It appears Oklahoma will head into the summer and on into camp relatively thin at the quarterback position.
In January of this year, Cody Thomas announced that he had decided to leave the Sooners’ football team for OU’s baseball team. There have been rumblings that Thomas, who started three games in 2014 but saw his playing time decrease dramatically in 2015, could return to the football team for the fall.
During a radio interview Thursday, Thomas’ former head coach essentially quashed such speculation.
“That hasn’t been talked about. I don’t think so. That isn’t something that we’ve talked about at all,” Bob Stoops told The Sports Animal by way of Tulsa World. "(Thomas’ return) isn’t something that we’re relying on.”
Baker Mayfield will enter the 2016 season firmly entrenched as the starter, and his name will likely litter preseason Heisman lists coming off a season that many felt should’ve earned him finalist recognition for the award. Thomas served as Mayfield’s backup in 2015, and was expected to assume the same role in 2016.
Instead, that responsibility will likely fall on the shoulders of Austin Kendall, a true freshman early enrollee who very much impressed Stoops this spring.
“I really loved what Austin Kendall did,” Stoops said in same interview. “As a young guy, he was exceptional. I was really excited about that as a true freshman right out of high school.
“To play the whole spring – not just one day – the way he did was really exciting for everybody.”
The only other quarterbacks on the roster are Kyler Murray, Reece Clark and Connor McGinnis. Murray is a transfer from Texas A&M who’s ineligible to play this season, while Clark and McGinnis, both redshirt freshmen, will likely settle in as the No. 3 quarterback, with the latter walk-on the favorite entering summer for that job.