Oklahoma Sooners news: Barnes injury update, Moser on Transfer Portal and more

Jovantae Barnes injury update

Jovantae Barnes, who has been Oklahoma's RB2 most of the season, was downgraded from questionable to doubtful on Thursday's SEC Availability Reports ahead of the No. 14 Sooners' trip to South Carolina on Saturday.

The status update points to Barnes missing his third game in a row with an injury. His rushing numbers have been lackluster, but Barnes has been an asset for the Sooners this season in pass blocking and OU has given up new season-highs in sacks the last two games without Barnes.

Wide receiver Keontez Lewis, tight end Kade McIntyre and offensive lineman Logan Howland were also listed as doubtful on Thursday. The Sooners will also again be without offensive linemen Troy Everett, Joacob Sexton and Jake Taylor.

Porter Moser 'leaning into' Transfer Portal

Oklahoma men's basketball coach Porter Moser took the podium at SEC Media Days on Wednesday as the college basketball season is right around the corner. One of the things Moser harped on during his time on stage was how he has started "leaning into" the Transfer Portal.

This offseason, the Sooners added Notre Dame forward Tae Davis, Miami guard Nijel Pack, Saint Joseph's guard Xzayvier Brown and Alabama forward Derrion Reid from the portal. Oklahoma had the No. 4 transfer class in the SEC, according to 247Sports, and the 11th-best in the country in 2025.

“I think it's an interesting dynamic, because people are in the portal because they want something different, right," Moser said. "They want maybe a lot of different things. But you also have guys that tasted winning that, they want that again, too. And you know, this year there's been so much talk about the last four years in the portal, and I'm just all about leaning into it.

“You know, everyone came to me, they said, ‘Porter, you were a program at Loyola where you developed guys. This has got to be driving you crazy.’ And I went through probably went through that time period. But now I'm completely leaning into it. You get a freshness about getting new guys. You get an enthusiasm of guys coming on your campus for the first time, getting ready of a new situation. So I've leaned into these four guys."

Kevin Johns' new role

Oklahoma State quarterbacks coach Kevin Johns was thrusted midseason into the role of the Cowboys' play-caller this week. Last season, at almost this same point in the season, Johns was elevated from offensive analyst to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at OU.

OU head coach Brent Venables made the move last year after firing offensive coordinator Seth Littrell. This time, another midseason firing has Johns in the similar situation.

OSU offensive coordinator Doug Meachem was promoted to interim head coach after Mike Gundy was fired, and after three weeks, Meachem handed over play-calling duties to Johns, who went to Stillwater after one season in Norman.