Tag: Jordan Mukes

Where former Oklahoma Sooners landed after entering the transfer portal

Where did former Oklahoma Sooners end up after entering the transfer portal?

The Oklahoma Sooners have been working to remake the roster in the image of Brent Venables and his new defensive assistants. With the success they’ve had in the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes, some transfer portal turnover was to be expected.

The transfer haul in the 2022-2023 portal cycle provided more talent and depth on the roster as the Sooners head into their final year in the Big 12. As 2022 showed, the talent on the roster simply wasn’t good enough to win close games in Big 12 play.

So Venables and his staff attacked the transfer portal to add a wealth of talent, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

We know who the arrivals are in the transfer portal. Dasan McCullough, Walter Rouse, Rondell Bothroyd and Reggie Pearson will be significant contributors for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2023.

Oklahoma lost a few talented players in the portal, but mostly guys that were having a hard time breaking into the rotation under Venables. Here’s who departed in the portal and where they landed:

2022-2023 Oklahoma Football Transfer Portal Tracker

What’s happened in the transfer portal for the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2022-2023 offseason?

The 2022 regular season is behind us, leaving the Oklahoma Sooners eagerly awaiting their bowl destination with one last chance to close a disappointing season in Norman above .500.

While the Sooners wait to find out their bowl location and matchup, they’ll be working to secure their 2023 recruiting class and retool the roster through veteran transfers. They’ve already added to their interior defensive line depth with the addition of [autotag]Jacob Lacey[/autotag] and will probably add more depth on a defense that wasn’t good enough in 2022.

While the portal giveth, it also taketh. In just a few days since the end of the regular season, Oklahoma has lost Theo Wease, Jordan Mukes and Joshua Eaton to the portal. While Mukes and Eaton didn’t play much for the Sooners, the loss of Wease will be felt.

In his last hurrah as an Oklahoma Sooner, Wease posted a career-best 123 yards on just three receptions and had a big-time touchdown for the Sooners.

There will be much more activity on the transfer portal horizon over the next few months, and we’ll keep track of all the comings and goings with our handy-dandy transfer portal tracker.

Updated Dec. 12 at 8 p.m. CT

Oklahoma safety Jordan Mukes to enter transfer portal

Oklahoma sees former four-star safety Jordan Mukes head to the transfer portal. From @thatmanbryant

With days left before guys can officially enter the transfer portal, things are getting spicy across the country. Tuesday saw an insane amount of players dropping tweets, posts, and other edits to announce their intentions to join the portal come December 5.

Oklahoma already has one player in Theo Wease who plans to put himself in the portal per the folks at 247Sports. They now have a verified second as safety Jordan Mukes shared on Tuesday that he plans to enter the portal.

Mukes, a local kid from Tulsa will have three years of eligibility wherever he decides to go. Mukes, a four-star saw action in 2021 at safety but per Pro Football Reference saw no time on the field this year under Brent Venables and defensive coordinator Ted Roof.

Mukes joins five other 2021 signees from Oklahoma to transfer. He follows Caleb Williams (USC), Mario Williams (USC), Latrell McCutchin (USC), Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge (South Alabama), and Cody Jackson (Houston) who all have left the program via the portal. The Sooners now have just 10 players remaining from the 2021 class on the roster.

It’s possible Mukes made this decision after a careful conversation with Brent Venables and his position coach. Despite his size and athleticism, Mike’s was never able to see the field at safety over Trey Morrison, Justin Broiles, Damond Harmon, and Key Lawrence. With Gentry Williams and Robert Spears-Jennings also getting some snaps, a way to playing time looked like an uphill battle for Mukes.

With the regular season over and the portal opening up next week, expect for several more players to enter the transfer portal.

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247Sports asks if the Oklahoma Sooners secondary can step up

247Sports reporter Chris Hummer’s one burning question for Oklahoma entering 2022: can the Sooners’ secondary step up?

Any doubt that follows the Oklahoma Sooners as they get set for the start of spring practice on March 22 is largely due to the losses on the defensive side of the football. Oklahoma lost five starters to the NFL and Pat Fields transferred to Stanford. Delarrin Turner-Yell and Fields’ departures leave a huge leadership void at the back end of the Sooners’ defense.

