Tag: Austin Kendall

Running wild: Oklahoma keeps up their recruiting momentum landing 4-star running back Daylan Smothers

After releasing his top four featuring Oklahoma, Alabama, NC State, and Florida State, four-star RB Daylan Smothers picks OU.

The Sooners have broken into a full-out sprint on the recruiting trail in the month of July after getting their legs under them in June. Their recruiting exploits have taken them to the Pacific Northwest through the midwest and to the northeast.

These aren’t places a team like Oklahoma typically ventures into to find talent.

Another part of the country that is relatively untapped for Oklahoma is the state of North Carolina. The Oklahoma Sooners have had a bit more of a presence here in the last few years, with former Sooners like [autotag]Austin Kendall[/autotag], [autotag]Ryan Jones[/autotag], and most recently, [autotag]Jeremiah Hall[/autotag] all hailing from the N.C. Adding to that list is another Sooner, as the North Carolina High School Player of the Year by the Charlotte Observer and News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) [autotag]Daylan Smothers[/autotag] committed to Oklahoma on Thursday afternoon.

Smothers, a do-it-all four-star running back hoping to play his final year of high school ball at West Charlotte High School, received an offer from Oklahoma in March when he shined the brightest at the Rivals camp held in Charlotte, NC. Standing front and center was the trio of DeMarco Murray, Brent Venables, and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. They extended the offer and then proceeded to put the full court press on Smothers, who was considering Alabama, Florida State, and in-state school N.C. State. Smothers is the 15th commitment for the Sooners.

 

Projections came in fast and furious in favor of Oklahoma for the running back when he dropped his top four a few weeks ago, and that was the precursor to letting the recruiting world know who was the overwhelming favorite with a commitment imminent.

His combination of speed, power, and vision made him a coveted prospect by many teams on the east coast, and he’s now a Sooner. He pairs with Kalib Hicks, another four-star running back, to round out the Sooners’ recruiting efforts in the backfield. With Hicks and Smothers, the Sooners get dynamic playmakers with track backgrounds. Both have some legitimate acceleration and top-end speed and will only add to the running back room when they team with guys like Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk upon arriving on campus next year.

With recruiting all but done for 2023, DeMarco Murray can now look forward to 2024 as he seeks to build on this year’s work. Names to watch early on include four-stars Stacy Gage and Tovani Mizell.

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Former Oklahoma quarterback Austin Kendall on the move again

Former Oklahoma quarterback Austin Kendall will transfer again, this time out of the Big 12.

Former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Austin Kendall appears will apparently suit up for his third college team this season. Kendall spent three years with the Sooners and played in six games over that span. In 2016 he played two games and then four more in 2018. He transferred to West Virginia ahead of the 2019 season.

During his six games with Oklahoma, Kendall threw 39 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns. Over the last two seasons with the Mountaineers, Kendall played in 11 games, throwing for 2,153 yards and 14 touchdowns. He helped lead them to a bowl victory over Army in the final game of the 2020 season. After four seasons for two teams, he will transfer again but this time outside of the Big 12 Conference.

According to 247Sports, the former four-star Oklahoma commit will head to the state of Louisiana with the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in 2021.

Former Oklahoma and West Virginia quarterback Austin Kendall is transferring to Louisiana Tech, 247Sports’ Chris Hummer reported Thursday morning. Kendall, who served in a backup role to both Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray at Oklahoma, is entering his sixth year of eligibility.

Kendall entered the NCAA transfer portal in January after spending the previous two seasons at West Virginia. In 2020, Kendall completed 11 of 23 passes (47.8%) for 164 yards and two touchdowns to zero interceptions. – Clint Buckley, 247Sports

Coming out of high school in North Carolina, Kendall was the No. 7 player in the state and the No. 9 ranked pro-style quarterback of the 2016 recruiting cycle. He will try to become the full-time starter for Louisiana Tech in what should be his final year of eligibility.

What QBs in the transfer portal could be Penn State targets?

James Franklin says Penn State will only add a quarterback from the transfer portal if the right fit is available. So what’s available now?

Penn State has been active in the transfer portal this offseason. But if things do not develop as James Franklin hopes, it is possible Penn State could still target at least one more player out of the transfer portal to fill the depth at various positions, including at the quarterback position.

Franklin made it known what his preference is for the quarterback position on the roster at the beginning of the spring. While Franklin would consider moving forward with three scholarship players, he would really like to move into the fall with four or five. Sean Clifford is entrenched as the team’s starting quarterback after two years as the team’s starter, but the experience behind him is raw. With the transfers of Will Levis and Michael Johnson Jr., Penn State has just Taquan Roberson and true freshman Christian Veilleux currently on scholarship.

Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast: James Franklin’s spring expectations at QB

This makes the transfer portal all the more intriguing for Penn State if the need for another quarterback is pressing at the end of the spring. But Franklin made note that his program won’t add a quarterback out of the transfer portal just for the sake of numbers. Whatever quarterback is potentially pulled from the portal ahs to be the right fit for the Nittany Lions.

What qualifies as the right fit may be open to some interpretation, but this much we know. Penn State has hired Mike Yurich as the new offensive coordinator, and his offenses have tended to operate with quarterbacks lining up under center far more often than Penn State fans have grown accustomed to seeing in recent years. One of Penn State’s first recruiting victories since the hiring of Yurcich was the commitment of pro-style quarterback Drew Allar, suggesting Penn State is ready to move with a player more prone to a pro-style offense.

So, with all of that in mind, what are some potential options still lurking in the transfer portal? There are some interesting names to potentially keep an eye on, just in case. Here’s a look at who is still currently available.

Note: Source for updated transfer portal data comes from 247 Sports, as of March 28, 2021.

Former Tennessee quarterback commit enters transfer portal

Former Tennessee quarterback commit enters transfer portal.

West Virginia quarterback Austin Kendall has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

The redshirt senior will have one more year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Kendall committed to the Vols in August 2014 before decommitting in March 2015.

He signed with Oklahoma out of high school before transferring to West Virginia ahead of the 2019 season.

Oct 31, 2019; Waco, TX, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Austin Kendall (12) passes for a touchdown against the Baylor Bears during the game at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

During his time at West Virginia, Kendall appeared in 11 games for the Mountaineers. He was 198-of-327 for 2,153 yards, 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

The 6-foot-2, 212-pound quarterback appeared in eight games while at Oklahoma.

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Former Oklahoma QB Austin Kendall leads second half comeback off bench for West Virginia in Liberty Bowl

Former Oklahoma quarterback Austin Kendall came off the bench to lead a second half comeback for West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl.

Former Oklahoma quarterback Austin Kendall has had a winding road of a collegiate career.

After losing out on the starting job with the Sooners to Kyler Murry in 2018, Kendall elected to enter the transfer portal where he eventually landed in Morgantown with West Virginia.

He had a bit of a good and bad first year with the Mountaineers, appearing in nine games and going 187/304 passing for 1989 yards and 12 touchdowns. Despite the good things he did, he once again lost a quarterback competition entering the 2020 season to Jarrett Doege.

On Thursday, after throwing only six passes all season long, Kendall entered the game in the second half of West Virginia’s game against Army in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Down 21-10, he proceeded to toss two touchdown passes and lead the Mountaineers to a come-from-behind 24-21 win to cap off their season. Time will tell what this means for Kendall’s future going forward, but his up-and-down career certainly had a big up on Thursday afternoon,

West Virginia concludes their season at 6-4 with the win in the second year under head coach Neal Brown.

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