The Oklahoma Sooners were very busy in the spring [autotag]transfer portal[/autotag] window. It’s caught the eyes of at least one national college football analyst.
247Sports’ Josh Pate named four teams that were transfer portal winners from the spring window on his show The Late Kick with Josh Pate. Oklahoma was the very first team he mentioned.
“I think Oklahoma is one of the winning teams,” Pate said, “When they got [autotag]Damonic Williams[/autotag] … it is symbolic that Oklahoma gets where they are.”
Pate is referring to Williams’ high-profile recruitment earlier this month. It was a battle that [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] and [autotag]Todd Bates[/autotag] won to get the All-Big 12 honorable mention defensive tackle to Norman.
Williams’ commitment sent a signal to Pate and the rest of the college football world. That signal is that the Sooners are going to do whatever it takes with name, image, and likeness to acquire talent, especially now that they’re in the [autotag]SEC[/autotag].
“Oklahoma’s not taking a backseat to anyone when it comes to aggressiveness and when it comes to exploring every possibility to fortify their roster,” Pate said.
Pate also highlighted [autotag]Branson Hickman[/autotag], who transferred to Oklahoma from SMU. Hickman was a big get for [autotag]Bill Bedenbaugh[/autotag] at the center position. He should start right away after starting all 14 games for the Mustangs last year and with more than 2,400 snaps to his name.
[autotag]Deion Burks[/autotag], the Purdue transfer was also mentioned, though he came in the winter portal window. Burks dominated in the [autotag]2024 Spring Game[/autotag], and could be the go-to option in the passing game this season.
Pate’s other three spring portal winners were Miami, UCF, and Oregon. The Ducks added former OU quarterback [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] in December and were busy again this spring. He also chose four losers from the spring window with LSU, who missed out on Williams when he chose the Sooners, Michigan State, Colorado, and Clemson making the list.
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