Say what you want about the future of college football.

Say that it’s doomed because of NIL and the transfer portal. Say that it’ll forever be tarnished by the all-important desire to make a buck. Say that we’ve gone past the point of no return with amateurism.

But don’t lie. It’d be pretty sweet to trade places with Jordan Addison right now.

The former Pitt receiver and 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner hit the open market and got the red carpet rolled out at USC and Texas. Soon, Alabama reportedly will host Addison. Players of Addison’s caliber usually don’t reach this point. They’re usually in the NFL or returning for another season at the same college campus where they started their career.

Instead, Addison now gets to basically pick his next destination entering his pre-draft season.

You know. In case you haven’t heard.

Barring a last-minute change, Addison will choose between USC, Texas and Alabama. The Maryland native doesn’t appear to be worried about playing close to home, and any potential NIL package figures to be significant at his future destination. Each program has a former 5-star recruit expected to start as QB1 in 2022, and all of them have an offensive play-caller with proven chops.

Addison is choosing between the right 3 schools, at least based on those factors. But if he’s focused on setting himself up best for the NFL, Alabama should be his final destination.

Now is the part in the column where someone says “nobody in their right mind would pick to live in Tuscaloosa instead of Austin or Los Angeles.”