College football transfer QB market faces severe shortage with top passers staying put

Key Points:

• Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor is expected to re-sign with the Bulldogs on Wednesday, likely becoming the highest-paid quarterback in college football and marking a significant retention for the program amid the transfer portal era.
• Several notable quarterbacks, including Missouri's Austin Simmons, Oregon State's Braden Atkinson, and Nebraska's Anthony Colandrea, have also recently committed to returning to their programs, signaling a decline in top transfer portal quarterback availability.
• Of the top 25 passers in college football, only 13 are underclassmen, with many anticipated to either enter the NFL Draft early or stay with their current teams, further shrinking the pool of transfer-eligible quarterbacks.
• Many teams, including Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Indiana, Miami, Oklahoma State, and Notre Dame, are actively seeking quarterback talent in the transfer portal, but the supply of high-impact quarterbacks is limited compared to the growing demand.
• While transfers have reshaped college football quarterback dynamics, with eight of the top 10 passers being transfers, the pipeline of ready-made transfer quarterbacks is drying up, potentially leaving many programs struggling to find a game-changing signal-caller.