Getty Jalen Hurts is heading to the Oklahoma Sooners
It didn’t take long for the Oklahoma Sooners to find a replacement for NFL-bound quarterback Kyler Murray. With the Heisman Trophy winner on his way to the next level, it’s led to the team looking at their options at the position. And the next player who’s poised to lead the charge for the Sooners is former Alabama Crimson Tide signal-caller Jalen Hurts.
As Hurts announced on The Players’ Tribune, he’s opted to transfer to Oklahoma.
Now, I’m an alumnus of the University of Alabama.
Now I’m Bama for LIFE – and that right there will never change!
But now it’s also time for me to start a new chapter in my story.
I’ve decided to take my talents to the University of Oklahoma, where I will continue my development as both a quarterback and as a student.
Oklahoma’s former projected starter in Austin Kendall has been linked to a transfer that would send him to the West Virginia Mountaineers, but there’s some drama surrounding that. Let’s take a look at the current quarterback depth chart for Lincoln Riley’s squad ahead of the 2019 season and the latest on Kendall.
Oklahoma Sooners QB Depth Chart
*Note: The latest depth chart is courtesy of OurLads.com and ESPN. It does not include Kendall’s potential position due to transfer talks. This may not include the latest on decisions/updates relating to the other quarterbacks in the program.
- Jalen Hurts
- Tanner Mordecai
- Tanner Schafer
- Reece Clark
- Connor McGinnis
To make this move even better for Oklahoma, Hurts is immediately eligible to play in 2019 as he’s a graduate transfer. This means it’s obviously very likely that he’ll be the team’s starter this coming season. The former Crimson Tide quarterback will follow in the steps of Murray and Baker Mayfield, who led the way before him.
Hurts posted a 26-2 record as Alabama’s starter before he was benched in favor of current starter Tua Tagovailoa. Over the span of three seasons with the Crimson Tide, he’s thrown for 5,626 yards, rushed for 1,976 yards and scored 71 combined touchdowns with just 12 interceptions.
Austin Kendall’s Current Transfer Status
The situation surrounding Kendall has been an interesting one that took quite a turn on Wednesday. Just prior to the decision being revealed that Hurts would head to Oklahoma, ESPN’s Jake Trotter revealed the school was blocking Kendall’s eligibility for the 2019 season at West Virginia.
“…Oklahoma is blocking quarterback Austin Kendall from becoming immediately eligible at West Virginia as a graduate transfer, sources told ESPN.
Under new transfer rules, Kendall is able to talk to Mountaineers coaches and is free to transfer to the school. Oklahoma, however, still reserves the right under NCAA rules to keep Kendall from becoming immediately eligible at West Virginia, another Big 12 school, for the 2019 season, even though he has earned his undergraduate degree at Oklahoma.”
As Trotter goes on to reveal, the Sooners quarterback can still transfer to the Mountaineers if this stands, but he would have to sit out the upcoming season. In turn, Kendall would be left with just one year of eligibility.
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