How have Oklahoma's outgoing transfers performed in 2025?
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Every single year in college football, teams lose players to the transfer portal. It’s a fact of the sport’s new era, and each offseason, programs see key contributors wind up elsewhere for a variety of reasons.
The Oklahoma Sooners had a lot of roster turnover this past offseason, and much of it looks to have paid off in 2025. After a 6-7 season in 2024, OU is 7-2 through nine games this year. Some key transfer additions have paid dividends for Brent Venables and his coaching staff.
On the other hand, how have the former Sooners performed so far? How have their careers gone after leaving Norman? Today, we’ll look at some players who transferred out of the program after the 2024 season, and we’ll get updated on their stats to this point with their new teams.
Some players have found success in new homes, while other have struggled to make their mark on their new team through 11 weeks of the 2025 season. Here’s a transfer report for Oklahoma’s outgoing players.
Quarterbacks
Jackson Arnold (Auburn): 133-for-210, 1,278 yds, 6 TDs, 2 Ints, 109 rushing attempts, 258 yards, 7 TDs
Brendan Zurbrugg (Utah): No stats
Cole Gonzales (Pittsburgh): 11-for-22, 118 yds, 1 TD, 1 Int
Gavin Frakes (Northwestern): No stats
No new team: Steele Wasel
Running Backs
Gavin Sawchuk (Florida State): 94 attempts, 433 yds, 8 TDs, 11 receptions, 109 yds, 1 TD
Sam Franklin (USF): 55 attempts, 374 yards, 4 TDs, 3 receptions, 16 yards
Kalib Hicks (Oklahoma State): 44 attempts, 128 yards
Emeka Megwa (UNLV): Converted to linebacker; no stats
Chapman McKown (Central Arkansas): 41 attempts, 213 yards, 1 TD, 9 receptions, 33 yds
Wide Receivers
Nic Anderson (LSU): 12 receptions, 106 yds, 2 TDs
Jalil Farooq (Maryland): 38 receptions, 329 yds, 1 TD
Andrel Anthony (Duke): 25 receptions, 238 yds, 5 TDs
Brenen Thompson (Mississippi State): 45 receptions, 808 yds, 6 TDs
J.J. Hester (Kentucky): 5 receptions, 52 yards, 3 TDs
Jaquaizie Pettaway (East Carolina): 11 receptions, 29 yds
No new team yet: Jayden Gibson (left team midseason)
Tight Ends
Bauer Sharp (LSU): 21 receptions, 212 yds, 1 TD
Davon Mitchell (Louisville): 1 reception, 8 yds
No new team: Hampton Fay
Offensive Linemen
Joshua Bates (SMU): Mustangs averaging 406.6 yards of offense per game (Rimington Award Watch List)
Evan McClure (Tulsa): Golden Hurricane averaging 386.1 yards of offense per game
Geirean Hatchett (Washington): Huskies averaging 417.8 yards of offense per game
Kenneth Wermy (Central Oklahoma): Bronchos averaging 453.4 yards of offense per game
Eugene Brooks (UCLA): Bruins averaging 344.6 yards of offense per game
Josh Aisosa (West Virginia): Mountaineers averaging 359.3 yards of offense per game
No new team: Ty Kubicek
Defensive Linemen
Ashton Sanders (UCLA): No stats
Drew Heinig (Oklahoma Track and Field): 2025 NCAA West First Round Qualifier for Shot Put
No new team: Mari Atchison
Linebackers
Dasan McCullough (Nebraska): 19 total tackles, 2 sacks, 1 PD
Phil Picciotti (UCF): No stats
Lewis Carter (UCF): 65 total tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 PD
No new team: Kyle Carlson
Defensive Backs
Jayden Rowe (Kansas State): 3 total tackles
Kani Walker (Arkansas): 38 total tackles, 10 PD, 1 INT, 1 TD
Erik McCarty (Emporia State): 5 total tackles
Makari Vickers (Colorado): 10 total tackles, 2 PD
Devon Owen (Emporia State): 17 total tackles, 2 sacks, 1 PD
Peter Schuh (Marshall): 1 total tackle
Jocelyn Malaska (Abilene Christian): 34 total tackles, 2 PD
No new team: Cale Fugate, Emmett Jones III, Dax Noles, Mykel Patterson-McDonald
Specialists
Ashton Logan (Middle Tennessee): 52 punts, 44.2 yards/punt
Overview
Defensively, Oklahoma didn’t lose very many key contributors to the portal this offseason, with Carter, Walker and McCullough as the only players making much of an impact elsewhere in 2025. On offense, Arnold is the obvious talking point with his uneven season at Auburn, but Sawchuk and Franklin have had solid outputs in the Sunshine State since leaving OU. Hatchett has started all season long with the Huskies, but he missed most of the season due to injury in his one year at Oklahoma.
Josh Bates has had a great year with the SMU Mustangs and was added to the Rimington Award Watch List last week. He’s started all 10 games for the Mustangs this season.
The pass-catchers were the most talked-about portal exits, but they’ve been a mixed bag. Sharp and Anderson haven’t managed much in Baton Rouge, but Farooq and Anthony have found some success in their new homes. Gibson’s loss hurts, but he hadn’t been on the field for OU since 2023.
The biggest star in a new home has been Thompson, who has enjoyed a breakout year with head coach Jeff Lebby in Starkville. He was a reserve in Norman, but the Bulldogs have benefited from his play as a focal point of the offense in 2025.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma has been given a boost by its portal additions, mostly on offense. The Sooners saw a lot of big names leave town this winter, but with three weeks left in the regular season, only a handful of those players have seen stardom elsewhere.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: How have former OU players done this year since leaving Norman?
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