Oklahoma football: Sooners' 2024 transfer additions include a top edge rusher, elite WR

Although the transfer additions to the 2024 Oklahoma football roster aren't ranked as high as the 2023 transfer portal class, the Sooners' immediate needs are different than the previous year.

OU's 2023 transfer portal class numbered 17 and was ranked 8th best in the country by 247Sports. The 2024 Sooner transfer class totals 12 and is ranked 31st. The 2023 transfers were heavy in defensive linemen (6), wide receivers (2) and tight ends (2). The 2024 transfers are biased toward offensive linemen (4), especially the tackle position, tight ends and cornerbacks.

The top two of the 2024 portal additions appear to be edge rusher Caiden Woullard, a transfer from Miami of Ohio, and Deion Burks, who played the past two seasons at Purdue.

Woollard is rated as a four-star transfer pickup by 247Sports and is ranked by Pro Football Focus as the No. 6 edge rusher among 2024 edge transfers.

The Sooners want to beef up their pass rush next season, their inaugural year in the SEC, and not have to rely so much on blitz packages to get to the quarterback. And they are hoping Woullard's skills and experience can help fill that need, even if just for a short time. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

This past season was Woollard's most productive for the Red Hawks of Miami of Ohio. He recorded 41 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 9.5 quarterback sacks.

Burks is also a major transfer addition for the Sooners. Like Woullard, the former Purdue wide receiver joins an Oklahoma wide-receiver corps that is loaded with talent and deep, and he could be the best of the lot. Burks is coming off a breakout redshirt-sophomore season in which he earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. He caught 47 passes for 629 yards and seven touchdowns. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Game-ready experience is always a prime benefit of roster additions through the transfer portal. As with the 2023 transfer class, head coach Brent Venables has used the 2024 portal pickups to build depth and a competitive roster and address specific needs.

Oklahoma's 17 outgoing transfers after the 2023 season combined for 10,396 career snaps at the FBS level and 2,878 last season, according to 247Sports. The Sooners' 2024 incoming transfers, by comparison, have totaled 12, 747 career snaps, including 5,118 snaps in the 2023 season. That's a net gain of 2,240 snaps from last season and a gain of 2,351 career snaps for the incoming transfers.