All Sooners

Report: Oklahoma Offensive Lineman Expected to Enter Transfer Portal

Joshua Bates played in four games for the Sooners in 2024, and now the offensive lineman is expected to transfer.

Carson Field

BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
In this story:

NORMAN — The winter transfer portal window has only been open for a few hours, but Oklahoma already has an offensive lineman reportedly entering it.

Redshirt freshman Joshua Bates, a 6-foot-3, 309-pound lineman from Durango, CO, will put his name in the portal, according to On3 college football reporter Hayes Fawcett.

Bates played in just one game as a Sooner in 2023, participating in OU’s season-opening win against Arkansas State. His role increased in 2024, playing in four games and starting two of them at center.

His most notable — perhaps notorious — moment came in the Sooners' Week 2 win against Houston.

OU seemed to have the narrow win clinched with 35 seconds left, as quarterback Jackson Arnold took a knee on third down. Houston's defenders still piled on Arnold, causing a melee led by Bates. The offensive lineman took off his helmet in frustration and subsequently was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which stopped the clock gave the Cougars a last-ditch chance on offense.

Oklahoma still escaped with a two-point win, but that play was something Bates immediately showed remorse for.

“That’s something I’m still down about,” the offensive lineman said after the game. “It’s something that I cannot do in that moment. Emotions got to me. That stuff will never happen again."

Oklahoma Football Transfer Portal Tracker

Bates played in just two more games after the heated incident, playing 78 snaps against Tulane and only eight against Maine.

While Bates is the first offensive lineman expected to transfer from OU, he’s far from the first Sooner reportedly entering the portal.

Offensively, Bates joins Arnold, wide receivers Nic Anderson and Jaqauize Pettaway, running backs Kalib Hicks, Emeka Megwa and Chapman McKown and tight end Bauer Sharp as offensive players expected to enter the transfer portal.

Arnold and Anderson are the most prominent names of that group — Arnold starting 10 games for Oklahoma in 2024; Anderson was the Sooners' second-leading wide receiver in 2023 and missed 2024 with an injury.

Defensive back Jayden Rowe is, at the moment, the only defensive player to enter the transfer portal.

Reports: Oklahoma QB Jackson Arnold Expected to Enter Transfer Portal

The reported exodus of several key offensive players comes a week after the Sooners hired Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to the same role at OU.

Oklahoma signed four offensive linemen — Michael Fasusi, Ryan Fodje, Darius Afalava and Owen Hollenbeck — to their 2025 class on Early Signing Day on Wednesday. Fasusi is a 5-star and the highest ranked OU signee in the 2025 class, Fodje is a 4-star and Afalava and Hollenbeck are 3-stars.

This year's NCAA Transfer Portal opened officially opened on Monday. To be eligible to play right away in 2025, players must enter their name into the transfer portal before Dec. 28. The spring portal window runs from April 16-25, 2025.

Players are also eligible to return to their original school if they fail to find a program that suits their needs.

Published |Modified
Carson Field
CARSON FIELD

Carson Field has worked full-time in the sports media industry since 2020 in Colorado, Texas and Wyoming as well as nationally, and he has earned degrees from Arizona State University and Texas A&M University. When he isn’t covering the Sooners, he’s likely golfing, fishing or doing something else outdoors. Twitter: https://x.com/carsondfield

Home/Football