Tag: 2021 transfer portal

Oklahoma Sooners WR Theo Wease announces he’s got ‘unfinished business’

Oklahoma Sooners Wide Receiver Theo Wease announced via his Twitter account that he’ll be staying put for the 2022 season.

Oklahoma has seen several players enter the transfer portal in the last couple of weeks. After the news came down that Lincoln Riley was moving west, several Sooners found new homes through the portal.

Spencer Rattler and Austin Stogner will play for South Carolina next season and Jadon Haselwood will employ his talents for the Arkansas Razorbacks in 2022.

Well, the Sooners finally got some good news on the portal front as wide receiver Theo Wease announced via his Twitter account that he’s “here to stay.”

Wease missed the 2021 season with a lower body injury, but appeared to be close to returning the last several weeks of the season. Now, the Sooners get Wease for 2022.

According to Eddie Radosevich of SoonerScoop.com, Wease has withdrawn his name from the transfer portal.

In 2020, Theo Wease tied for the team lead in receptions with Marvin Mims for the Sooners. With Haselwood and Stogner gone there will be an opportunity for Wease to pick up where he left off when we last saw him play.

Heading into 2022, Wease looked to be the veteran leader in the wide receiver room. When he returns, he’ll join Marvin Mims and Mario Williams as Oklahoma’s top three wide receivers. Wease will have an opportunity to resume his role as the possession receiver in the offense and the Sooners will need him to take a step forward as an offense next season.

Now the Sooners await word from several more veterans who could enter the transfer portal or declare for the NFL draft as they look to put together their 2022 depth chart.

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Former Oklahoma Sooners Spencer Rattler, Austin Stogner transferring to South Carolina

Former Sooners Spencer Rattler and Austin Stogner are reuniting with Shane Beamer to play for the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The long-awaited decision by former Oklahoma Sooners QB1 has come to light as Spencer Rattler announced via his Twitter account that he’ll be transferring to the University of South Carolina.

Rattler had an up and down career with the Oklahoma Sooners but was hardly the only problem on a 2021 team that failed to reach preseason expectations despite the quarterback change. Rattler had preseason Heisman hype and the Sooners were popular national title contenders, but both Rattler, his play-caller Lincoln Riley, and the remainder of the offense struggled to find much consistency throughout the season.

After a 2020 season that saw Rattler bounce back from being benched in that year’s Red River Showdown to win help the Oklahoma Sooners win their sixth-straight Big 12 title and beat Florida in the Cotton Bowl, many believed he was just scratching the surface. Unfortunately, 2021 didn’t turn out much better as the Sooners couldn’t get past their offensive inconsistencies. Rattler had a solid season despite being benched, completing 75% of his passes for 1,483 yards 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Rattler will be joined by tight end Austin Stogner in their new home in Columbia with head coach Shane Beamer. Stogner also had a year to forget as he failed to get the opportunities many expected him to get after a breakout 2020 season that ended early due to injury. Stogner erupted in Bedlam with his best game of the season when the Sooners needed it most catching three passes for 61 yards.

It was the only game this season that Stogner caught more than two passes in a game and nearly doubled his previous season-high.

Rattler and Stogner join Oklahoma Sooners fan favorite Shane Beamer in Columbia. Beamer and the Gamecocks had a resurgent year, bouncing back from a 2-8 record in 2020 to 6-6 and bowl eligibility in Beamer’s first season as a head coach.

Rattler and Stogner will hope to rediscover their 2020 chemistry that saw them connect 26 times for 422 yards, and three touchdowns, averaging 16.2 yards per connection last season.

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Five takeaways from Texas’ loss to Kansas

Five takeaways from the most heartbreaking loss of the year.

The Kansas Jayhawks marched into DKR and beat Texas in a 57-56 in an overtime thriller. It would not be an understatement to call that one of the craziest games in college football history.

Texas has now dropped five straight games for the first time since 1956. One year before Darrell Royal was hired.

Entering the game, Kansas had lost 56 straight conference road games. A streak that has lasted 13 years.

The night could not have gone any worse for Texas. They turned the ball over four times on two strip-sacks and two interceptions. One was taken back for a touchdown.

Kansas scored three touchdowns in the final two and a half minutes of the first half to take a commanding 35-14 halftime lead.

