Dayne Crist to Transfer from Notre Dame: Where Will He Land?

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has told The Chicago Tribune that backup quarterback Dayne Crist has been given his release to transfer to another school.

Crist, a former 5-star recruit, arrived in South Bend with goals of guiding Notre Dame to a few big-time bowl games before heading off to the NFL, but his career just never panned out the way that many thought it would.

The junior quarterback was benched in the season opener against South Florida after just one poor half, and he never had the opportunity to regain his starting title, as Tommy Rees took over as Notre Dame’s No. 1 quarterback for the rest of the year.

Crist knew he faced the very real possibility of being third on Notre Dame’s depth chart behind Rees and freshman Andrew Hendrix next season, so he made the decision to try to salvage his collegiate career somewhere else.

Where will that be?

It's still too early to tell, and all we can do is speculate right now, but obviously, there will be a team that wants Crist's services.

Here's a look at five possible teams that might be able to use him in 2012.

Florida Gators

The man who recruited Dayne Crist to Notre Dame just so happens to be the same man who is currently in charge of the Florida Gators offense, and that’s former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis.

With John Brantley set to move on after this season, the Gators will be in the market for a new starting quarterback.

While both Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett are intriguing options, Weis could be interested in reuniting with the quarterback who he at one time was expecting to mold into the next great Irish signal-caller.

USC Trojans

Dayne Crist grew up and played high school football in the Los Angeles area, and he received a scholarship offer and some heavy interest from USC back when he was playing at Notre Dame high school in Sherman Oaks, Calif.

With Matt Barkley possibly heading off to the NFL, the Trojans could need some starting quarterback help next season, and Crist would obviously be drawn to playing for a national championship contender in 2012.

Still, it remains to be seen if the USC coaching staff would want to bring in a guy like Crist for a year instead of trying to develop a young quarterback from inside the program like Cody Kessler or Max Wittek, two freshmen with a ton of potential.

Wisconsin Badgers

Hey, it worked once for Wisconsin!

Maybe Bret Bielema will want to try the “Let’s snag a veteran quarterback transfer” approach again.

Sure, Dayne Crist may not be on the same level as Wilson in terms of talent, considering Wilson was the star of the ACC when he played at N.C State in 2010, but he’s serviceable, and he could handle running the show in Madison behind a big offensive line and with a talented runner like Montee Ball behind him.

If Ball returns for his senior season, Wisconsin is going to be one of the top-ranked teams going into 2012, and Crist could definitely be intrigued by the idea of jumping on that train.

San Diego State Aztecs

Dayne Crist is a West Coast guy, and if I had to guess right now, I’d say that’s likely where he’ll migrate back to after leaving Notre Dame.

One of the California schools he could take a look at is San Diego State.

The Aztecs will need to replace departing senior signal-caller Ryan Lindley, and they’re a notable enough program for Crist to receive some interest from NFL scouts if he has a solid 2012 campaign.

Colorado Buffaloes

Colorado didn’t fair all that well in its first season in the Pac-12, as the Buffaloes managed to go just 3-10.

Still, Colorado will have a quarterback vacancy going into next season now that Tyler Hansen’s eligibility is all finished up.

Dayne Crist would likely walk into Boulder and be handed the starting job, and there wouldn’t be a load of pressure and expectations thrust on his shoulders, since Colorado’s outlook isn’t exactly all that promising for 2012.