Kaidon Salter transfer portal rumors: 5 teams who would upgrade with Liberty QB

Although the Liberty Flames had no shot vs. the Oregon Ducks in the Fiesta Bowl, that was still a huge stage for Jamey Chadwell's CUSA team. Liberty was the first team from Conference USA to ever win the Group of Five, having gone undefeated prior to the Oregon blowout. If there was one shining star from the bowl game for the Flames, it was that of Liberty's quarterback, Kaidon Salter.

Unfortunately, Salter is leaving Lynchburg behind to see what is out there in the transfer portal. What you have to remember about Salter is he is a former Tennessee player, having initially committed to the Vols back in 2021. Off-the-field issues led to him leaving the Tennessee program, but he has rebounded at Liberty. Thus, Salter should be a hot commodity this late into the transfer portal cycle.

The expectation is that Salter will be going Power Five, as that is what his talent coming out suggested that he was. Recruiting connections will certainly play a part in where he will end up. With two years of eligibility remaining, Salter can be an answered prayer to Power Five teams in dire need of a quarterback upgrade. With plenty of big-game experience, Salter has tons to offer these teams.

Here are five programs that would certainly love adding Salter to their quarterback room in 2024.

Kaidon Salter transfer portal rumors: 5 destinations for the Liberty QB

5. Washington State Cougars need to replace Cam Ward who turned pro

With last year's starting quarterback Cam Ward declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft, the Washington State Cougars find themselves between a rock and a hard place once again. As with their fellow Pacific Northwest Step Brother Oregon State, Wazzu is about to lose its Power Five designation with the Pac-12 dissolving. As quasi-members of the Mountain West now, things are not looking up at all.

Given how poorly the Cougars played down the stretch in conference play, they need some spark to give them life going forward. Going to essentially the Mountain West could be huge for the team long-term, but that just stinks right now. To me, adding a quarterback like a Salter can bridge the gap in the difficult years ahead full of uncertainty for the Washington State program. Salter has experience, too.

With Liberty going from national independent to a full-time CUSA member, Salter can relate to what Washington State is going through. He would be a the perfect type of leader for what they need. The big concern is if the Cougars play up to their halfway decent standard, their head coach Jake Dickert could be poached for a bigger job. You have to remember that he was tied to the Michigan Stage gig.

Given how strong quarterbacks have played historically in Pullman, Wazzu is not a terrible fit here.