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Oklahoma Freshman RB Enters Transfer Portal

Daylan Smothers, who didn't play as a high school senior in North Carolina, got into four games in his first year with the Sooners.
John E. Hoover|
Oklahoma Freshman RB Enters Transfer Portal
Oklahoma Freshman RB Enters Transfer Portal

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Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma’s dwindling running back room got even thinner on Monday.

Freshman Daylan Smothers has announced his entry into the NCAA Transfer Portal — the third Sooner running back on his way out and the second of the afternoon.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Smothers, from West Charlotte High School in North Carolina, played just four games for the Sooners in 2023 — Arkansas State and Tulsa at the beginning of the season, and then Oklahoma State and West Virginia toward the end of the season. According to Pro Football Focus, he got just 33 snaps this year and graded out at 64.4 offensively.

A 4-star prospect, Smothers was declared academically ineligible for his senior year after a transfer snag. But Smothers was a two-time North Carolina Mr. Football after rushing for 1,581 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior and 1,206 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore.

2023-24 Oklahoma Player Tracker

Smothers chose OU over Florida State, North Carolina State and others.

Smothers’ departure follows those of Marcus Major (Monday) and Tawee Walker (last week), but opens the door for incoming freshmen like Taylor Tatum (rated as the No. 1 high school running back in the country) and Xavier Robinson of Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, OK.

It also means more opportunities for other running backs currently on the roster, such as returning starter Gavin Sawchuk, 2022 backup Jovantae Barnes and freshman Kalib Hicks.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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