For now, trades in college sports are not allowed.
Pro-style player movement may never reach college football, even as the sport continues to undergo seismic shifts on a seemingly annual basis.
But there’s no better time for hypotheticals than the offseason. This piece will explore 3 college football player trades that would make sense in world where such transactions were permitted.
One important note before we dive in: positional value was given as much credence as possible. That’s why you’ll see an example of a backup quarterback being traded for multiple potential starters.
Hypothetical college football trades
With that being said, here are 3 intriguing trade ideas for the 2026 college football season:
Alabama and Clemson
Alabama trades: Quarterback Austin Mack
Clemson trades: Wide receiver Bryant Wesco and offensive lineman Brayden Jacobs
Alabama’s quarterback competition features a couple of high-pedigree (but inexperienced) options in Austin Mack and Keelon Russell. I’d guess the Tide’s coaching staff would prefer Russell win this job given his 5-star recruit status and given that he still has 4 years of eligibility remaining. In this hypothetical scenario, Alabama trades its backup quarterback for 2 potential starters on offense.
Brayden Jacobs was a high-level reserve offensive lineman for Clemson last season as a true freshman. The son of former NFL running back Brandon Jacobs, he played 362 snaps last season and was Clemson’s second highest-graded O-Lineman last year, per PFF. He could play guard or tackle and would give an immediate boost to Alabama’s offensive line. Wesco would also start at receiver for Alabama. The former 5-star recruit hit 700+ yards as a freshman and 500+ yards last season in just 7 games. He’s comfortable lining up outside, which is a good fit alongside someone like Ryan Coleman-Williams, who Alabama deploys in a variety of receiver positions. Alabama also has a need at receiver following a significant injury to NC State transfer Noah Rogers during A-Day.
Clemson’s quarterback situation is murky at best with Christopher Vizzina as the favorite to win the job. Vizzina’s production has been rough to say the least so far in his college career. He has 105 passes, nearly all of which have been in low-leverage situations, and is averaging just 5.7 yards per attempt. If there’s a bright spot, it’s that he averaged 7.5 yards per attempt on 42 passes in a 9-point loss to SMU last season. He also threw 3 touchdown passes and had 0 interceptions in that valiant effort. Still, I suspect Clemson would be interested in a potential quarterback upgrade entering the 2026 season.
Ole Miss and Florida State
Ole Miss trades: Deuce Knight, Terez Davis
Florida State trades: Duce Robinson
When Ole Miss landed Deuce Knight out of the transfer portal this offseason, there was a chance he would end up starting for the Rebels this fall. But Trinidad Chambliss seems to have won his eligibility case and projects to be the Week 1 starter for Ole Miss this fall. Knight is perhaps a bit over-qualified to be a backup in Year 2 given his 5-star pedigree. He was the No. 28 overall player in the class of 2025, per the 247Sports composite rankings.
In this hypothetical deal, I have Knight going to Florida State, where he would be a high-upside alternative to veteran Ashton Daniels, who is currently slated to be the starter in Tallahassee. Daniels has played a lot of football in his career, but he’s never been an efficient passer. He’s a solid runner, but not special. Knight has a chance to be special, although his range of possible outcomes is very wide. Given the hot seat situation with Mike Norvell at Florida State, I think FSU would be interested in aiming as high as possible with the quarterback position. Middling results likely won’t guarantee another season for Norvell and his staff. FSU also gets a high-upside offensive tackle in Terez Davis to help rebuild that offensive line. Davis only played 58 snaps last season for the Rebels but earned very strong PFF grades across the board and has multiple years of eligibility remaining.
As for the return, Duce Robinson would be a huge get for Ole Miss. He had a breakout campaign in 2025, going for over 1,000 yards while averaging about 19 yards per catch. Receiver looks like it could be a weakness for Ole Miss this season. Harrison Wallace, De’Zhaun Stribling, Cayden Lee and Winston Watkins are all gone. Robinson would do a lot to help that WR room and his upside should make up for the positional value loss of Knight at quarterback.
USC and Oklahoma
USC trades: Running back King Miller
Oklahoma trades: Cornerback Courtland Guillory
Now that Oklahoma seems to have fixed its tight end room after hiring Jason Witten and bringing in multiple transfers, OU’s biggest weakness is arguably at running back. The Sooners return Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock from last year’s team, but neither is a game-changer at that position. Both Robinson and Blaylock posted negative EPA-per-rush numbers in 2025. King Miller might be. He had a breakout freshman season at USC, rushing for over 900 yards after taking over as the Trojans’ starter once Waymond Jordan suffered an injury. USC may not want to part with Miller, but the Trojans do have some depth at running back so they’d be dealing from a position of strength.
To get King from USC, Oklahoma would have to give up a legitimate starter on defense. Courtland Guillory certainly fits the bill as a starter. He led OU cornerbacks in coverage snaps (386) and overall PFF grade (74.4) last season as a true freshman. He was a huge part of that secondary. But Brent Venables has been able to find plenty cornerback production since he got to Norman, so I don’t think the Sooners should be scared to deal Guillory for an elite running back with multiple years of eligibility remaining. Eli Bowen and Jacobe Johnson are still on the roster and could profile as starters in Guillory’s place. The Sooners also brought in 2 cornerback transfers this offseason, further adding to their depth at that position.
USC’s secondary was a mess last season. The Trojans ranked 81st in pass defense efficiency which was a big reason why they ultimately missed out on the College Football Playoff. They gave up 12.3 yards per attempt in a loss to Illinois and 8.5 yards per attempt in a loss to Oregon. USC’s top returning cornerback, Marcelles Williams, had a coverage grade of just 64.4 last season, per PFF. That ranked 32nd out of 50 Big Ten cornerbacks with at least 200 coverage snaps last season. Guillory would be able to step in and be immediately impactful.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
