With NFL free agency upon us, it got us thinking about which college football players would command the most attention if college football had a free agency system. Assuming no one would have to sit out a season after transferring (because wouldn't that be silly), we compiled a list of players that would be among those setting the price in the marketplace.
Remaining years of eligibility would have to be a major consideration in college football free agency, as a player with two or more years left would obviously be more desirable than a player with only one year remaining. However, as we saw with Russell Wilson at Wisconsin in 2011, a one-year player can make a huge impact.
So, for now, let's ignore free agent budgets and the like, and take a look at which players would be the most sought-after if college football players could become free agents. This is hardly a comprehensive list, so feel free to suggest more in the comments.
Quarterback: Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M redshirt sophomore), Teddy Bridgewater (Louisville junior), Braxton Miller (Ohio State junior), Christian Hackenberg (Penn State freshman)
Running back: Todd Gurley (Georgia sophomore), Lache Seastrunk (Baylor redshirt junior), T.J. Yeldon (Alabama sophomore)
Wide receiver: Marqise Lee (USC junior), Amari Cooper (Alabama sophomore)
Tight end: Austin Seferian-Jenkins (Washington junior), O.J. Howard (Alabama freshman)
Offensive line: Cyrus Kouandjio (Alabama redshirt junior), Jake Matthews (Texas A&M senior), Laremy Tunsil (Ole Miss freshman)
Defensive line: Jadeveon Clowney (South Carolina junior), Devonte Fields (TCU sophomore), Robert Nkemdiche (Ole Miss freshman), Will Sutton (Arizona State senior)
Outside linebacker: Ryan Shazier (Ohio State junior), Adrian Hubbard (Alabama redshirt junior), Kyle Van Noy (BYU senior)
Inside linebacker: A.J. Johnson (Tennessee junior), Eric Kendricks (UCLA redshirt junior)
Defensive back: Ifo Ekpre-Olomu (Oregon junior), Bradley Roby (Ohio State redshirt junior), Vernon Hargreaves III (Florida freshman), Shaq Thompson (Washington sophomore)
Special teams: Stefon Diggs (Maryland sophomore), Dri Archer (Kent State redshirt senior), Venric Mark (Northwestern senior)
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