Report: Oklahoma WR Jalil Farooq to Enter Transfer Portal

Another Oklahoma wide receiver won’t return in 2025.

Veteran Jalil Farooq, who only played in two games in 2024 due to a foot injury, will transfer per On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

BREAKING: Oklahoma WR Jalil Farooq plans to enter the Transfer Portal, he tells @on3sports

The 6’2 205 WR totaled 89 Receptions for 1,287 yards & 7 TDs in his time with the Sooners

Will have 1 year of eligibility remaining https://t.co/UCxXwQZncB pic.twitter.com/03TFp5s6ZO
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 10, 2024

Farooq caught just three passes for 58 yards last season.

Before initially injuring his foot during spring practice and getting hurt in the season opener against Temple, Farooq was expected to be a key piece of Oklahoma’s receiver room.

The Lanham, MD, product caught a 47-yard pass from quarterback Jackson Arnold on the first drive of the season, but he injured his foot, which held him out until OU’s trip to take on Missouri.

Farooq was then limited in the second half against the Tigers and didn’t appear in the Sooners’s final two contests against Alabama and LSU.

He caught 45 passes for 694 yards and two scores in 2023, which built off his 2022 campaign where he caught 37 balls for 466 yards and five touchdowns.

Follow Along: Oklahoma Transfer Portal Tracker

Farooq is the fourth OU receiver to enter the portal, following Jaquaize Pettaway, Nic Anderson and J.J. Hester.

After only playing two games, Farooq will be able to use his redshirt for the 2024 season and maintain one year of eligibility upon landing at a new school.

Without Farooq and Anderson, wide receivers coach Emmett Jones and new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle will have to virtually remake that entire position group heading into 2025.

Deion Burks has yet to make an announcement on his future, whether that entails returning to Oklahoma, heading to the NFL Draft or re-entering the transfer portal for a second time.

"He's a guy that's gonna have some decisions," Venables said of Burks on Nov. 26 ahead of OU's matchup with LSU. "He could get drafted pretty high — I’m no draft expert, but I know the receivers, a lot of receivers, are taken early on, the first several rounds, and he's a guy that he's definitely has an NFL future, God willing, has that in his future immediately. So we'll see where that all lands."

Andrel Anthony never was able to recover from his ACL injury that he sustained against Texas in 2023 to help OU in 2024, and Jayden Gibson went down in fall camp before even taking a snap this past season.

If those two return, they’ll be the most experienced pieces at receiver for OU despite playing no real game action in over a year.

Burks was unable to shake off a “soft tissue injury” that he sustained against Tennessee to play a huge factor for the Sooners either, but he still finished the year with 31 catches for 245 yards and three touchdowns.

If all three of those opt against returning to Norman, the Sooners will have to add receivers from the portal in large numbers.

Tight end Bauer Sharp, who led OU in both catches (42) and receiving yards (324) has entered the portal, joining Arnold.

The winter transfer portal window will be open from Dec. 9-28.

Players do not have to know their destination by Dec. 28, they just have to be in the portal when the window closes to retain immediate eligibility.