Blatant Homerism: Recapping OU's activity in the transfer portal
It brings me no pleasure to report this, but the Oklahoma Sooners had an active offseason in the transfer portal.
OU added a total of 20 transfer players to the roster since the end of the 2024 season, and it would appear the program is closing up shop until the next transfer cycle. If you’ve read much of my writing on college football and personnel management, you know I don’t necessarily view this as a good thing. That being said, the Sooners did acquire a number of solid prospects on the transfer market who stand to play significant roles in 2025.
With a pivotal season on the horizon, let’s review the biggest stories for the Sooners from college football’s version of free agency.
The next great transfer quarterback from Wazzu?
Cam Ward left the Washington State Cougars last season to become QB1 for the Miami Hurricanes. The move paid off handsomely for Ward, who turned into a Heisman Trophy candidate and the first pick in the NFL draft. It also created an opening for Ward’s understudy at Wazzu, John Mateer, to make a name for himself nationally.
Mateer parlayed the opportunity into nearly 4,000 total yards and 46 touchdowns in 12 games – along with a deal to follow offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle from Washington State to Oklahoma. In addition to a lucrative NIL contract with OU, Mateer gets the opportunity to prove he’s more than just a Mountain West wonder.
If you watched Mateer play last year, you probably know he’s not Ward. Of course, if you watched OU play last year, you also know Mateer’s performance far exceeded what the Sooners got out of the QB position in ‘24. The Sooners need more than just an improvement on last season’s play at the position, though. The combination of Arbuckle and Mateer can deliver that, but it will entail finding a workable balance between leveraging Mateer’s strengths as an athlete and improviser and acknowledging what’s realistic versus the SEC’s superior defenses.
Retention, retention, retention.
When prized prospect David Stone entered the transfer portal at the start of the spring cycle, it looked like the latest in a series of notable defections under Venables’ regime. The fact Stone withdrew from the transfer market within a few days underscored OU’s desire to keep coveted players in the fold.
Programs lined up to attempt to entice standouts such as Jayden Jackson and R Mason Thomas to jump ship. But if the program’s brain trust made a point of bringing a player back, said player will be donning the crimson and cream in 2025. In other words, what didn’t happen in the transfer market for OU qualifies as a key development.
Looking ahead, expect retention to become the priority in offseason personnel management at places like OU.
Um, cornerback?
In an otherwise strong season for OU’s defense, cornerback got kind of messy. Surprisingly, freshman Eli Bowen became a mainstay at the position, logging the most snaps for the season at 510. The other side of the field was a revolving door, with Kani Walker, Dezjohn Malone, Woodi Washington and Jacobe Johnson getting time throughout the year.
Speculation, therefore, centered on CB as one of the most likely positions for OU to target on the transfer market. Nothing happened, which probably has something to do with the available candidates.
Bowen has locked up one spot. At this point, the hope on the other side is that Johnson matures into a useful contributor and/or that Gentry Williams and/or Kendel Dolby can stay healthy for a full season.
That many and/or variables will get you feeling kind of squeamish when they apply to a key position.
A more selective approach to the offensive line.
The fact that OU’s coaching staff acquired five offensive linemen in the transfer portal in 2024 sent up a major red flag about the position group in the preseason. Those concerns proved to be well-founded over the course of a putrid year for the unit.
The Sooners landed a dynamite pair of freshmen who stand to see some snaps immediately in Michael Fasusi and Ryan Fodje. That didn’t offset the need to fortify the OL with a few veterans, so OL coach Bill Bedenbaugh snagged just three players: Luke Baklenko and Jake Maikkula of Stanford and Western Carolina’s Derek Simmons. Maikkula and Simmons should challenge for positions in the first five right away.
Consider it progress that the Sooners could be more choosy about the OL this offseason.
A running back... Really?
Thought to be a favorite of new personnel guru Jim Nagy, OU swooped in after spring practice ended to pick off running back Jaydn Ott out of Cal. Even with veteran runner Gavin Sawchuk off for Florida State, the move left the Sooners with five RBs competing for carries: Ott, Javontae Barnes, Tory Blaylock, Taylor Tatum and Xavier Robinson. Ott probably equals overkill to some, especially considering the lack of surefire wide receivers on the roster now, but the reality is that the crop of available transfers at wideout this year left plenty to be desired.
Adding the former Golden Bear to the lineup gives the team some additional explosiveness that was unlikely to be found among the free agents at receiver. If OU gets the version of Ott who ran for more than 1,300 yards in 2023 with the Golden Bears, it will justify splurging on another back.
Picks and Recs: Mad Men rewatch
There’s a YouTube TV station that does nothing but show AMC’s stellar drama Mad Men 24 hours a day. I did my best to avoid checking out for as long as I could, knowing it would turn into a huge time suck for me. I broke down the other day and tuned in – it was still as hypnotic as ever.
The best criticism of Mad Men that I’ve ever heard was that it was gratuitously cruel to its characters. I find it fascinating that you can reasonably make that claim that about a cerebral show featuring scarcely any physical violence. The bitterness born from guilt and shame still cuts awfully deep, and Mad Men portrayed the fallout extraordinarily well.
And, man alive, the dialogue is superb.