MORGANTOWN — Quarterback Austin Kendall is finally on board at West Virginia after transferring from Oklahoma, enrolling in the nick of time to assure that he will be able to practice with the Mountaineers this spring.
Even though Kendall is clearly the favorite to be West Virginia’s starter, don’t expect him to win the job without a fight from Jack Allison. Coming out of high school, the two quarterbacks were ranked neck-and-neck as prospects, and neither has a wealth of college playing experience to fall back on.
In fact, based on 247 Sports composite rankings of all recruiting services, Allison ranked as the No. 8 pro-style quarterback in the Class of 2016. One spot behind him? Kendall, who was ninth.
Rivals was much higher on Kendall, placing him at No. 4 in the class. That’s one spot ahead of Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins, who might not even fall as far as No. 5 in the upcoming NFL draft. Rivals rated Allison ninth.
The differences highlight the fickle nature of assessing high school prospects, but regardless of which of the services was closer to being right, one thing remains true — West Virginia is now the only team with two of the top 10 pro-style passers from the Class of 2016.
In a sure sign of the times, neither player is at the school where he started. Allison started his career at Miami before transferring to WVU before the 2017 season.
Here is a look at how things have panned out for those 10 quarterbacks in the three years since they signed, as listed by their order in the composite rankings.
1. Shea Patterson
Signed: Ole Miss
Currently at: Michigan
Career Stats: 448 of 718 (62.4 percent), 5,719 yards, 45 TD, 19 INT
The skinny: Patterson transferred to Michigan in wake of the Hugh Freeze-related scandal that left Ole Miss ineligible for postseason play (which is not to be confused with the Hugh Freeze-related scandal that got Freeze fired).
Patterson will have some Heisman hype going into his senior season as the Wolverines look to finally break through under Jim Harbaugh.
2. Jacob Eason
Signed: Georgia
Currently at: Washington
Career stats: 208 of 377 (55.2 percent), 2,458 yards, 16 TD, 8 INT
The skinny: Eason returned to his home state when Georgia signed top-ranked prospect Justin Fields, who has since left the Bulldogs himself. Unlike Patterson, who received a hardship waiver, Eason sat out this season as a transfer. He’ll be a junior for the Huskies next season.
3. K.J. Costello
Signed: Stanford
Currently at: Stanford
Career stats: 393 of 624 (63 percent), 5,113 yards, 43 TD, 15 INT
The skinny: After waiting his turn as a freshman, Costello took over as the Cardinal starter mid-2017 and started all of Stanford’s games this season.
4. Malik Henry
Signed: Florida State
Currently at: Nevada
Career stats: None
The skinny: Currently the definition of “bust.” Henry was suspended at Florida State, transferred to junior college for two years, then could do no better than earning a walk-on spot with Nevada.
5. Feleipe Franks
Signed: Florida
Currently at: Florida
Career stats: 313 of 551 (56.8 percent), 3,895 yards, 33 TD, 14 INT
The skinny: Gators coach Jim McElwain was so enamored with Franks that he happily let Will Grier walk. Grier finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy vote at West Virginia last season. McElwain is now employed by Central Michigan. And Franks is finally showing why he was so highly touted after a much-improved junior season with Dan Mullen as head coach.
6. Brandon Peters
Signed: Michigan
Currently at: Michigan
Career stats: 58 of 110 (52.7 percent), 680 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
The skinny: Peters is a dinosaur. Despite Patterson transferring in, he stayed at Michigan. It appears he is content to stay there as the backup and compete for the starting job as a redshirt senior in 2020.
7. Dwayne Haskins
Signed: Ohio State
Currently: Entering NFL Draft
Career stats: 413 of 590 (70 percent), 5,396 yards, 54 TD, 9 INT
The skinny: In just one season as a starter for the Buckeyes, Haskins threw for more touchdowns than anyone else in his class has in their careers. And that’s how you end up an early entrant into the NFL Draft.
8. Jack Allison
Signed: Miami
Currently at: West Virginia
Career stats: 23 of 45 (51.1 percent), 352 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
The skinny: Allison left Miami when Mark Richt took over the program, and now neither one is there. The idea for Allison was always to compete for the Mountaineers starting job in 2019. The level of competition just rose significantly.
9. Austin Kendall
Signed: Oklahoma
Currently at: West Virginia
Career stats: 28 of 39 (71.8 percent), 265 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
The skinny: Kendall had the misfortune — or was it good fortune? — of backing up back-to-back Heisman winners at Oklahoma. With a national champion coming in on top of that in the form of Jalen Hurts, Kendall chose an opportunity where he’ll get a fair shake.
10. Patrick O’Brien
Signed: Nebraska
Currently at: Colorado State
Career stats: 18 of 30, 192 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
The skinny: O’Brien sat this season out as a transfer after rarely seeing the field at Nebraska, which also went through a coaching chance prior to his transfer.
