Here's what to make of Oklahoma's departures

So, what to make of all the departures from the Oklahoma roster?

What looks like an exodus, isn’t. What looks like a purge, isn’t.

It’s somewhere in between, but make no mistake: losing the players the Sooners have in the past week is far from an ideal situation. You don’t win national championships in the playoff era without a lot of depth. And in their nine departures this past week, the Sooner coaching staff lost a few starters as well as some important depth.

Let’s start with the NFL guys.

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Creed Humphrey is a no-brainer. Sooner Nation should be grateful he even played in 2020. Not that Humphrey was much of a candidate to walk out on his team. He’s not cut like that. But for someone who was projected last year to be a potential first-round draft pick, just having Humphrey anchor the o-line and captain the offense — especially in a pandemic — was a luxury.

Adrian Ealy had a good junior season. Good enough to be a high draft pick? Probably not. But Ealy still has plenty of upside. His immediate invitation to the Senior Bowl shows how interested NFL teams are in him (the bowl practices and games are run and coached by NFL staffs). Ealy probably will test well at the NFL Combine or at least his Pro Day. Leaving college for the NFL isn’t a bad decision.

But while everyone was preparing for life without Humphrey, Ealy was an integral piece of Bill Bedenbaugh’s master plan for 2021. For the OU offense to maximize its potential in what’s supposed to be a championship run, losing Ealy hurts.

Tre Norwood’s departure was a surprise. Norwood has a good frame and adequate speed, but he makes his living on technique, experience and savvy. When the other team’s offense takes the field, Norwood knows what’s up. That will take him far in life. But will it equate to an NFL career? Not necessarily.

Norwood coming off a 2019 knee injury and asserting himself as one of the Big 12’s best playmaking defensive backs was impressive. He’d have been in line for preseason-All Big 12 and — with five interceptions in his last six games — maybe even All-America honors. He certainly would have been a key piece of Alex Grinch’s system in Year 3. But, Norwood being smart and all, he recognized how that training camp injury set him back, and knows his best chance for an NFL future is right now.

Now, let’s look at the transfers.

Rush linebacker Jon-Michael Terry wasn’t going to start next year. Not the way Nik Bonitto emerged in 2020. Remember, Terry was ahead of Bonitto going into 2019 before Terry went down with an ugly leg injury. His ability to come back this season and provide quality depth behind an All-American was crucial. Was Terry slated for All-Big 12 accolades? Probably not. Is he an NFL Draft pick? Probably not. But he’s a good player, an experienced player who could have given Alex Grinch more depth at a position vital to the success of his defense. The Sooners have options here, but Terry was supposed to be one of them. Plus, Terry had experience at other linebacker positions and might have jumped in at the Mike or Will if needed.

Robert Barnes’ decision to enter the transfer portal is understandable. He did the best he could as a young safety, and likewise at linebacker. But when Grinch needed him to switch back to safety with just a few days notice for this year’s game against Baylor, Barnes showed his value as a teammates: humble, reliable, willing to help. Barnes probably wasn’t in line for much playing time as a senior, so finding somewhere he can get minutes next year was a good choice.

Quarterback Chandler Morris — this was an odd one. Morris came to Oklahoma knowing the “preseason quarterback competition” was nothing of the kind, and that Spencer Rattler would win the starting job. And when Morris chose OU, Brock Vandagriff was still the Sooners’ QB of the future. Makes sense for Morris to think he could hold off Vandagriff. But then when Vandagriff decommitted and Lincoln Riley immediate went back to Caleb Williams — the No. 1 recruit in the country — Morris stayed.

He got mop-up minutes as a true freshman before his one shining moment in the Big 12 title game.

Then, he decided he’d had enough — and left for TCU, where the Horned Frogs have a two-year incumbent starter and three incoming freshmen quarterbacks. In all, Morris’ arrival and exit from Oklahoma seemed a little flaky.

Quarterback Tanner Mordecai knew he wasn’t going to get playing time ahead of Rattler, barring an injury. So he did the smart thing and transferred to SMU. It worked out OK for Austin Kendall, who left OU, got the starting job at West Virginia, lost it, then came off the bench and led his team to a dramatic bowl victory. Hey, nobody’s path is perfect.

But, with both Morris and Mordecai headed off to the Metroplex, the Sooners aren’t exactly in tall cotton with their quarterback depth. Rattler’s backup next year is a true freshman — one of the most athletic, dynamic, promising true freshmen to come along in a few years, but still an 18-year-old kid. Riley may turn to the transfer portal to find a third QB, but who transfers to be a third QB?

Running back T.J. Pledger left because he thinks he can be an impact player on the Big 12 level — and he proved he can, with 131 yards against Texas and 122 against TCU. So why did he enter the transfer portal?

It’s a little curious, because the guy who beat him out — Rhamondre Stevenson — is a senior. And, frankly, the staff’s strikeouts in recruiting the last two years was a strong indicators that they’re rolling with the guys they got. And in 2021, the guys they got are Marcus Major and Seth McGowan.

Maybe there’s a little stick-it-to-you in Pledger’s exit. Or maybe it’s just a chance for a California kid (via Florida) to explore a broader world outside of just Norman, OK.

Jalin Conyers’ decision to leave is also understandable. The coach who recruited him, Shane Beamer, left for South Carolina. The players who were in front of him in 2020 are all back and will be in front of him in 2021. It’s always a great story when a young guy sticks it out and perseveres and overcomes obstacles and becomes a reliable player in his latter days — such as Isaiah Thomas — but not everyone is structured that way. If Conyers wants to be a major contributor to a college football team next fall, it would have to be somewhere else.

Riley said he’s begun having conversations about the NFL with draft-eligible underclassmen like Ronnie Perkins and Perrion Winfrey (who tweeted Sunday a cryptic message about “year4loading” — presumably that he’s preparing for his fourth year in college).

“Fun conversations to have with guys,” Riley said.

And the added complexity of this year, where seniors can come back if they want thanks to an NCAA waiver due to COVID, lessens the pain of losing guys prematurely.

“I do believe we’ll have some guys take advantage of it,” Riley said, “and continue to be in the program for another year.”

And as for the transfer portal, Riley and Grinch can supplement Norwood and Terry and others who might still choose to leave. But it’s hardly a blanket situation.

“I want to make sure we're bringing in the right kind of people and people who are gonna fit in with our culture,” Riley said.