Oklahoma football: Sooners’ future QB situation takes a hit
By Chip Rouse
The future quarterback situation for Oklahoma football looked bright even with the departure of Jalen Hurts after just one season in Norman.
That all changed on New Year’s Day, however, when the nation’s No. 2 quarterback in 2021 national recruiting class announced via Twitter that he was decommitting from Oklahoma.
Brock Vandagriff, out of Bogart, Georgia, had been committed to the Sooners since June 2019.
The 6-foot, 3-inch, 200-pound Vandagriff was rated by ESPN as the No. 24 prospect overall in the 2021 class and No. 2 pocket passer.
Vandagriff, who still has a year remaining after 2019-20 at Prince Avenue Christian High School in Bogart, was the top commitment out of three so far in OU’s 2021 class. Four-star wide-receiver Cody Jackson and defensive end Ethan Downs remain committed at this time.
In announcing the decision on his Twitter account, Vandagriff wrote:
“These last couple of months have brought to my attention how hard it is going to be for me to attend college so far away from home.
“I would like to thank Coach Riley, coach Beamer, Coach Hill and the rest of the football staff at Oklahoma.”
When Vandagriff committed to Oklahoma last June, he was also considering offers from Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Auburn and Tennessee, according to ESPN, all SEC schools except Clemson.
Vandagriff’s decision to pull his commitment to the Sooners leaves Oklahoma without a quarterback recruit in either of the next two recruiting classes (2020 and ’21).
Head coach Lincoln Riley said earlier this week, however, that the Sooners would add a quarterback to the roster by next season but does not plan to add a QB from the transfer portal.
Chandler Morris, who decommitted from Arkansas when his father, Chad Morris, was fired by the Razorbacks. is reported to be leaning toward Oklahoma and could make an announcement as early as Thursday as part of the Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando, Florida (the game will be broadcast on ESPN2, beginning at 5 p.m. CT on Thursday).
Morris is a dual-threat quarterback out of Highland Park High School in Dallas, the same school that produced Matthew Stafford, currently the quarterback for the NFL Detroit Lions.