UPDATE: Kansas State will not block Alex Delton transfer

UPDATE: Contrary to earlier reports, Kansas State will not interfere in Alex Delton’s transfer to TCU. He appears to be on track to be on campus for the spring semester.

Additionally, OU has relented and will allow Austin Kendall to head to WVU.

With the new legislation, graduate transfer students are free to matriculate to whichever school they choose, according to the NCAA. But, that rule does not always apply within conference bylaws.

That is the case for former Kansas State QB Alex Delton, who is running into some red tape from his former home when it comes to finding a new one. Initially committed to UTEP for his final season of eligibility, Delton announced Tuesday evening that he had switched his pledge to TCU. With classes in Fort Worth already underway, his transition was expected to be swift - and with the final day to enroll approaching Friday, it needed to be.

But, on Wednesday, Dennis Dodd of CBS reported that things had slowed down:

The Wildcats, who are led by someone other than Bill Snyder for the first time in forever, have little reason to block this move. Delton wasn’t going to start for K-State this fall, and new coach Chris Klieman doesn’t need an unhappy player on campus. Frankly, the odds of him starting a majority of the season for the Horned Frogs aren’t high either, and he is likely being targeted as someone who can provide some depth in the spring (the only healthy, scholarship quarterback on the roster is true freshman early-enrollee Max Duggan, as both Justin Rogers and Mike Collins are working through injuries) and be a veteran presence in a QB room bereft of guys who have been there, done that.

Nobody in the Little Apple had issues with Delton leaving for UTEP - a school they would not face. But apparently the thought of him playing for a rival school was too much - even though the offensive and defensive systems will be completely different under new management.

Delton isn’t the only unhappy QB in the Big 12; just hours after securing the commitment of free agent Jalen Hurts, the Oklahoma Sooners are trying to keep Austin Kendall away from the West Virginia Mountaineers - blocking the grad transfer with two years of eligibility remaining from heading east to captain Troy Brown’s ship. Though Kendall will likely never play for Lincoln Riley, who has five star QB Spencer Rattler waiting in the wings to take over after Hurts’ one and done year, heaven forbid he play for a rival (though he will know some of the young coach’s secrets).

In a new world of free agent collegiate athletes, programs and rule-makers are learning as they go along. Ultimately, they should do what’s right for the players, but we all know that’s not how things work. While it’s not ideal to allow players to transfer within conference, at the end of the day, if they aren’t going to play for you, let them have a shot to live out there dreams somewhere, anywhere, else.