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Oklahoma Tight End Joins New Year's Eve Crowd in Transfer Portal

The Sooners lost a guy who contributed some this season at a position they probably need the most help at in 2026.
John Hoover|
Oklahoma tight end Carson Kent
Oklahoma tight end Carson Kent | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

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Oklahoma Sooners

New Year, new team.

On Wednesday, New Year’s Eve, Oklahoma lost yet another player to the transfer portal — this time at a position where the Sooners have a desperate need for players.

Tight end Carson Kent, who transferred to OU just last winter, became the Sooners’ ninth player today to announce his intention to enter the transfer portal and leave Norman. That's according to On3's Hayes Fawcett.

Kent came to OU from Kennesaw State, where as a 6-foot-4, 240-pound redshirt sophomore in 2024 he caught 18 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns for the Owls.

Amid quarterback struggles in 2024 — their first at the FBS level — Kennesaw State finished the year 2-10, and KSU collected wins only against Liberty and New Mexico State.

Despite playing a position of major need for the OU offense and first-year coordinator Ben Arbuckle, Kent didn’t contribute a lot on the field in his one year in Norman.

He finished the year with just three receptions for 26 yards, with catches against Illinois State, Kent State and Texas.

It wasn’t a crowded spot behind starter and converted linebacker Jaren Kanak. But as tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley cycled seven guys through the position, only three — Kanak (572), Kent (130) and Kaden Helms (201) played more than 90 snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Transfer Will Huggins played 87, and Kade McIntyre (17), transfer John Locke (2) and freshman Trynae Washington (2) contributed minimal snaps.

Among Kent’s 130 offensive snaps, he posted an overall offensive grade of 59.1, with a 61.7 on pass plays and a 72.7 as a pass blocker, while scoring just 54.0 as a run blocker.

Kent was officially the 18th Sooner to announce his intentions to transfer although he was joined within minutes by another offensive lineman, followed immediately by a defensive lineman, bringing the overall total to 20 and Monday’s exodus to 10.

On offense alone, the departures include quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., wide receiver KJ Daniels, tight end Kaden Helms and running back Jovantae Barnes as well as six offensive linemen — Luke Baklenko, Troy Everett, Logan Howland, Isaiah Autry-Dent, Jacob Sexton and now Jake Taylor.

The transfer portal will officially open on Jan. 2, and it will close on Jan. 16. Players that enter the portal are permitted to return to their original school.

Players must have submitted their information entered into the portal before it closes, though they can enroll at their new schools beyond Jan. 16.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN 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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