Why Transfer WR Parker Livingstone Chose Oklahoma Over the Reigning National Champions

NORMAN — When Parker Livingstone decided to transfer, he instantly narrowed his list of schools down to two — and both were very good options.

Livingstone, a wide receiver who played at Texas during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, took visits to Oklahoma and Indiana after announcing his entry into the transfer portal in December.

OU, of course, is one of college football’s most storied programs. The Sooners have won seven national titles, 50 conference championships and 960 games all-time.

Indiana, though, currently sits atop the college football world. The Hoosiers won their first-ever national championship in January despite losing 715 games throughout their history, the second most of any program.

Livingstone admitted that Indiana is an easy sell considering the success of coach Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers’ recent title.

But as a native of Lucas, TX — a suburb in the Dallas-Fort Worth area — Livingstone didn’t want to have to move from the south to the midwest.

“For me, I needed to stay close to home,” Livingstone said. “They've been doing great and Curt Cignetti is a great coach, but that's why I picked Oklahoma at the end of the day.”

Proximity, however, isn’t the only thing that lured Livingstone to Norman.

There are several other Power Four programs that are located closer to his hometown, including TCU, SMU and Baylor.

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The Sooners didn’t win any titles in 2025, but they showed flashes of their championship potential.

OU finished the regular season 10-2 and won four games in a row — against Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and LSU — to reach its first College Football Playoff since 2019. The Sooners entered the CFP as the No. 8 seed and lost 34-24 at home to No. 9 Alabama in the first round.

Even though the postseason didn’t go as planned for the Sooners, Livingstone saw their upward trajectory from afar. On his visit, Livingstone came to believe that program culture had been vital to OU’s recent success — and that’s something he wanted to contribute to.

“It's culture, family, and they live by that,” Livingstone said. “And that's something I kind of live by.”

Livingstone played in only four games for the Longhorns in 2024 and used his redshirt on that season. He broke out in 2025, ending the year with 516 yards and six touchdowns on 29 receptions.

Despite his production, Texas essentially told Livingstone that he didn’t have a role anymore. The Longhorns retained wide receivers Ryan Wingo, Emmett Mosley V and Kaliq Lockett during the offseason, and they added former Auburn star Cam Coleman from the transfer portal.

But one man’s trash is another’s treasure — and OU general manager Jim Nagy believes that the Sooners found a gem.

“We didn’t see that coming — we didn’t see Texas dropping Parker that way, so that was huge for us,” Nagy said. “He’s a really QB-friendly guy.”

Livingstone could have joined the reigning national champions. And after his stellar 2025 campaign, he would have had opportunities to play for other College Football Playoff contenders across the nation.

But the Sooners are on a quest to win national title No. 8. And OU coach Brent Venables is confident that Livingstone is someone who could help them get closer to the promised land.

“He's a worker,” Venables said. “He's wide open, knows how to play the game. He's done a fantastic job.”

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