I think this rumor is perpetuated by two distinct truths that will ultimately have NOTHING to do with football:
1. Chubba Purdy has a tremendous personality, and he's funny as shit. He would be one of the most popular dudes in any locker room. Casey Thompson even really likes Chubba Purdy. But Purdy needs to ramp up his focus right now before he can be a trusted starter.
2. Casey Thompson has an exceptional work ethic. It's obsessive and has likely limited his ability to make friends or endear himself to his teammates. He has been working with trainers in Texas and Florida most of the Summer. His daily routine includes 6 to 8 hours of workouts and drills. His diet includes no shifty food at all. I laugh hard at the SAM Keller comparisons. Keller wanted to party and bang slvts throughout all his down time. He was hated because he didn't give a damn about football. All Thompson thinks about his being a QB in the NFL and proving everyone who ever doubted him to be wrong.
Thompson has a massive chip on his shoulder and comes off as an ass because he's driven, always serious and intentional with every rep, every practice, every aspect of his game. The chip on shoulder started back in 2016-17. He loved the Sooners and always wanted to play at OU. Thompson was highly recruited and OU offered early, but they wouldn't accept his commit. Reality is Oklahoma was always in on the top QB recruits in the country. So he chooses UT. He works his way up and eventually starts. He plays well, but also plays for a coach who wants to go vertical every play, (not really in Casey's skill set) and he also has to play with the worst UT defense in history. So they kid became a scapegoat of sorts by fans. He kind of gets ran out of town. That chip continues to grow.
Thompson again wants to flirt with OU, but the coaching change and Flux there makes it almost a non starter discussion to transfer.
When he arrives in Lincoln, his arrival is met with a ton of fanfare. This made him extremely popular with fans and the media. Thompson was also the first incoming player to really benefit from NIL from his first day on campus. This rubbed some current players the wrong way from the beginning. They saw the new vehicle from Woodhouse. They were aware of his downtown loft with $100,000 worth of furniture and electronics. He had all this stuff given to him and then when they tried to talk to him, he wasn't overly nice or friendly. Hell, I would've been a bit jealous as well.
Quite frankly, Thompson is acting like a Professional who arrived as a hired gun. The rest of the team should grow the fvck up. Not everybody has to like each other in the real World.
This is a non story.