The Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback race has become a little less muddled as multiple reports indicate that Wes Lunt has chosen to transfer. The decision doesn’t appear to be out of malice or any wrongdoing toward Lunt, but instead is a reflection of his desire to start permanently instead of having to more than likely split snaps with two other very talented quarterbacks in Clint Chelf and J.W. Walsh who will be locked into an open competition throughout the summer and into fall practice.
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy had the following to say regarding Lunt:
We appreciate Wes and we thank him for everything he has done. He’s leaving on good terms and is making this decision based on what he thinks is best for his future.
By all accounts, Lunt was a quality student-athlete who will be an instant asset to whichever program he decides to make his services available to. The rumors are certain to swirl over the course of the next few weeks as to which program may have the best shot at landing Lunt, but one thing is for certain, it will need to be a program where he can reasonably compete for a starting job from the get-go — even if he does have to sit out the 2013 season based on traditional NCAA transfer rules.
A few programs which are already being mentioned are the Arkansas Razorbacks, Ole Miss Rebels, and Auburn Tigers — all of whom have plenty of uncertainty as it stands at the positon and could use Lunt’s services when he becomes available.
Another long-shot would be the Illinois Fighting Illini given that Lunt is an Illinois native, but I’m hard-pressed to assume his lack of comfort in Stillwater had anything to do with home-sickness and was instead purely about finding a place where he is taking 100% of the snaps.
Justifiably so, given that Lunt would be a starter just about anywhere else in the country — much less in the Big 12– given the amount of hype that surrounded him coming out of high school a few years ago.
This, by far, is the biggest “free agent” story of the early college football off-season and is one we’ll have our eyes on as the weeks pass.
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Kris Hughes is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. You can follow Kris on Twitter, Google and Facebook
