Tanner Mordecai, the former four-star recruit for the Oklahoma Sooners, has been named the starting quarterback for SMU as the Mustangs head into Week 1 of the college football season.

Mordecai arrived in Dallas with two seasons of eligibility left and listed as a junior, thanks to receiving a redshirt for the 2018 season.

As a freshman in 2019, Mordecai saw action in six games, going 16-for-26 for 207 yards and two touchdowns. He had a career-high 114 yards and two TDs against South Dakota, and was named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team that season. The 2020 campaign saw the young signal caller appear in four games where he went 32-for-40 for 395 yards and two touchdowns, besting his career-high in passing yards with 157 against Missouri State.

Oklahoma head football coach Lincoln Riley wished Mordecai all the best and seemed to sing the quarterback's praises back in December when it was announced the junior QB would enter the transfer portal.

"I think he's been a really good member of this football team," said OU's Riley. "I think he's ready to be a starter. He's had some good competition while he was here. He had some unfortunate events that made it tougher for him to compete, like getting injured during our competition this year. But he's a great young man, a tremendous quarterback and he'll make somebody very happy."

Having been in quarterback competitions with Jalen Hurts and Spencer Rattler, Mordecai has certainly been prepared for the fast-paced tempo of the American Athletic Conference. Fans will get a chance to see just how good the former four-star recruit is when the SMU Mustangs kickoff 2021 against Abilene Christian on Sept. 4 at 7p ET, 6p CT on ESPN+.