The two-way nature of the transfer portal serves as both a curse and a blessing to college head coaches like Oklahoma's Brent Venables who are trying to maintain continuity and manage their rosters from one year to the next.
In today's college game, you can expect to lose some players every season seeking a better or different opportunity. But on the other side of that coin, coaches can turn to the portal to fill areas of immediate need with players who have exhibited both talent and experience at the college level.
The 2026 Oklahoma transfer class is a prime example of the new way of approaching the rapidly evolving football recruiting and talent acquisition model in replenishing and fortifying college rosters.
Oklahoma general manager Jim Nagy is of the view that the recruitment of top high school prospects remains the bedrock of the recruitment process. But that is just one element, albeit a key one, in the business of roster management, which has been turned on its head by the addition of NIL and more free-flowing free agency, otherwise known as the transfer portal.
The transfer portal is like a two-lane highway with players leaving the program while new players are coming in. Over the 2026 recruiting cycle, Oklahoma suffered a net loss of nine in that department, with 27 departures and 16 additions. When all is said and done, however, Venables and the Sooners are banking that the net result of the process will be an overall performance gain.
Transfer classes, like the more traditional high school-level recruiting class model, are rated and ranked on a national scale. Oklahoma's 2026 transfer class is smaller in size and doesn't rank as high (No. 22, according to ESPN) as other SEC and Power Four programs, but the Sooners feel they got exactly what they needed.
The Sooners were looking to make offensive improvements by filling immediate needs in multiple position groups on that side of the ball, and they utilized the transfer portal to target those needs with experienced players. The portal provides the opportunity fill areas of need with experienced players who can have an immediate impact.
It's clear Jim Nagy values SEC experience for Sooners
Oklahoma went a step further with this transfer class, taking into account where that experience was coming from and would it translate to success in a league as physical and competitive top to bottom as the SEC.
The result of that thought process is that four of OU's 16 incoming transfers this season come with several seasons of experience competing in the SEC. The Sooners added Hayden Hansen from Florida and Jack Van Dorselaer from Tennessee to the tight-end room. They picked up wide receivers Parker Livingstone from Texas to add another playmaker at that critical skill position, and Arkansas offensive tackle E'Marion Harris to bolster depth and experience on the offensive line.
By contrast, over the last four transfer cycles, Oklahoma has added just five players total from the SEC: WR Isaiah Sategna (from Arkansas, 2025), WR Brennen Thompson (from Texas, 2023), DT Da'Jon Terry (from Tennessee, 2023), LB Dasan McCullough (from Indiana, 2023) and TE Blake Smith (from Texas A&M, 2023).
In addition to the four transfers coming out of the SEC, the Sooners also added linebacker Cole Sullivan from Michigan out of the Big Ten, as well as Trell Harris from Virginia in the ACC. Harris led the Cavaliers in receptions (59) and receiving yards (847) last season and was a Third-Team All-ACC selection.
The reputation of a program or its recent success are no longer enough to secure every elite recruit, whether it's from the high school ranks or the transfer portal. While some players value tradition, development and the chance to play in the NFL, as well as the opportunity to be on a team that plays at a championship level, others are motivated primarily by financial opportunities.
The Oklahoma football program has the resources to compete in the NIL market, but it recognizes that it is not always going to win bidding wars against teams with deeper financial pockets.
"You just gotta find guys that are about the right stuff," Nagy told On3's J.D. PicKell at SEC Media Days. "The money part (for NIL), we're gonna be competitive, but they gotta buy into what we're about, and that's the culture and the brotherhood and being developed and understanding guys that we recruit to Oklahoma should have NFL futures if they come in, if they put in the work, they allow themselves to be developed.
"Sunday money is always going to trump Saturday money."
Add us as a preferred source on Google