Oklahoma secures first transfer portal commitment of spring 2025

The transfer portal additions started a day early for the Oklahoma Sooners.

With the transfer portal not opening until Wednesday for the spring transfer cycle, OU already announced the evening before on Tuesday that former Stanford offensive lineman Jake Maikkula signed with the Sooners as their first commit of the spring. They also announced the signing of California graduate transfer Jaydn Ott, who was the No. 1 running back in the transfer portal.

Maikkula was able to enter the transfer portal and make a commitment early because of a coaching change at Stanford.

Stanford offensive lineman Jake Maikkula commits to Sooners

At 6-foot-5 and 295 pounds, Maikkula played in 12 games while starting 11 last season for Cal in its first season in the ACC. He played all over the place on the offensive line, from both guard spots, to center, proving his versatility.

The assumption is the Sooners could use him at center this season if he takes the job from Troy Everett. If not center, Maikkula, who has two years of eligibility left, will still likely find a starting spot somewhere in the interior of the offensive line, where OU really needed to add help during this spring.

The Sooners' offensive line was historically bad last year in their first season in the SEC, so they've made the position a priority this offseason, including an outstanding freshman class with five-star recruit Michael Fasusi. The urgency to fix the offensive lineman was expected to continue in the spring, and it obviously did.

OU's top priorities for the spring were interior offensive line, running back, tight end and wide receiver. The Sooners have checked half of those boxes already, and the spring transfer cycle hasn't even technically started yet.

However, now with new general manager Jim Nagy in control, the Sooners are expected to be big-time buyers this spring, so expect more head-turning additions, which also means more exits to stay under the 105-player roster limit.