How Does Oklahoma's Transfer Portal Haul Compare to the Rest of the SEC?

Column

The dust has yet to settle in the wacky world of the college football transfer portal.

For Oklahoma, the picture is starting to come into focus. With Friday’s deadline for players to enter the portal, the nonstop frenzy that has drained the life out of the sport is finally nearing an unofficial halt.

With this being the first time general manager Jim Nagy’s had a full year to plot and pull the strings, plenty seem content to chalk up the Jaydn Ott ordeal as a mulligan — or, at the very least, to bite down, grimace and pretend it never happened. The latter has been made easier with Nagy's methodical approach in quickly landing a number of new players for the 2026 season.

But where exactly do the Sooners stand in the transfer portal mania within the Southeastern Conference?

Oklahoma Sooners, Brent Venables, Jim Nagy — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, general manager Jim Nagy | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

As of now — which is important because these rankings make the oil industry look like a steady hand in a storm — Oklahoma sits 20th in 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings. The Sooners are 8th among SEC teams, just ahead of a quartet of opponents slotted 21–24. Georgia and Mississippi State are at 30 and 31, with Alabama at 35 and Vanderbilt at 38.

A few things to check off first:

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“Transfer portal rankings” are, at best, incomplete. That’s no knock on anyone trying to quantify this chaos, but how are we really supposed to grade players like Dakoda Fields when he’s only redshirted and seen the field in brief cameos?

Also, of the seven SEC schools ahead of the Sooners, four programs have introduced first-year head coaches. A fresh coaching regime brings a wave of players from the coach’s previous program in addition to other external talent.

The top-eight SEC programs in these rankings average out at bringing in just over 18 players (OU has 13 as of this writing) — the four schools with new head coaches have brought in 26 (LSU), 14 (Ole Miss), 26 (Kentucky) and 24 (Auburn). Other than Pete Golding — who was promoted and not hired from the outside — the new heads of state attracted nearly 10 more players than the average, boosting their ranking.

Now we get closer to the content of these schools' newest roster additions and how the Sooners measure up against their conference rivals.

Oklahoma Sooners, Brent Venables — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables | Carson Field, Sooners on SI

Over the weekend, Texas made perhaps the biggest splash of the offseason when they earned the signature of former Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman along with a duo of running backs with different Sooner connections — Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers.

The Longhorns believe they're path to a College Football Playoff was an upgrade at the skill position spots to compliment Arch Manning — going all-in on overwhelming offensive talent. Oklahoma felt like they needed to make smart decisions in the balance of retaining and cultivating the talent on hand with bringing in talented players to fill positions of need.

Which is the better philosophy? That's why the football gods built the Cotton Bowl — so we can find out during the second Saturday in October.

Texas and Tennessee also made notable staff moves, with Steve Sarkisian and Josh Heupel dismissing their defensive coordinators and bringing in Will Muschamp and Jim Knowles, respectively. Those hires have had a similar, if slightly more modest, effect on drawing in outside talent.

Oklahoma Sooners, John Mateer — Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

To compare the Sooners' transfer portal haul with their conference opponents ignores what the new player-empowerment phenomena is all about — addressing program needs.

LSU and Lane Kiffin are trying to inject momentum with a new regime in Baton Rouge. Golding is trying to stabilize Ole Miss in the wake of Kiffin's departure. Seth Golesh and Will Stein have to build their programs up in their image. Texas needs immediate success to justify their spending.

Oklahoma? They’re trying to build off their College Football Playoff momentum and betting on themselves to push it even further. A team in that spot makes targeted moves to fill genuine needs — need to replace a linebacker? Go get Cole Sullivan. Need to replace Deion Burks? Go get Trell Harris. Want to help protect John Mateer? Go grab an SEC-starting tackle in E’Marion Harris.

That's not to say Nagy's vision has been a complete success. OU would have loved to sign defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren. The Sooners also kicked the tires on Coleman during his recruiting process. All to say that Oklahoma's transfer portal's philosophy suits them best — it may not suit LSU or Ole Miss.

Oklahoma Sooners, Jim Nagy — Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

Besides — do these rankings actually equate to immediate, translatable success?

Based off last year's 247Sports' rankings, yes they do.

Four of the top five teams in the 2025 transfer portal rankings reached the College Football Playoff — three of the four semifinal teams in the playoff were among those four teams, Indiana was 25th. Oklahoma, coming off a 6-7 year in 2024, used the 12th-rated portal class to improve to 10-2 the following year.

Oklahoma’s portal strategy may not win the offseason headline race, but it fits a program coming off a playoff run and trusting its own blueprint. The Sooners are banking on targeted additions and continuity with Venables and Nagy to show up where it counts —the scoreboard.