MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Quarterback Austin Kendall is questionable for this week’s game at Oklahoma, West Virginia coach Neal Brown confirmed during Monday’s Big 12 coaches teleconference.
“We’ll go out this afternoon and he’ll throw a little bit,” Brown said. “I think he’ll be questionable for Saturday. It will depend on how much work he is able to do.”
The good news is that Kendall does not appear to be at risk of missing a long stretch of games. But missing Saturday’s game would be a bitter pill to swallow for Kendall, who transferred from Oklahoma this offseason when the Sooners brought graduate transfer Jalen Hurts in from Alabama.
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley hopes that his former player is able to get onto the field.
“I think a lot of Austin and his family,” Riley said. “Excited to see him get a chance. He’s done a good job and he’ll keep getting better. I hope the best for him with his health.”
Brown is holding out enough hope that he has yet to alter this week’s practice plan to give Jack Allison starter reps and Trey Lowe backup reps.
“We’re going to see where Austin is at over the next 24 hours,” Brown said. “Our main work days are Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ll see where Austin is at before we split the reps up.”
Allison took over after Kendall was injured on the final play of West Virginia’s opening offensive possession. He finished 18 of 24 for 140 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Brown expects Allison to play better if he has the opportunity to practice as the starter this week.
“Any time you’ll get a large number of repetitions, you’ll improve,” Brown said. “He definitely could have played better, but he didn’t do a bad job at all.”
West Virginia is a 33.5-point underdog against the Sooners.