247Sports reporter Chris Hummer has one burning question for Oklahoma entering the 2022 season: can the Sooners’ secondary step up?

With so much new in Norman this spring, there are a number of pressing questions. Quarterback will be under the microscope. So will the o-line, wide receiver depth and the defensive scheme. But if there’s been a continued weakness for Oklahoma, it’s the secondary. Oklahoma never ranked better than 58th in passing yards allowed per game under Lincoln Riley, and the team dropped all the way to 109th last year after moderate improvements the previous two seasons.

Can it improve next year? Perhaps. But Brent Venables will have to work with rather similar personnel. There are two losses at safety with Delarrin Turner-Yell and Pat Fields moving on. Turner-Yell was probably the best player in the secondary and Fields might have been the worst. As for the returning cornerbacks, they’re all back. There’s also North Carolina transfer Trey Morrison, who projects to play safety, and Wyoming cornerback transfer C.J. Coldon.

Coldon and Morrison are experienced pieces who are near locks for the two-deep. But the ceiling of this room will be determined by younger pieces taking a step. Can Key Lawrence and Billy Bowman emerge as difference makers? Will D.J. Graham and Woodi Washington be better at cornerback after up-and-down debut seasons as starters? Can young players like Kani Walker, Jayden Rowe and Robert Spears-Jennings take a step? Those questions will define the Sooners’ spring. – Hummer, 247Sports.

It’s a fair question to ask. As Hummer points out, Oklahoma plummeted all the way to 109th nationally in passing yards allowed as the Sooners surrendered 261.8 passing yards per game and 26 passing touchdowns on the season. By comparison, the two top passing defenses in the Big 12 last season were Iowa State and Oklahoma State. The Cyclones ranked 11th nationally surrendering just 188.2 passing yards per game, while the Cowboys ranked 36th nationally allowing 210.2 yards per game.

One bit of good news for Oklahoma is that new head coach Brent Venables arrives with the pedigree of producing strong defenses annually. That should provide some form of an immediate boost. Clemson’s defense ranked 34th nationally after surrendering just 209.2 passing yards per game in 2021.

OU has plenty of options on the back end of its defense. Cornerback is boosted by the returns of both starters in D.J. Graham and Woodi Washington. C.J. Coldon comes over from Wyoming where he recorded 68 tackles and 10 pass breakups in 2021.

Key Lawrence showed serious flashes last season at both cornerback and safety. It’s likely he’ll slot in at safety alongside Justin Broiles. Morrison is another interesting option in OU’s defensive backfield. He made starts at both safety and nickel back for North Carolina last year.

Oklahoma also brings back cornerbacks Jaden Davis and Joshua Eaton as well in addition to the signings of Gentry Williams and Jayden Rowe. At safety, the Sooners also return Jordan Mukes and Bryson Washington and signed Robert Spears-Jennings. Defensive back Jamarrien Burt signed with Oklahoma, too.

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Sooners’ Cornerback Justin Harrington to enter transfer portal

Oklahoma Sooners cornerback Justin Harrington enters the transfer portal.

As they get ready to take on Big 12 foe Kansas Ste, the Oklahoma Sooners will be down one less defensive back as cornerback Justin Harrington has decided to enter the transfer portal, according to 247Sports.

Harrington committed to the Sooners in 2020. He was a four-star recruit and was considered by some the number one JUCO safety available at the time per 247. He was recruited as a safety out of junior college but has since bounced around to nickel back, and from there, made the switch full time to cornerback.

Harrington brought elite size to the Sooners secondary, standing at 6-foot-3 but failed to play in any game in 2020 and has failed to see the field this year as well. The Sooners’ depth is being challenged at the moment as Woodi Washington and Jeremiah Criddell are dealing with injuries. That may raise some eyebrows as the Sooners look to navigate the injury situation at the position.

According to OU Daily, true freshman Jordan Mukes was moved to cornerback on Thursday in this week’s updated depth chart. That move now makes a lot more sense, considering the confirmation that Harrington has since entered the transfer portal.

DJ Graham and Jaden Davis will likely continue to hold down the starting spots, with Latrell McCutchin and Joshua Eaton backing them up as the Sooners suit up tomorrow vs. Kansas State.

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As the season approaches, where do the Sooners stand at safety?

