When it was reported on Wednesday that Blake Barnett was transferring from Alabama, the former five-star and current backup quarterback for the national title favorites received plenty of backlash.

The assumption from fans, message boards and even national media was that the redshirt freshman would be losing the 2017 season of eligibility regardless of his transfer plans. So, why would he leave now, four games into an undefeated season? With a true freshman starter one hit away from injury, Barnett is still a critical piece of Alabama's championship equation and he's being painted as a quitter by critics.

But Barnett has a plan — and it looks a lot like something we’ve seen before in college basketball.

According to bylaw 14.5.6 in the NCAA transfer guide, Barnett as a 4-2-4 transfer (four-year institution, to a junior college, and back to a four-year institution), can be eligible one calendar year from the date of his transfer from Alabama so long as he graduates with a GPA above 2.5 over an average of 12 hours per term at the certifying institution of Barnett’s choosing.

That’s a situation that happens frequently pre- and post-semester. The timing of Barnett’s transfer is what makes him a possible trailblazer: He’d be eligible to play the conference schedule at his next destination.

247Sports reviewed the NCAA transfer guide on Thursday with an FBS compliance source who has first-hand experience and knowledge in placing players from JUCOs, military institutions and other four-year colleges.

“I’ve never seen this situation before first-hand,” the compliance source said. “Because it’s so rare for somebody to leave in the middle of the season.”

It's worth noting that every person we talk to has slightly different perspectives on the interpretation of this rule. One source with significant experience dealing in junior college transfers believed that Barnett would be eligible immediately in 2017 at a four-year program. Still another source that coaches in the junior college ranks felt that Barnett wouldn't be able to play at a four-year institution until the 2018 season.

The source who thinks Barnett might have all of 2017 available muses that by leaving Alabama now and arriving at a two-year institution with a mid-term date in mid-October, Barnett would be essentially wiping clean the fall of 2016 at Alabama from his academic record. Consequently, his midterm transfer to a two-year institution would allow him to retroactively start the clock to the beginning of the first semester, thus allowing him to be eligible for the 2017 season with three years remaining to fulfill three years of eligibility.

The FBS compliance source was dubious about that.

“I don’t think he’d be able to not miss any time next year,” they said.

If this works, one reason that this is a no-brainer move for Barnett is because he's a redshirt freshman that was an early enrollee out of high school. He’s ahead of the curve as far as getting his associate degree, which at most two-year schools requires 60 hours of credit. Barnett enrolled at Alabama in the spring of 2015 so he's had three full semesters and two summers (2015 and 2016) worth of college course work behind him. Even if his 2016 fall semester is wiped clean, he likely has an easy road to earning the necessary credits to qualify for another four-year college by the end of the spring, since those Alabama hours would be rolled up into credit for his associate degree.

The situation highlights the murkiness of the NCAA bylaws that will ultimately determine the future of one of the top quarterbacks in the class of 2015.

If Barnett's best case scenario unfolds, it could be a game-changer in college football — particularly at the quarterback position. We regularly see college coaches delay naming a starting quarterback in open competitions until the first game of the season. Sometimes the competition extends well into the season. That can be a tool used to limit the flexibility and motivation for a quarterback to transfer out.

Barnett is presenting a scenario that gives quarterbacks a counter, the opportunity to transfer to a different school and preserve eligibility even after the season has kicked off.

Barnett was ranked by the industry-generated 247Sports Composite rankings as the No. 21 player in the country in the class of 2015 and the No. 2 pro-style quarterback, behind only Josh Rosen. In three games played this fall, Barnett has thrown for 219 yards on 11 of 19 passing with two touchdowns and no interceptions.