Monday marks the final week of practice for Oklahoma before the Sooners hit game week. It would be the ideal time for Lincoln Riley to name a starting quarterback because it would allow for him to tinker with some things in the offense before all of the focus turns to Florida Atlantic.
That said, the competition is running so close that Riley may not be able to make a decision in the next five days. “They both had a couple of the best days that they’ve had, and they’ve both been trending well here as of late,” Riley said of quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Austin Kendall. “The last 4-5 practices have been probably both of their best. They’re taking advantage of it. We’re not repping the three’s and four’s quite as much anymore. We were already giving those guys a pretty good chunk of the reps, but going even more now.”
On one hand, you have to appreciate that both quarterbacks are playing at a level that prevents separation, but even Riley acknowledges that game week is approaching and it presents a quasi deadline to pick a guy and roll with him.
“We’ll just see how it goes,” Riley said. “Eventually you’re gonna get to game week and have to do something by then. I mean, we’ll certainly do something before the first game. But other than that, I think we’re gonna let it play out. We’ll get a bunch of reps and see how it goes.”
Every player on Oklahoma’s roster lives for Saturdays in the fall. However, it may be a late summer Saturday that defines who will be the crimson and cream signal caller this season. The Sooners have a scrimmage set for this coming Saturday, August 19th, and it appears that all eyes will be on the quarterback.
ESPN’s @Jake_Trotter with a great question on #Sooners QB battle and the timeline Riley has for naming the starter between Austin Kendall and Kyler Murray.
Riley, “Should have a better feel after the scrimmage Saturday.” @OU247 @joeyhelmer247 @RJ_Young @soonergridiron pic.twitter.com/MPL3IoMRFz
— Brandon Drumm (@BrandonDrumm247) August 15, 2018
“I’m not gonna tell you guys, and I’m also not gonna nail it down myself and say I’m gonna do it on this date,” Riley said when asked about a decision date. “I want to be fluid with it, I want to be open with it. I want to see how it continues to progress. We’ve got three more big (practices) this week and then another scrimmage here on Saturday. I want to see where we’re at there, and then I think after the scrimmage Saturday, we’ll sit back and take a look at it and see if we’re ready to name somebody.”