fit on campus or college city, personal reasons, etc. It's always tough to predict a transfer, as it could very well turn out to be no one on my list transfers, and someone who is a stone-cold lock could bolt out.

But here are 10 players I have my eye on.

A.C. Leonard

Leonard is s fantastic tight end prospect and may be the most athletic player at the position coming into college football this year. He's around 6'1", and 230 pounds. I think he could be an Aaron Hernandez type, but it may not be at Florida.

Gator OC Charlie Weis likes big tight ends who can factor as an in-line blocker as well as be flexed around, and Leonard may struggle as a in-line blocker due to his lack of bulk.

Weis may opt to move him to H-back/fullback and Leonard may not like this.

Lamar Dawson

I really don't like to Dawson on this list but following him through his recruiting, it seems he's from a smaller town, in Kentucky, and he seemed destined to play for a school in a similar setting, like Knoxville or Eugene. USC is not that.

The Trojan campus sits in the middle of metro Los Angeles, and is an adjustment for teenagers coming across the country from small towns and such. Dawson has all the talent in the world and could see the field early at Troy as a SAM linebacker.

But becoming homesick is a real possibility and it has forced a recruit to leave USC in the past; Dawson could be next.

Tobias Singleton

Singleton stuck with Ole Miss after Mississippi State and UCLA came after him hard, pledging his Rebel alliance at the Army Game.

He's a 5'11", 185-pound receiver with deep speed and playmaking ability. Yet he is just one of three receivers headed to Oxford. Donte Moncrief and Nick Brassell are very highly rated and Singleton could find it hard to beat on of them out for a starting job.

I know schools deploy a lot of three-receiver sets and formations, but recruits do not sign with a school with the idea of being a third receiver.

Tre Mason

Mason is a speedster out of the backfield and headed to Auburn. He stands 5'10", 190 pounds and spurned the option of staying in the Sunshine State in order to tote the rock for the champs.

Yet Auburn is home to Michael Dyer, an all-world freshman running back who made a sensational play in the national championship game. Dyer is an every-down runner and will be the man for years to come in the Auburn rushing attack.

The Tigers also have Quan Bray, a fantastic running back recruit, coming to the roster as well.

Three may be a crowd here, and Mason could get the drift and give Dyer and Bray some alone time.

Danny Woodson

Alabama is charged with replacing Julio Jones this season and will certainly look at all options at their disposal from the receiver position.

The Crimson Tide signed Marvin Shinn, a top-100 player, and Bradley Sylve, another 4-star receiver, along with Danny Woodson. The Crimson are fighting accusations of purposely oversigning recruits, which is why they have seen some recent players transfer out of Tuscaloosa.

The depth chart may just be too great for Woodson to see time and he could opt to be another player who Rolls away from the Tide.

Max Wittek and Cody Kessler

USC has recruited and signed players on the merit they feel confident about their appeal chances and knowing they have ability to creatively refill their roster in the numbers game that is scholarships vs. roster spots.

The signing of two of the top 10 QB prospects in the country clearly indicates that assessment, as Cody Kessler and Max Wittek, both 4-star prospects, are headed to Heritage Hall. Yet if you combine these two elite signal-callers with Jesse Scroggins, who's already on the Trojan roster, then that's three QBs who all have come to Troy vying for the starting job.

Chances are, if one of them does not get the starting job, this QB trio will be a duo.

Cardale Jones

Jones is a prospect that I like, but he is plenty raw for the QB position. He comes from Glenville High School, which is a Buckeye feeder program, yet he took a while to pledge to OSU due to concerns over time and position switch possibilities.

At 6'4", 235 pounds, Jones has a cannon arm and can beat you with his legs, yet his mechanics are raw. The other players on the OSU roster at the QB spot are more polished, which will help them see the field earlier than he may.

Jones wants to be a QB, but OSU coaches may lose patience with his development and change his position, which could prompt him to leave Columbus.

Jacoby Brissett

Brissett is a phenomenal QB prospect and also is a great basketball player. At 6'5", 225 pounds he is a pocket passer, yet can play like a dual-threat style signal-caller as well. He chose Florida over Washington and Wisconsin, thanks in large part to his best friend Matt Elam being on the Gator roster.

Many felt Brissett was Florida State's to lose, but the future Gator will run into a fight with Jeff Driskel. Driskel is already in Gainesville learning the offense and is billed as the top QB prospect in the 2011 class.

A competition will held next year likely pitting Brissett vs. Driskel for the right to replace John Brantley as the starting QB at Florida. I think Driskel is too good a QB not to win the job, and Brissett is too good a player to enjoy sitting on the bench. 

Bubba Starling

Starling is on this list not because I think he will transfer from Nebraska, so settle down Big Red supporters. I just don't think he makes it to the Cornhuskers' football offices, as he is expected to be a high first-round pick in this Spring's Baseball Draft.

At 6'5", 195 pounds, Starling is listed as an ATH and could be a great dual-threat QB. He has a hose for an arm, plus legit 4.5 speed. Think of a bigger Taylor Martinez.

But his baseball prospects are even brighter, and the chance to make millions immediately and play in a sport that takes a lighter toll on his body could make him say no to football.