Strong play in the secondary could be the tipping point in OU’s title hunt. Here’s how the Sooners stand at safety.

Defensive backs with position flexibility are a hot commodity with the roof of what is possible on offense repeatedly blown off in today’s college football. Modern offenses eagerly await opportunities to go up-tempo, dictating when and how defenses can make substitutions.

Coaches covet defenders who feel comfortable backpedaling from either side of the field. But the truth is most defenders have a preference. Rarer still is the DB with the body of a linebacker and the fluidity of a receiver.

Most of the “do it all” defensive backs are specialized when they land on an NFL roster. That’s why the difference between a safety and a corner is still relevant in today’s game.

With that said, let’s zoom in on the Sooners’ secondary and focus specifically on the safeties.

What Oklahoma is getting in class of 2021 3-star safety Jordan Mukes

Jordan Mukes ended Oklahoma’s recruiting lull on Monday. Here is what OU is getting in its latest commitment from the state of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma’s recruiting lull came to a stop on Monday night.

Soon after Lincoln Riley sent out his patented eye emoji tweet signaling out a new commitment, in-state class of 2021 safety Jordan Mukes went public with his commitment to the Sooners.

A Choctaw, Oklahoma, native, Mukes became the fourth member of Oklahoma’s 2021 recruiting class. He joined another in-state defensive player in Ethan Downs in Riley’s 2021 class.

Originally, Mukes’ tape doesn’t show the high-level potential that Oklahoma garners right now in the secondary. After a report from Brandon Drumm of OUInsider.com that he just recently picked up football again as a prominent basketball player, his junior tape shines a lot brighter.

Here is what Oklahoma is getting in its latest commitment from the state of Oklahoma.

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LENGTH

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 192 pounds, Mukes clearly has the length that defensive coordinator Alex Grinch desires.

This is a defensive back whose arms hang down to his knees. Mukes utilizes that by getting his hands on receivers breaking into a cut in bump-and-run or lined up 10-yards off the ball. He knocks receivers off their desired route and creates an opportunity to turn his head around to make a play. 

Grinch searches for speed, length and size and Mukes checks off everything but the top-end speed.

FRAME

Where Mukes ends up on Oklahoma’s defense will be a mystery up until he plays his first snap. Even then, I wouldn’t expect to him to stick anywhere. 

The Choctaw, Oklahoma, native can easily carry another 10, 15 or even 20 pounds and maintain his natural athleticism. Mukes long arms and big frame could allow him to play from anywhere deep as the center field safety to being the nickel back. 

Oklahoma director of performance Bennie Wylie’s body reformation program should treat him great.

ATHLETICSIM

When football players can really, really dunk on the basketball court, it is hard to stop watching. 

What Mukes is capable of on a basketball court has no translation to his football prowess, but it does display a level of explosiveness and athleticism that hasn’t shown up on tape yet. This tends to happen with players who are still green in their fundamentals from not playing football for a long time and not getting the most out of their feet and hips. 

This is the part that remains unknown on the football field for Mukes, but luckily, his basketball ground gives him the go-ahead on how much growth can be made between now and when his time comes for Oklahoma.

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Oklahoma gets commitment from 2021 in-state safety Jordan Mukes

The Sooners got eyes and a commitment this time around. In-state safety Jordan Mukes announced on Monday that he is committed to Oklahoma.

In-state safety Jordan Mukes announced on Monday that he is committed to Oklahoma.

The composite three-star 2021 prospect out of Choctaw stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs 192 pounds, a pattern that has been repeating with Alex Grinch’s recruits. 

Mukes currently has offers from Arkansas, Eastern Michigan, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, North Texas, SMU, Southern Mississippi, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Tulsa. 

Mukes joins Cody Jackson, Ethan Downs and Cullen Montgomery in Oklahoma’s 2021 recruiting class. Downs is another in-state prospect out of Weatherford, and is a four-star according to Rivals/com. Jackson, a four-star receiver, and Montgomery, a three-star offensive tackle, are both from Texas.

The Sooners finished with the No. 11-ranked class in 2020, and will be looking to get back into the top-10 in 2021. In 2019 they finished with the No. 6 overall class and in 2018 they finished No. 9, per Rivals.

Oklahoma currently has the No. 24 class in 2021 with just four commitments.

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