Lincoln Riley: Trey Sermon was 'Frustrated' Last Season

In his first media availability since Day Two of spring practice back on March 10, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley on Tuesday was asked about running back Trey Sermon’s decision to transfer to Ohio State.

“Trey did a tremendous job here” Riley said. “I mean, he was a great Sooner. A really, really good teammate. Had some, obviously, some really, really nice moments here throughout his career. So, loved the three years we had with him.”

The 6-foot, 221-pound Sermon, a graduate transfer from Marietta, Georgia, rushed for 2,076 yards in his three seasons at OU, including 744 as a true freshman and 947 as a sophomore. He split carries with Kennedy Brooks last season before apparently falling out of favor midway through 2019, however, and carried the ball just nine times in a four-game stretch before suffering a season-ending knee injury and missing the final five games.

In the Red River Rivalry game in Dallas, Sermon logged zero touches against the Longhorns. On Tuesday, Riley addressed that for the first time.

“Hated that it ended the way it did for him,” Riley said. “Middle of last season, I know he was frustrated. And then obviously the injury, it was just such a horrible way for it to end. So, hate that it ended on a sour note for him, because he did such a great job here.

“With the portal deal, listen, we get it. We’ve been the beneficiary of a lot of really good ones that have come in here and done well, and you’re gonna lose some guys, too. I mean, Trey saw a situation, competitively, that he felt like was gonna be a better opportunity to play a little bit more somewhere else. I get it. I respect it. It’s part of the world we live in.

“So currently, nothing but positives to say about him, the kind of person he is, the kind of player he was. He represented us well. Loved every second with him and we definitely wish him the best.”

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