Blake Barnett Transfer: 5 landing spots for Alabama QB

Blake Barnett has announced his intentions to transfer from Alabama. Here are 5 teams that are possible landing spots for the former 5-star quarterback.

In Alabama’s opener against USC, Blake Barnett got the start at quarterback, seemingly winning the months-long quarterback battle between himself, Cooper Bateman and Jalen Hurts. Barnett soon found himself out of the game, more specifically before the end of the first quarter, in favor of Jalen Hurts. Alabama and Hurts haven’t looked back since and the Crimson Tide offense has been effective if not outright deadly.

With the announcement of Barnett’s decision to transfer comes the inevitable discussion of where he will end up; what school would be the best fit, who has an offense he can run efficiently, will he stay in the SEC or go out of the conference? All of the questions and more will be deciding factors for Barnett.

Blake Barnett is not a run-of-the-mill quarterback. Coming out of high school he was rated the No. 2 pro-style quarterback in the country by 247 Sports. Essentially, Barnett could have gone to whatever school in the country he wanted to go to. He chose Alabama in hopes of winning titles with the Crimson Tide. He’ll now have to sit out a year, under the transfer rules, and wait his turn to lead another program to possible championships.

Here are the 5 teams of which Barnett could most likely end up at:

Colorado Buffaloes

This is a team that recruited Barnett out of high school, so it would make sense that they might try and recruit him again to come to Boulder. Colorado is no stranger to the world of quarterback transfers. Just this past summer, CU seemingly had Davis Webb signed and ready to go to be a Buff. Webb ended up changing his mind and transferred to Cal.

Colorado is an emerging program and Boulder, Colorado isn’t exactly a bad place to live in either. With an offense run by offensive coordinator Darrin Chiaverini that loves to spread the ball around, Barnett would have plenty of opportunities to show his skill set in the offense. With Colorado residing in the Pac-12 South, Barnett would also have the ability to compete for a conference championship, and play against many top teams.

Sep 17, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops watches his team warm up prior to action against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma Sooners

Like Colorado, Oklahoma recruited Barnett out of high school and would be a logical choice for him to look at due to the success and impending leave of Baker Mayfield. Mayfield is a junior and whether he leaves for the NFL after this season or after the completion of his senior season, the door would be open for Barnett to come in and win the job when eligible.

Oklahoma is always in the conversation for the Big 12 title, as well as being in the College Football Playoff discussion. The Sooners program is relevant which would make it a definite possibility for Barnett to transfer to, if he wants to compete for championships (I’d assume he does). Even with Texas A&M transfer Kyler Murray on the Sooners roster, I would expect Barnett to give the Sooners a look.

Sep 17, 2016; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw prepares to enter the field prior to a NCAA football game against the USC Trojans at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Stanford Cardinal

Perhaps Barnett wants to go a little closer to his hometown of Corona, California, which is just 400 miles away from Stanford University. Head coach David Shaw could use a guy like Barnett in his offense. A quarterback that will make sound decisions with the football and is protected by a great offensive line. Stanford presents to Barnett a top-notch program that is constantly competing for (and winning) conference championships that is perhaps one great quarterback away from a championship team.

Stanford as of now relies on Christian McCaffrey and their quarterback play is par for the course, nothing incredible but they get the job done. This is a situation to which Barnett would have the opportunity to come in and sit for a year, learn the offense and then come in and win the job and instantly upgrade the offense.

Sep 24, 2016; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks offensive lineman Logan Bathke (60) and offensive lineman Brady Aiello (66) celebrate with wide receiver Darren Carrington II (7) in the fourth quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

Oregon Ducks

According to 247 Sports, Oregon was predicted to be the team that Blake Barnett would sign with out of high school, not Alabama. It would make sense that Barnett might set his sights on a program that once coveted his commitment coming out of high school.

Oregon has lived and died off of transfer quarterbacks in recent years. Vernon Adams and Dakota Prukop transferred from FCS teams to take the quarterback mantle that was left open after the departure of Marcus Mariota to the NFL. The difference here is that Barnett would have more than one season to play for the Ducks, unlike Adams and Prukop. Standing in the way of Barnett going to Oregon, however, could be Travis Jonsen. A freshman currently redshirting, Jonsen has a ton of talent and should be the guy to take over the offense next year. If not for Jonsen, Oregon could be the top destination for Barnett to transfer to.

Sep 17, 2016; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Davis Webb (7) reacts after a touchdown against the Texas Longhorns in the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. Cal won 50-43. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

California Golden Bears

Just look at Davis Webb and the success he is having at California and that will be all you need to know as to why Blake Barnett should seriously consider transferring to Cal. Not only that, but Cal did just produce the top overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft in Jared Goff.

The Golden Bears make sense. It would be a school that has a wide-open offense and is clearly okay with finding transfer quarterbacks to come in and run the system. Cal is also a team that can compete and make noise in the Pac-12. Most importantly for Barnett, this a system that allows for quarterbacks to thrive. If he wants to play in the NFL, which all football players do, then the success for Cal quarterbacks should do nothing but make him feel better about what Cal offers to him as a program.

Where do you think Blake Barnett will transfer to? Let us know in the comments.