In a few weeks, the NFL Draft analysts will begin to fully dissect Bryce Young, Hendon Hooker and Stetson Bennett IV. Each are intriguing next-level options for their own unique reasons.

Hooker is the soon-to-be 25-year-old who broke out in the unique up-tempo offense and is working his way back from a torn ACL. Bennett is the 25-year-old in the midst of trying to become the 4th quarterback to repeat as a national champion since 1980 but is an afterthought as a legitimate NFL prospect. And Young, who hasn’t officially declared for the NFL Draft but is expected to, will have his narrow frame dissected after being one of the best college quarterbacks of the past decade.

What does that mean? There are massive holes to fill at QB1 for Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

All 3 programs have former blue-chip recruits who could step into that role. Alternatively, all 3 could go to the transfer portal for their next QB1.

Herein lies the dilemma.

Does perhaps a more proven option make sense? Or will those 3 coaches trust guys who have developed in their respective systems?

The natural assumption is that the latter will win out and that Joe Milton, Jalen Milroe and Carson Beck/Brock Vandagriff are about to get the opportunity that they’ve been waiting for. All of them are set to enter what’ll at least be Year 3 in their respective offenses (Beck is entering Year 4) and in theory, that would favor their chances of winning a quarterback battle with a potential transfer. After all, it’s a transfer. If they were so good then why did they enter the portal?

Well, in the year 2022, it’s not that simple. There are guys who could’ve stayed at their Power 5 schools and started like Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State) or Devin Leary (NC State). There are also Group of 5 quarterbacks who are looking for a bigger opportunity like Austin Reed (Western Kentucky) and Hank Bachmeier (Boise State). All of them could have a chance to become all-conference Power 5 players at new schools in 2023.

Once upon a time, Caleb Williams, Justin Fields and Joe Burrow were all transfers. Shoot, so was Hooker. Of the top 10 teams in the final Playoff poll, 5 were led by transfers. To turn a blind eye to the portal is negligent at best and indefensible at worst (looking at you Mr. Swinney).

Of course, those guys are still the minority. There’s risk in both approaches.

Milton lost his starting job at 2 Power 5 programs. Milroe is totally unproven as a passer and his lack of pocket awareness nearly cost Alabama the game against A&M in his lone career start. All of Beck’s college reps came in the later stages of blowout Georgia victories.

You can do all the internal evaluating in the world and still not truly know how a guy is going to handle the ebbs and flows of being QB1. That applies both to backups and potential portal guys. Guess wrong and you risk missing out on the next Hooker or the next Cam Rising.

So let’s break down each situation:

Alabama

I’m assuming that Milroe will start in the Sugar Bowl. If Young does, great. But for now, I’m assuming Young is gone and that the redshirt freshman will get that opportunity. The question is whether that’ll have a say in his case for QB1 in 2023. If one of these top-flight portal quarterbacks like Leary has interest in making a decision soon, this might not be a 2019 Mac Jones situation.

In 2019, Tua Tagovailoa’s injury opened the door for Jones to start the final 3 games, including the Citrus Bowl. Ultimately, he established himself as the true QB1. That was also before the undergraduate transfer rules were changed.

Let’s not forget that former 5-star recruit Ty Simpson will be entering Year 2 after taking a redshirt and Eli Holstein is set to enroll early with the 2023 class. That gives Alabama some flexibility on both sides. You can roll with Milroe, become a run-first team and hope that he works through his ball security issues knowing that there are 2 talented underclassmen waiting. You can also get a portal guy and stomach a potential Milroe transfer.

What complicates matters is the uncertain future of Bill O’Brien. His contract is up at the end of the calendar year. Will he flock to the potentially vacant New England Patriots offensive coordinator position? Or will Nick Saban give him a “prove it” 1-year deal? My guess is the former.

I’d also guess that Alabama will stick with Milroe to replace Bryce Young and hope that his pocket awareness improves with reps. The last transfer quarterback to start a game at Alabama was Jake Coker in Bama’s 2015 title year. While I wouldn’t say that’s destined to continue forever, I believe the Tide would have an extremely limited list of potential portal targets, if any.

Georgia

To be clear, I absolutely know where Georgia fans stand on this, and I don’t blame them. They want Beck or Vandagriff to take over for Bennett, who we assume is out of eligibility but is probably going to be Georgia’s QB1 into his 30s.

Jokes aside, Kirby Smart went down this road before. It wasn’t long ago that we were debating Jamie Newman vs. JT Daniels for QB1. Neither one (nor D’Wan Mathis) ultimately won Smart over. It was Bennett. Smart’s internal trust of Bennett had him at the center of criticism at this time last year. Ultimately, they both got the last laugh.

Smart has been vocal about relying on Georgia’s internal development to build the 2022 roster, which lost 15 players to the NFL Draft and had 10 players transfer to Power 5 programs. Does that mean he’s opposed to any and all transfer portal quarterback options? I wouldn’t say so.

But the timeline suggests that if this were to happen, it would be after UGA’s Playoff run. That could mean any potential targets would be guys who are still in the portal in January.

It felt like a major victory for Smart that Beck and Vandagriff stuck around this season knowing that Bennett was locked in as QB1. I’d be stunned if both were on UGA’s roster next season. Gunner Stockton also still has 4 years of eligibility left, but without a 2023 quarterback committed, there could be post-spring depth issues that Smart tries to address in the portal.

Like with Alabama, I’d expect that list of potential QB targets to be minimal. Unlike Alabama, however, Georgia likely won’t get the benefit of entering 2023 with a returning player who got meaningful reps against SEC competition. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Smart add a graduate transfer post-spring, especially in the event that Vandagriff or Stockton leave.

Tennessee

I know, Tennessee fans. You love Bazooka Joe. He’s got a cannon.

Check that. He’s got 2 cannons.

(I asked Jalin Hyatt how far Milton could throw a football. He said between 80-90 yards … and I believe him.)

Milton is a rare case of a guy who lost his job (2 jobs if we include Michigan) and he got a 2-game sample size to win it back. I’d say despite that lopsided final score against Vandy, Milton’s post-first drive showing wasn’t inspiring. Josh Heupel praised his improvement, but if Milton comes out and still looks like he still overthrows everyone by 20 yards in the Orange Bowl, one would think Tennessee has a real decision to make.

Yes, 5-star Nicholaus Iamaleava is set to arrive on Rocky Top in January. The No. 3 overall recruit is expected to be the quarterback of the future. That doesn’t guarantee that he’s ready to start from the jump. When Hooker took over for the injured Milton in 2021, Heupel turned to a guy with multiple years as a Power 5 starter. If Milton struggles or gets hurt, turning to Iamaleava or redshirt freshman-to-be Tayven Jackson is a much bigger roll of the dice.

Again, though. That’s assuming Heupel is sold on Milton being his starter. If that’s not the case, Heupel has about as easy of a sell as one can have to a potential transfer.

“Hey, you know Hendon Hooker? Yeah? He came in and led the No. 1 offense in America.”

It’s a quarterback-friendly scheme that should still have plenty of pass-catching weapons available, even in the event that Hyatt leaves for the NFL. If someone like Sam Hartman became available, well, I’d hope Heupel would pick him over Milton. The same goes for Leary.

But if I had to guess, it would still be that Milton gets a chance to start as Tennessee’s QB1 with a couple of former blue-chippers ready to step in if he falters.