OU adds another defensive back via transfer portal

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The Oklahoma Sooners have been very active in the transfer portal on Friday, the final day before the deadline for players to have their names in the portal before it closes. Though teams can still sign players after the deadline on Friday night, OU has been hard at work to bring in key players for 2026.

Oklahoma has landed a commitment from former Mississippi Valley State defensive back Prince Ijioma on Friday. Ijioma was a sophomore for the Delta Devils in 2025, and he spent two seasons there. He hails from Little Elm, Texas, the same town that produced OU starting quarterback John Mateer.

As a true freshman in 2024, Ijioma played in 10 games, and he tallied 20 total tackles. This past season, Ijioma became an important piece defensively for the FCS-level Delta Devils. He had 39 total tackles and four pass deflections as he appeared in all 12 of MVSU’s games. Ijioma stands at 6-foot-3, and he weighs 190 pounds. He has two more years of eligibility left.

Ijioma profiles as a cornerback for the Sooners, as does OU’s other portal addition at defensive back, Oregon’s Dakoda Fields. With CB starters Eli Bowen and Courtland Guillory returning, and Jacobe Johnson also back in the boat, Ijioma should help provide depth in a room that lost plenty of it to the portal.

Oklahoma’s defense has been solidified quite a bit with the announcement on Thursday that star linebacker Kip Lewis is returning for his senior season, instead of entering the NFL Draft. The portal retention of defensive lineman Adepoju Adebawore earlier this week has also helped to make the picture clearer for OU’s defense.

In fact, after the portal closes on Friday night, the final major bit of roster news will be the status of linebacker Owen Heinecke, who is petitioning the NCAA for one more year of eligibility to come back to OU. He played three games of lacrosse at Ohio State, and is arguing that those games shouldn’t count against his football eligibility. Though it doesn’t look promising that the NCAA will rule in Heinecke’s favor, Sooner Nation is still hoping that he’ll be able to return in 2026. There is no timetable for the NCAA’s decision, though Heinecke is currently on the roster for the Senior Bowl.

However, there’s already been plenty of good news for the Sooners over the past couple of days. First, it was the official announcement of Jason Witten as the team’s new tight ends coach. Witten has already landed a portal commitment in former Tennessee tight end Jack Van Dorselaer.

More great news came on Thursday evening. First, leading wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III announced he’d be back in 2026, spurning the NFL Draft. Then, the program announced the return of Lewis and the return of Mateer at the same time, meaning that some extremely key pieces made the choice to come back to Norman to try and do something special in 2026.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma has landed a commitment from another portal DB

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