You saw it. I saw it. We all saw it. Oklahoma backup quarterback Tanner Mordecai didn’t look pleased at all that true freshman Spencer Rattler entered the Peach Bowl, during garbage time, and not him. His expression on the sideline let many (myself included) to speculate that his time in Norman was short and the transfer portal was waiting. It turns out that we may have been wrong.
The Athletic’s Jason Kersey is reporting that Mordecai plans to not only return to Oklahoma in 2020, as a redshirt sophomore, but to compete with Rattler for the starting job.
Having Mordecai on the team can’t be anything other than good news for the Sooners. It will give Lincoln Riley two scholarship quarterbacks to compete with one another and keep the depth in the quarterback room at a more than adequate number.
The question now is – what about after spring ball? Oklahoma beat out Baylor to land Mordecai in the 2018 recruiting class. He was a 4-star recruit (per 247Sports) and the #11 dual threat quarterback prospect in the nation.
The point in, Mordecai is talented and his 18 scholarship offers from the likes of Oklahoma, Baylor, and Georgia prove that. He’s also smart enough to know where he compares to Rattler after spring ball. If Spencer Rattler wins the job then the only thing that would make Mordecai QB-1 through the duration of his career is an injury.
It is 100% a good thing that Tanner Mordecai plans to be with the team in 2020. That said, I think this is a conversation we’ll plan to revisit after spring ball.
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Mordecai will win the job.
You have a lot more confidence in him than I do.