And after all that, the saga ends in the same place we all knew it would.
According to Drew Davison of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Oklahoma has released Chandler Morris from his scholarship, thereby allowing him to compete this fall for TCU.
The drama began last month, when Gary Patterson said Morris was not in the running to be the Frogs' quarterback in 2021 because Oklahoma had not granted his release. “We don’t know yet on Chandler, it looks like rules are going to change here real quickly, ” Patterson told reporters. “He still hasn’t been released by Oklahoma.”
Asked to confirm by OU reporters, Lincoln Riley said it wasn't anything personal against Morris, who played in five games as a true freshman last fall, he just didn't personally agree with intra-conference transfers competing immediately at their new institutions.
Riley also blocked Austin Kendall's immediate eligibility when he transferred from Oklahoma to West Virginia in 2019, but later relented under public pressure because Kendall was a graduate transfer. Since then, the dynamics of the situation have changed in major, if not predictable ways, First, Chad Morris took the head coaching job at Allen (Texas) High School, arguably the most talent-rich school in OU's recruiting footprint. Sticking by his principles meant Riley risked alienating a high-profile colleague and an important relationship. Second, and most importantly, the NCAA is moving forward with dropping the year-in-residence requirement, granting all athletes a 1-time waiver to transfer and compete immediately. While conferences could still have their own year-in-residence rule on top of the NCAA's, many have already adjusted their sails amid shifting winds, and the Big 12 followed suit last week. The Big 12's rule change came on the very day it was reported the NCAA was changing theirs. Riley could have still resisted all that pressure and kept Morris on the sidelines for 2021, but instead he changed his mind and will allow a true freshman quarterback to compete for a job that, it must be said, he likely won't win. Max Duggan returns to TCU in 2021 as a junior with 19 career starts, while Morris has five career passes. That last part makes Riley's stance all the more puzzling. He couldn't stop Morris from transferring to TCU, he simply had the power not to let him play in 2021. Therefore, if the Frogs still had the ability to download all the Sooner intel to be found on his mental hard drive, he just wouldn't be able to put that to personal use in that scenario. But he'd still be in every meeting, in every film session, and at every practice. (Kendall played against OU in 2019 and the Sooners rolled.) Now, Morris will do all those things, with the ability to play alongside his teammates. In fact, it appears Chandler himself told us the news Saturday afternoon.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.