Report: Former Oklahoma RB Lands at South Florida

A former Oklahoma running back is heading South — to South Florida, actually.

Sam Franklin, who played just one year with the Sooners after transferring last offseason from Tennessee-Martin, has reportedly signed with the South Florida Bulls.

That’s according to a post on Twitter/X on Monday from 247Sports’ Chris Hummer and Matt Zenitz.

Oklahoma RB transfer Sam Franklin has signed with South Florida, @mzenitz and I have learned for @247Sports.

Franklin ran for 132 yards on 7.3 ypc last season. He came to Oklahoma from UT Martin, where he ran for 1,378 yards durning the 2023 season. https://t.co/uaU7hlVd4m pic.twitter.com/LnkMFbVcVW
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) April 29, 2025

Franklin, who rushed for He rushed for 1,378 yards and 11 touchdowns on 223 carries in 2023 at UT-Martin, never quite made an impact on DeMarco Murray’s running backs room.

The 5-foot-10, 202-pound Little Rock, AR, product will have one season of eligibility remaining in Tampa.

As a Sooner, Franklin contributed just 18 carries for 132 rushing yards with five receptions for 18 yards and six kickoff returns for 133 yards.

He entered the transfer portal on April 15 — the same day OU landed Jaydn Ott, a game-breaking transfer running back from Cal.

In three years on the West Coast, Ott totaled 2,597 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns, adding 736 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.

Ott broke out as a freshman in 2022, rushing for 897 yards and eight scores on 170 carries, then exploded for 1,315 rushing yards and 12 TDs in 2023.

Ott suffered an ankle in the 2024 season opener and was sidelined for three games, but it slowed him down all season as he finished with 385 yards and four scores on 116 carries to go with 24 catches for 222 yards and a touchdown.

Franklin landed second-team FCS All-America honors in 2023 and was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award as the FCS Player of the Year.

But even with 2023 starter Gavin Sawchuk’s departure into the portal over the weekend, it seemed unlikely that Franklin would crack the rotation at running back as the 6-foot, 205-pound Ott, who has one year of eligibility remaining, seems to have already inherited the RB1 job in a crowded but underwhelming running back room.

Ott will compete with senior Jovantae Barnes and sophomores Xavier Robinson and Taylor Tatum as well as true freshman Tory Blaylock, who had what teammates described as an impressive spring.

Sawchuk led the Sooners in rushing in 2023 with 744 yards, including five straight 100-yard games to end the season, but never came close to that form last year.

Barnes seemed to finally break through in 2024 with the best football of his career, including a career-high 206 yards against Maine, but that game also inluded a season-ending injury.

Tatum had plenty of highlights, but also was shackled with major deficiencies in pass blocking and ball protection.

Robinson put on a show against Alabama, but then his playing time inexplicably dwindled in the final two games against LSU and Navy.

Ott might be able to solve those issues if he is healthy in 2025.

As a freshman, he put up a 274-yard game (on just 19 carries) in a victory over Arizona.

As a sophomore, Ott ran for 100 yards or more five times, including a 21 carry, 153-yard rushing performance for three touchdowns in Cal’s 50-49 loss to USC.

Ott caught three passes for 75 yards and a score in Cal’s 39-38 loss to Miami last year.

He also ran for 73 yards against Florida State, 79 yards (with 26 yards receiving) against Syracuse and 84 rushing yards in the LA Bowl defeat to UNLV.