Oklahoma Turns Heads by Adding Bears, Chiefs Rookie Tryout Performer

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Looks like the LSU Tigers won’t be the only SEC power adding ex-NFL guys. Now the Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Brent Venables are following suit. All thanks to adding former Stephen F. Austin linebacker Jaydon Southard, who previously gave two franchises a try.

CBS Sports college football insider Matt Zenitz reported Southard’s transfer to Norman on Monday. Yet there’s a twist involving Southard’s arrival.

“Southard, whom George Stoia [of On3] had reported as a possibility for OU, is already enrolled in school and [is] in Norman, per sources. Took part in NFL rookie camp with the [Chicago] Bears and [Kansas City] Chiefs,” Zenitz added.

Jaydon Southard Part of New, Uncanny Era of Transfers

The transfer portal became altered forever this offseason. All thanks to the new fifth-year eligibility case that opened new flood gates.

Multiple judges granted 2022 high school graduates a fifth season of playing collegiately. But that rule also pertained to talents who gave the NFL a try and went undrafted. Those same players filed TROs (temporary restraining orders) toward the NCAA which allowed them to re-enter the transfer portal.

Southard, again, originally pursued careers with the NFC North champion Bears and AFC West franchise Chiefs. He jumped to the league after delivering astonishing numbers at SFA: 124 tackles, 11.5 for a loss and an interception.

So Southard rose as a breakout star from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) realm. But his NFL tryouts became botched. He only took part in the rookie minicamps for both teams and never earned a contract, even as an undrafted rookie.

CFB World Continues to Remain Conflicted About Transfers in 2026

This new era now sees players pursuing an NFL career deliver second thoughts about the tryout. And opts to pivot back to the college game through a judge’s order. But many across the CFB universe have scoffed at this tactic.

Dan Lanning of Oregon rose as one coach who’s not happy with this era. believing aspiring NFL rookies don’t have a place in CFB anymore. But he’s not the only coach in the Big Ten who feels this way. Even Ohio State’s Ryan Day shot down the idea of welcoming back ex-NFL guys.

So that makes two College Football Playoff coaches who prefer the old school way of building rosters. Yet the SEC also banned ex-NFL rookies from returning to college before Week 0 took place.

Yet LSU and head coach Lane Kiffin managed to win back Dae’Quan Wright and Zxavian Harris thanks to both winning a court ruling to resume their college careers. Both men didn’t play in LSU’s season-opening rout of Clemson.

Determining if Jaydon Southard Fits Oklahoma

Southard walks into one of the nation’s most loaded front sevens on defense.

Owen Heinecke tied for the team lead with seven tackles in the 51-0 rout of UTEP. Dane Bathurst added four tackles. James Nesta enters his third season at OU and hit four tackles as well.

Southard comes off as a depth piece here. But joins an aspiring national title contender…amid a controversial new era of college football.

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