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

Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor is set to become the latest quarterback to re-sign with his program on Wednesday as he finalizes a deal with the Bulldogs, multiple outlets report.

With a contract expected to make him the highest-paid quarterback in the sport, Taylor's retention is a game-changing moment for the program. It's also yet another shot into the heart of the transfer portal quarterback class.

Over the past several weeks, Missouri's Austin Simmons, Oregon State's Braden Atkinson and Nebraska's Anthony Colandrea have all reportedly signed deals to return to their programs. While plenty of contracts could be tested — similar to Darian Mensah at Duke last season — the number of portal targets is quickly declining.

Out of the top 25 passers in college football, only 13 of them are listed as underclassmen. From that group, several are expected to either enter the NFL Draft early or return to their current schools, including Alabama's Keelon Russell and Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker.

There's another group of quarterbacks who recently transferred into a program and might not want to start all over again. That includes names like Wake Forest's Gio Lopez, Baylor's DJ Lagway and Kentucky's Kenny Minchey.

Unless something changes…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/