Texas charged back in the second half to tie the game up on a Cade Brewer touchdown with only 22 seconds left.

Both teams would trade touchdowns to start overtime but Kansas head coach Lance Leipold would send his team out for the game-deciding two-point conversion.

The play felt like slow motion. Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels scrambled to his right, then threw to his fullback Jared Casey, who had not caught a pass all season. Casey hauled in the pass capping off one of the biggest upsets in college football history.

Here are five takeaways from a historic night in Austin:

Wide receiver Mike Woods “a weapon” for the Oklahoma Sooners offense

The Oklahoma Sooners are deep at wide receiver, but Mike Woods will be a weapon in the Oklahoma Sooners arsenal.

Lincoln Riley and the Oklahoma Sooners have done a great job at finding talent through the transfer portal. Though they lost Tre Bradford to the transfer portal, overall it’s been a net positive. Eric Gray is the player that’s been most talked about and Wanya Morris is competing to start at left tackle. But one player that often gets lost in the discussion is wide receiver Mike Woods.

Perhaps it’s due to the depth they have at wide receiver and also because he didn’t play in Oklahoma’s spring game that he isn’t talked about more. But this is a player who averaged 19.3 yards per reception in the SEC for the Arkansas Razorbacks. For perspective, in Marquise Brown’s most productive season in 2017 with the Sooners, he averaged 19.2 yards per reception per College Football Reference.

That’s the kind of player the Oklahoma Sooners got in Mike Woods.

In his Tuesday press conference, Lincoln Riley spoke about Woods and what he’s meant to the program since transferring in from Arkansas.

He’s one of those (transfers) that’s in the category that’s been a great teammate to have in here. Great guy to coach. Bought in, culture, everything day one. He’s been a joy to have. We got to see a lot of game tape on him. He was very productive, impressive, and he’s backed that up here. Big, very explosive human being that can really go. He can really go up and high point the ball. Talented player. Excited to see him play for live. I think he can be a weapon out there. He’ll certainly be in that rotation and we’ll get to see a lot of him on Saturday. – Riley

Mike Woods is arguably the most underrated addition the Sooners made in the 2021 offseason. His size and downfield ability will be a huge asset for Spencer Rattler and the Oklahoma Sooners offense.

In a deep wide receiver room, who starts isn’t going to matter as much as who gets the targets. So while at the moment, Riley has Woods, “in the rotation,” he’s certainly got the talent to be one of Oklahoma’s three best wide receivers in 2021.

How did Oklahoma rebuild in 2021 transfer portal?

247 Sports breaks down winners of the 2021 transfer portal.

After the pandemic year, anticipation grows for the upcoming season and a sense of normalcy again. College football’s transfer portal has added to the excitement, similar to the free agency period in the NFL. Programs have been replenished by replacing departures with experienced players from other universities.

The NCAA transfer portal was initially introduced in 2018 giving players the opportunity to switch teams and explore options. Players do not have to ask for permission, they simply put in a request and enter their name. Once approved and their name shows up in the portal, teams can vie for their services. Players can withdraw their name at any time and just because a name is entered, does not specifically mean that player will leave.

Some teams have made bigger splashes than others via the transfer portal, adding players to their current roster. As summer approaches, 247Sports compiled a list of teams considered to be the greatest transfer portal winners. The Oklahoma Sooners were among the group.

 “The Knoxville-to-Norman movement was forged this offseason, as Oklahoma managed to land three players who left Tennessee following the firing of coach Jeremy Pruitt. Running back Eric Gray (2) offensive lineman Wanya Morris (7) and safety Key Lawrence (20) all bring SEC experience to the Big 12, highlighted by Gray who had four 100-yard performances last season. Receiver Mike Woods (44) from Arkansas is another newcomer who brings plenty of product with him.”

Lincoln Riley also added a quarterback in Penn State’s Micah Bowens and interior offensive lineman Robert Congel from Arizona. Congel is competing with Chris Murray who transferred from UCLA last year at center. Gray is one of OU’s most promising newcomers with his one-cut ability and is projected to be one of the nation’s top backs with the departure of Rhamondre Stevenson to the NFL. Morris earned Freshman All-American honors and even though he never hit his ceiling with the Vols, Bill Bedenbaugh has a way of getting the most out of his lineman. He will be unleashed in the trenches protecting Spencer Rattler.