It remains the head-scratcher of Oklahoma’s offseason.
Trey Sermon was set to be no farther than the Sooners’ second running back in 2020. Coming off a lower leg injury suffered late in the 2019 season, Sermon would have seen plenty of meaningful action in Lincoln Riley’s offense in his final season of college football.
Then, things suddenly changed.
Whispers began to get out about a potential transfer to Ohio State. Those whispers became louder and then Sermon was off to the transfer portal before landing with the Buckeyes.
Riley was asked about his former running back during a conference call with the Oklahoma media on Tuesday.
“As far as Trey—Trey did a tremendous job,” Riley said. “He was a great Sooner, really, really good teammate. Had some obviously some really, really nice moments here throughout his career. Loved the three years we had him. Hated it ended the way it did for him. The middle of last season I know he was frustrated and then obviously the injury was just a horrible way for it to end. Hate that it ended on a sour note for him because he did a great job here.”
Sermon started his Oklahoma career off with a bang in a win against Ohio State during his freshman season in 2017 that ended with a bulldozing run against Georgia in the Rose Bowl. He spent much of the 2018 season as a two-person tandem alongside Kennedy Brooks, putting together dominant games against TCU (17 carries, 110 yards, two touchdowns), Texas Tech (26 carries, 206 yards, three touchdowns) and Oklahoma State (16 carries, 124 yards, two touchdowns).
His 2019 campaign always had a weird feel to it. With Brooks missing the summer trio to the season, Sermon was the featured back early on. He looked like the same player—an elusive back with a unique blend of size and speed. Then Sermon’s carries diminished, rushing it nine times in the final five games prior to his injury.
Now he’ll move on to the Buckeyes and a loss Riley understands that happens.
“The portal deal, listen, we get it,” he said. “We’ve been the beneficiary of a lot of really good ones that have come in here and done well. You’re going to lose some guys too. I think Trey saw a situation competitively that he felt like there was going to be a better opportunity to play a little more somewhere else. I get it. I respect it. It’s part of the world we live in. Certainly nothing but positives to say about him—the kind of person he is, the kind of player he was, represented us well. Loved every second with him and we definitely wish him the best.”
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