Kendall wins West Virginia football QB competition but real work now begins

In the end, it was Austin Kendall winning the quarterback job more than any of his challengers losing it.

The junior signal caller took a big step toward making the most of his final two seasons of eligibility by winning a highly competitive battle that stemmed back to his arrival on campus in January.

In the process, further reaffirming his decision to leave Oklahoma as a graduate transfer and enroll in Morgantown in order to throw his name into the battle.

The North Carolina native was no stranger to quarterback battles after falling just short of the Sooners job a season ago to eventual Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray.

West Virginia head coach Neal Brown never discussed that competition with Kendall at any point during his recruitment to Morgantown or since he arrived on campus to play for the rival Big 12 Conference program.

This time around Brown won’t need any cliff notes on how this latest competition turned out. That’s because the head man tracked everything from spring practice to fall camp from decision making to completion percentage to scoring drives and turnovers to come to a conclusion.

Fellow redshirt junior Jack Allison and redshirt freshman Trey Lowe had their moments, but Kendall sealed the deal after the second scrimmage of the fall where he made the choice clear.

“He’s gone through this song and dance before,” Brown said.

But that is only the first step in the process.

Now for Kendall, the work truly begins.

“He’s won the starting quarterback job but he hasn’t won one game,” Brown said.

When the North Carolina native makes the start Aug. 31 against James Madison it will be the first of his career as he’s only attempted 39 passes and appeared in a grand total of six games. That was a big part of his progression as while Kendall had been around to see some highly successful offenses with Oklahoma he more often than not was not the one operating them.

Kendall simply needed more time on the field throwing the football in live situations. That’s what camp was for and the coaches were able to provide exactly that type of environment to allow him opportunities to cut down on some of the misfires and not trusting when to pull the trigger in situations.

“You need some bullets flying at you and the more reps he’s gotten, he’s improved,” Brown said.

One thing working for Kendall is well, his age. Already a college graduate, what he lacks in on the field experience he makes up for it in what he’s been through overall. He has spent three years with the Sooners and seen both the ups and downs of major college football.

Kendall often remains at an even keel and doesn’t get too high or too low. Brown has been able to coach him hard without his pupil taking it personal and he isn’t afraid to take ownership of his mistakes.

That has lent itself to establishing a bond with his new teammates in Morgantown as he quickly was able to earn the respect of those on his new club despite his background of playing for a conference foe.

That’s a unique situation in itself, but Kendall handled it brilliantly.

“He let his work ethic and level of preparation show how important it was,” Brown said.

Everybody in the Puskar Center, especially Kendall, realizes that the work is only beginning if he wants to make good on the opportunity now in front of him. That is where his competitive nature could take over, a trait that helped the cream rise to the top in the battle for the job.

A job that took Kendall four years and two different schools to finally call his own.

“Prepare like a starting quarterback and put us in a position to win games,” Brown said.

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