The Oklahoma football program has been very active in the transfer program this offseason and recently added its 15th incoming transfer to the 2022 roster.
Multiple news sources are reporting that former UCF running back Bentavious Thompson has transferred to Oklahoma. Thompson played 30 games at UCF, including two seasons with OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who transferred to Oklahoma earlier this year.
Thompson is the first running back among the 15 transfers the Sooners have brought in this offseason. In three seasons at UCF (2018-20), Thompson rushed for 1,136 yards and scored 13 rushing touchdowns. He played alongside Gabriel for two seasons (2019 and 2020) and averaged around six yards per carry.
A native of Miami, Florida, Thompson originally committed to the Miami Hurricanes out of high school but decommitted and ultimately signed with UCF in 2017.
The announcement of Thompson’s transfer comes as somewhat of a surprise to Sooner fans. He apparently is already on campus and confirmed in an email to John Hoover of the All Sooners FanNation website that he is “already here.”
Also, on Monday the following photograph was posted on the Oklahoma football Twitter account, and Thompson has been indentified as appearing in the photo.
https://twitter.com/OU_Football/status/1536529318540632065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1536529318540632065%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.heartlandcollegesports.com%2F2022%2F06%2F15%2Foklahoma-lands-former-ucf-rb-bentavious-thompson%2F
Tompson is pictured on the left side of the front row standing, wearing a gray sweatshirt.
The Oklahoma running back room has been growing in recent months. Thompson brings some valuable experience to a position that now consists of returning Sooner backs Eric Gray and Marcus Major, highly touted incoming freshman Jovantae Barnes and Gavin Sawchuk, plus talented walk-ons Tawee Walker, Jaden Knowles and Todd Hudson.
With 15 newcomers joining the football roster this season by way of the transfer portal, Oklahoma ranks fourth among college teams nationally, according to data compiled by 247Sports, for the number of incoming transfers for 2022.