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Former Oklahoma Quarterback Lands at Pittsburgh

The winter transfer from Western Carolina competed for the Sooners this spring, but remained third string behind John Mateer and Michael Hawkins.
John Hoover|
Former Oklahoma quarterback Cole Gonzales
Former Oklahoma quarterback Cole Gonzales | John E. Hoover / Sooners On SI

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Oklahoma Sooners

Cole Gonzales’ next stop will bring him some familiarity.

After just a semester at Oklahoma, Gonzales entered the NCAA Transfer Portal earlier this week, and on Saturday, it was reported that he has chosen his next destination.

Gonzales, a 6-foot, 198-pound senior from Gainesville, FL, will play this fall at Pittsburgh.

The news was reported by On3 portal insider Pete Nakos, who noted that Gonzales will be reunited with Pitt offensive coordinator Kade Bell.

Bell was Gonzales’ OC at Western Carolina, where the quarterback had great success across his first three seasons.

He'll also be reunited with Panthers senior running back Desmond Reid, with whom he played at Western Carolina.

Before entering the portal the first time, Gonzales was a two-time finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which is the NCAA FCS Player of the Year. 

He passed for 2,543 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions last season in eight games before suffering a season-ending injury.

In 2023, Gonzales completed 66 percent of his passes for 2,803 yards and threw 28 touchdowns to eight interceptions. 

He started four games in 2022 with 1,336 yards and 11 touchdowns passes with seven INTs. 

Gonzales led a Western Carolina offense last year that led the FCS in passing and total first downs, and was fourth in total offense. 

Gonzales committed to OU on Christmas, knowing that 2024 starter Jackson Arnold had transferred to Auburn but also knowing that John Mateer had transferred to OU from Washington State. 

Gonzales, who’s father is Florida Gators wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales, was hoping he could compete with sophomore Michael Hawkins for the backup job to Mateer, but with Mateer seizing the starting job in Norman and Hawkins having a firm grip on the backup role, the No. 3 spot was between Gonzales and true freshman Jett Niu, whom coaches said had a strong spring practice. 

With Gonzales’ experience now gone to Pitt, the Sooners are down to three scholarship quarterbacks, meaning Brent Venables and Ben Arbuckle should be expected to pursue another quarterback via the transfer portal.

The spring portal window closed on Friday at midnight, so the Sooners would have to land a QB who’s already in the transfer portal or pick up a graduate transfer.

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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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