Why D’Eriq King Will Not Play QB For Oklahoma Next Season

Despite speculation and what you may have read on Twitter, the likelihood of D’Eriq King playing QB for the Oklahoma Sooners is slim to none.

As you may have heard by now, D’Eriq King has recently decided he will finish out the 2019 season as a redshirt. The news sent shock waves through the draft community and immediately people began to speculate where he would land next season.

Seconds after King was released, “D’Eriq King to Oklahoma” tweets were quickly fired off left and right. The Sooners are the obvious and easy choice with three of their last starting QBs were all transfers: Baker Mayfield (from Texas Tech) Kyler Murray (from Texas A&M), and Jalen Hurts (from Alabama).

Oklahoma may appear to be the clear favorite to land D’Eriq King, but that is not the case. If you’re familiar with high school recruiting, then the name Spencer Rattler should ring a bell. According to 247Sports, Rattler was the nation’s number 1 rated pro-style QB in the 2019 class. Currently a true freshman for the Sooners, Rattler has extremely high expectations being a five-star recruit.

Rattler isn’t the only QB on the roster that King would have to battle next. Presently, a redshirt freshman for the Sooners, Tanner Mordecai, is currently listed as the team back-up QB on the depth chart.

Jalen Hurts will be entering the draft at the end of the year, leaving the position up for grabs. Rattler and Mordecai will be in competition for the starting job and with both being so young, the loser could perhaps transfer in hopes to find an opportunity somewhere else. If the Sooners were to bring King into the mix they could lose both their young QBs to the transfer portal.

Not only is the Sooners roster already full at the QB position King, but also he has yet to even entertain the thought of entering the transfer portal. In fact, he has done the opposite and said he would like to stay in Houston and continue to play for the Cougars.

Lastly, D’Eriq King may be taking the year off to hone his skills at another position. In Dan Matney’s article, he began to touch on the topic: perhaps D’Eriq King is suited to play another position. Listed as 5-foot-11 on the Cougars roster, however, according to reports, that may not be the case.

If the reports are true and King is, in fact, two inches shorter than Kyler, that would make him 5-foot-8. We’ve seen the NFL take risks on smaller QBs more recently, but 5-foot-8 seems like too much of a liability for the NFL.

King is no stranger to switching positions. When Marquez Stevenson went down in 2016, during camp with a broken collarbone, the coaching staff approached King asking if he would be willing to make the switch to slot receiver. He made the switch that season and continued to play WR through 2017.

In King’s two years at WR, he tallied 492 yards, 58 receptions, 3 touchdowns, and an average of 8.5 yards-per-catch. For someone who was asked to play receiver for the first time, King was able to be productive. If he decides to make the jump to WR, redshirting will give him the opportunity to improve his receiving ability.

Until King’s decision is final, there will continue to be opinions on where he will land, and whether or not he will continue to play QB. One thing we can be certain of, D’Eriq King will not be the Sooners starting QB next season.