UT quarterback Shane Buechele told the team Wednesday that he plans on transferring to a different school, as first reported by Rivals' Anwar Richardson.

This has long been speculated. Buechele started as a true freshman under Charlie Strong and split time with Sam Ehlinger as a sophomore in 2017, but backed up the younger quarterback this season.

On Thursday, ESPN.com reported that SMU could be a potential landing spot for Buechele. We reported that earlier this month, but it has been kept quiet for some time, as Buechele had yet to make an announcement.

Buechele has many connections to the Dallas area. He was raised in nearby Arlington and attended Lamar High School, where he was a 4-star QB and the fifth-ranked dual threat QB in his class.

His father, Steve Buechele, played for the Rangers in the 1980s and '90s and has remained close to the organization since. He was a media personality covering the team for Fox Sports Southwest and the first base coach from 2015-2018. The elder Buechele now works in the team's front office.

With roots in the Dallas area, it's only natural that he'd look at SMU, especially after Ben Hicks, the Mustangs' starter from 2016-2018 transferred to Arkansas, leaving the team thin at the position. It makes more since given the other team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area, TCU, was recently took former KSU QB Alex Delton.

In three seasons at UT, Buechele completed 62 percent of his passes for 4,636 yards with 30 TDs and 16 INTs. He also ran for 268 yards on 168 carries, scoring four touchdowns. His best season came in 2016, when he passed for 2,958 yards, completing 60.4 percent of his passes while throwing for 21 TDs and 11 INTs.

We've examined how Buechele would fit into SMU's offense, concluding that he would be able to both pass the ball and run some of the spread option concepts usually utilized in Rhett Lashlee's system.

If Buechele were to transfer, he could possibly count last year as a redshirt season, giving him two years of eligibility.