College football teams will never, ever cease to amaze me.
Late last week, it was reported that Austin Kendall had decided to take a graduate transfer out of Oklahoma and continue his playing career elsewhere. One of the strongest possibilities to be that elsewhere is West Virginia, which also happens to be a member of the same conference as OU.
In that vein, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reports, OU is blocking Kendall from receiving immediate eligibility at WVU should the quarterback decided to transfer to the Mountaineers. Under normal NCAA rules, a player who graduates from one institution is immediately eligible to play at another FBS program; because the two schools are in the same conference, and because the Big 12 isn’t as sensible as the SEC, OU is permitted to block Kendall from becoming immediately eligible at another league program.
OU can’t block Kendall from transferring to WVU altogether, although if he did he would, at least for the moment, have to sit out the 2019 season. That would leave the grad transfer with one year of eligibility he could use in 2020.
Based on previous precedent involving Baker Mayfield, it appears Kendall could walk-on at WVU and be immediately eligible. It’s unclear if that’s a tack he will consider as he has other options that would involve a scholarship, including Auburn, where he visited this past weekend.
Kendall has been with the Sooners for three seasons after signing as a four-star member of OU’s 2016 recruiting class. His first two years were spent backing up the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner, Mayfield, while this past season, after losing an offseason quarterback competition, was spent backing up 2018 Heisman winner Kyler Murray.
In limited playing time, Kendall has completed 28-of-39 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns
Earlier Wednesday, Jalen Hurts officially announced that he is leaving Alabama as a graduate transfer and moving to OU, seemingly slamming the door shut for a return of Kendall to Norman.