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Lincoln Riley: ‘Kyler is not the quarterback yet’

By Chip Rouse

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Oklahoma Sooners shakes hands with head coach Lincoln Riley during the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 01: Baker Mayfield #6 of the Oklahoma Sooners shakes hands with head coach Lincoln Riley during the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal Game against the Georgia Bulldogs at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual at the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters at Big 12 Media Days that the Sooners don’t have a quarterback yet, at least not one he is willing to designate the starter.

Related Story: The case for and against Oklahoma making the 2018 CFP

Riley was joined on Monday by several of his players as participants in the annual Media Days event put on by the conference, this year at The Star, the Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters complex in Frisco, Texas. The annual two-day gathering of Big 12 coaches, invited players and media representatives serves as an unofficial kickoff of the 2018 college football season.

Jumping right on the elephant in the room, with Riley at the interview table, one reporter asked the second-year Oklahoma head coach how the offense would be different with Kyler Murray at quarterback. Riley was quick to answer:

"“Kyler isn’t the quarterback yet…he’s going to have to fight like crazy to win the job,” said the Sooner head coach."

Riley has been consistent in that mind set since spring practice. He makes no bones that there is a very close competition going on between Murray and sophomore Austin Kendall. There is a really good competition going on right now, Riley said,  and both are good enough and ready to be the starting quarterback at Oklahoma.

"“Whoever wins (the job), whether its Kyler Murray or Austin Kendall, the offense will look different,” Riley said.“They’ve got different skill sets than Baker. There are some things that Baker does differently than these guys. There are things that they do better than Baker did. Once we nail down who the starter will be, It will be our job as coaches to do the best job of tailoring the offense to (him) and giving him the best chance for success."

“This is going to be a very interesting team,” the OU head coach said. “It’s got a chance to be the most talented team we’ve had here in the last four years, but it also will be the most inexperienced.

Riley said the 2018 edition of the Sooners is highly capable of making a return trip to the College Football Playoff (if so, that would be the third time in Riley’s four seasons at OU). But he cautioned that, of course, a lot of things have to go your way in order to make that possible. “You have to win some tough games, you’re going to have to stay healthy, a lot of things factor into that.”

The OU head coach was also asked about the defense and what OU needs to do to get better in that area”

“We’ve got to recruit,” he said. “We feel we’re making pretty good movement there,” but with not a lot of experience and mostly young players there, it’s going to take a little time to get back to the level we want be defensively.

"“Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had some good players on defense. It’s just that the talent level has not been the same as other elite defenses in the country.”"

Click here to view the entire Big 12 press conference with Lincoln Riley

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