Former Oklahoma quarterback Austin Kendall has committed to West Virginia and is enrolling there to participate in spring ball with the Mountaineers, a source told ESPN.
Kendall visited Morgantown on Thursday after Oklahoma relented and allowed him to be eligible for the 2019 season. The Sooners initially were blocking Kendall from becoming immediately at West Virginia, even though Kendall had earned his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma.
Under new transfer rules, Kendall was still able to talk to Mountaineers coaches and free to transfer to the school. But with Oklahoma blocking him to West Virginia, another Big 12 school, he would’ve had to sit out the upcoming season, leaving him with only one year of eligibility left in 2020.
Now, Kendall will be able to play two years for the Mountaineers, beginning in 2019.
Kendall entered the transfer portal Friday after learning the day before that the Sooners had been pursuing Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts and had scheduled for him to visit Norman over the weekend. Hurts, also a graduate transfer, committed to Oklahoma in a letter published on The Players’ Tribune on Wednesday.
Kendall backed up Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray last season. Before redshirting in 2017, he was the backup to Baker Mayfield in 2016.
Kendall has a relationship with new West Virginia coach Neal Brown. While an assistant at Kentucky, Brown recruited Kendall, a Charlotte, North Carolina, native, out of high school.
West Virginia is looking to replace two-year starter Will Grier at quarterback.