The Oklahoma Sooners have had a lot of great football players, but they've also lost some really good ones.
Players were transferring from OU long before the transfer portal existed and playing for multiple programs during a college career became the norm. From all the way back to Troy Aikman, to Dillon Gabriel most recently, who are the 10 best players to ever transfer away from the Sooners?
Rhett Bomar is the biggest "What if" on this list.
Bomar would have thrived in a college football world with NIL and transferring, considering he took advantage of both during his career. He got to OU as a five-star recruit before taking over as the starter in 2005. By today's ratings, he would be considered a higher-rated recruit for OU than Caleb Williams was.
But before the 2006 season, Bomar was dismissed from the program after reportedly getting money from a local car dealership without actually working there.
Bomar then transferred to Sam Houston State, where in 2009 he was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which is the Heisman Trophy of the FCS. He was then drafted by the New York Giants in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft and had a short NFL career but never actually played in a regular-season game.
Trevor Knight became a favorite of Sooner Nation after leading OU to a win over Alabama in the 2014 Sugar Bowl. But then he was replaced by maybe the most beloved Sooner in history, Baker Mayfield, in 2015.
Knight was obviously not going to see the field behind a quarterback who won a Heisman Trophy, so he headed to Texas A&M, where he played his final college season. He threw for 2,432 yards and 19 TDs in his lone season with the Aggies before never sticking in the NFL.
This is quite the throwback.
Glyn Milburn spent one year in Oklahoma in 1988 before going to Stanford, where he became an All-American. He then went on to a successful NFL career as a two-time Pro Bowler as a return man.
Spencer Rattler is the first player on this list from the modern day transfer portal era, leaving OU for South Carolina in 2021 after getting replaced by Caleb Williams as the Sooners' starting quarterback despite being First-Team All-Big 12 in 2020.
Rattler started two seasons at South Carolina before getting drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He started six games as a rookie this season for the Saints.
Charleston Rambo spent most of his OU career overshadowed by CeeDee Lamb, but he broke out in 2021 after transferring to Miami (FL). He was the Hurricanes' best receiver his lone season there, catching 79 passes for 1,172 yards and seven TDs.
Trey Sermon nearly rushed for 1,000 yards in 2018 with 947, even while splitting carries with Kennedy Brooks, and also scored 13 TDs. But then his playing time dipped the next season and he transferred to Ohio State in 2020.
Sermon was Second-Team All-Big Ten during his only season with the Buckeyes. He also stepped up in big games, rushing for an unbelievable 331 yards against Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game. In his next outing, Sermon ran for 193 yards to get OSU past Clemson in the semifinal of the College Football Playoff.
After his college career ended, Sermon was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft and is still in the league today on the Indianapolis Colts' roster.
Tashard Choice had to leave Norman unless he just wanted to watch Adrian Peterson from the sidelines.
Choice thrived once he got an opportunity at Georgia Tech, though. Choice became the first running back in Georgia Tech to rush for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons in 2006-07. He led the ACC in rushing yards in 2006 with 1,473.
Choice also had a successful six-year NFL career after getting drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft.
Dillon Gabriel was the most recent one to get away.
After starting for the Sooners for two seasons, OU was ready to hand the reigns to five-star recruit Jackson Arnold. Gabriel was expected to head to the NFL, but after receiving an unfavorable draft grade, he transferred to Oregon to finish his college career last year.
Gabriel thrived with the Ducks this season, leading them to a Big Ten championship and undefeated regular season. He was also named a Heisman Trophy finalist, Big Ten Most Valuable Player and First-Team All-American.
Troy Aikman was the first quarterback to head west to Los Angeles to find stardom.
A Henryetta, Oklahoma native, Aikman started his career at OU in 1984 and became the first freshman to start at quarterback since World War II. But in 1985, Aikman broke his ankle, forcing Barry Switzer to run the wishbone offense again with Jamelle Holieway at QB. The Sooners then won a national championship with Holieway leading the way.
Aikman then transferred to UCLA, where he was a Davey O'Brien Award winner and First-Team All-American in 1988. UCLA eventually retired his No. 8.
Aikman was then even more successful in the NFL as a three-time Super Bowl champion and six-time Pro Bowler for the Dallas Cowboys. He's been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
There's an argument to be made for this No. 1 spot, but the difference was a Heisman Trophy.
A five-star recruit, Caleb Williams started as a freshman for the Sooners before following Lincoln Riley to USC in 2022. He then won the Heisman Trophy and every other award possible in 2022.
Williams was then the No. 1 overall pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2024 NFL Draft. He started every game this season as a rookie.