QB Chandler Morris’ eligibility status spurs social media push by TCU football players
TCU coach Gary Patterson was simply stating a fact on Monday.
Oklahoma has not released former quarterback Chandler Morris from his national letter of intent. Morris entered the NCAA’s transfer portal after spending his true freshman season with the Sooners in 2020 and opted to join the Frogs a few days later.
At the time, nobody knew if Morris would be eligible to play this fall. That hasn’t changed in two-plus months since he arrived in Fort Worth.
“We don’t know yet on Chandler,” Patterson said on Monday. “It looks like rules are going to change here real quickly. He still hasn’t been released by Oklahoma.”
That comment, while not intended to be malicious, created a social media stir with a number of TCU players posting on social media the hashtag: “#FreeCM4.”
Frogs running backs Zach Evans and Darwin Barlow, as well as wide receivers Blair Conwright, Derius Davis and Mikel Barkley, were among the players to share it. Players from other programs across the country did, too, including Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Arkansas defensive back Jalen Catalon.
Oklahoma did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
There’s multiple steps in the process for Morris to gain eligibility next fall, starting with OU releasing Morris from his national letter of intent because Morris is in his first year. If the Sooners do that, then TCU can pursue an immediate eligibility waiver for Morris from the NCAA. The caveat to the waiver is whether the NCAA will adopt a policy allowing one-time transfers. If it does, TCU and Morris would not need to go through the waiver process.
Finally, the Big 12 has a policy on intra-conference transfers that require them to sit out a year. However, a source said, that policy is likely going away in the near future.
At the end of the day, as another source put it, “This will all work itself out.”
This is not the first time OU has tried to block a quarterback from transferring within the conference. Austin Kendall transferred to West Virginia two years ago and OU initially tried to block it before relenting. K-State flirted with doing the same when Alex Delton left for TCU in the 2019 offseason, too.
If eligible, Morris would be in the mix for the backup job behind starter Max Duggan.
Morris was a four-star prospect coming out of Highland Park as part of the 2020 class, according to 247Sports. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound quarterback played in five games for the Sooners, completing 3 of 5 passes for 39 yards. He also rushed for 44 yards on five carries with two touchdowns.
One of Morris’ scores came in Oklahoma’s victory over Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship.
Morris was the third-string quarterback at OU behind Spencer Rattler and Tanner Mordecai. Mordecai transferred to SMU this offseason.
TCU opens its season against Duquesne on Sept. 4 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 9:26 AM.
