Report: Oklahoma Grants Austin Kendall Immediate Eligibility for WVU Transfer

Oklahoma quarterback Austin Kendall will be granted a waiver by the university to become immediately eligible to play for West Virginia next season, according to George Schroeder of USA Today.

Earlier on Wednesday, Jake Trotter of ESPN.com reported that the Sooners were blocking Kendall from being immediately eligible. Jason Kersey of The Athletic noted that stance applied to all schools within the Big 12 and anyone on the Sooners' schedule over the next two years. OU has changed course, however. 

Kendall, who has two years of NCAA eligibility remaining, has not officially announced that he will be attending West Virginia, nor has he said that he will transfer.

However, given that Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts said he would be playing for Oklahoma next season, Kendall's move out of Norman seems inevitable.

The backlash against Oklahoma after the Sooners blocked Kendall from moving to a specific set of schools was swift and biting.

For example, Laken Litman of Sports Illustrated criticized OU for its hypocrisy, noting the Sooners had benefited from transfer quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray in recent seasons (and will likely have Hurts in 2019).

ESPN college football analyst Rod Gilmore tweeted that the block was shameful, and Tony Barnhart of the SEC Network said the Big 12 "needs to grow up."

Although OU eventually did the right thing, the Sooners' initial act of blocking Kendall in the first place is troublesome. The fact that NCAA rules allow programs like Oklahoma to even consider such a thing is also a point of contention.

Coaches can break their contracts and seek more financial security with any school at the drop of the hat, which is their right.

But unpaid student-athletes don't have the freedom to go where they want, advance their collegiate standing and put themselves in a better position for a more lucrative professional career.

The only hope is that one day the ability to block athletes from their desired destinations becomes an archaic NCAA regulation.